Wanted: more Pink-like parents
Seriously. Pink is great as digital parent too.
Pink is, I learn from Wikipedia a world-famous American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer.
Personally, I couldn’t name one of her songs if my life depended on it. But I was very happy to discover, through a post on the Facebook page of the “Wait until 8th” community, a recent interview in which Pink declared that:
- “There’s a light side and a shadow side to technology in general for adults, as well. For kids, I’m not there yet”
- “I have a 10-year-old who does not have a phone, although she pointed out to me yesterday, ‘You know most of the kids in my class, fifth grade, have a phone.'”
- “That doesn’t move my needle. I don’t care.”
THAT is the way to go. Especially when…
To know more about why every parent should follow Pink’s example and how, do read the “Wait until 8th” Essentials, which elaborate on why waiting until 13 years of age for a personal but restricted smartphone, and until 16 for unrestricted access to social media.
Here, what I would really, really like all parents to understand is something else:
Doing everything that “Wait until 8th” suggests does NOT mean at all that children should grow up without learning, among many equally important things and as early as possible, how to:
- make effective online searches
- recognize unreliable sources of information
- use digital maps
- use computers and the internet for collaborative work
- produce digital art and publish it online
- experiment with digital manufacturing, including but NOT limited to 3D printing
- and yes, even play computer games
The REAL mistake is not giving kids the digital equivalent of a loaded grenade that even most adults are blatantly unable to use. It is believing that
“computing and internet = PERSONAL smartphone, that is uncontrollable, non-stop digital exposure”
THAT is the mistake to avoid, in parenting and everywhere else
Who writes this, why, and how to help
I am Marco Fioretti, tech writer and aspiring polymath doing human-digital research and popularization.
I do it because YOUR civil rights and the quality of YOUR life depend every year more on how software is used AROUND you.
To this end, I have already shared more than a million words on this blog, without any paywall or user tracking, and am sharing the next million through a newsletter, also without any paywall.
The more direct support I get, the more I can continue to inform for free parents, teachers, decision makers, and everybody else who should know more stuff like this. You can support me with paid subscriptions to my newsletter, donations via PayPal (mfioretti@nexaima.net) or LiberaPay, or in any of the other ways listed here.THANKS for your support!