TimmyHParents adopt new technology to stay In with their kids
June 26th 2008 03:47
There has always been a gap between parents and their children when it comes to the use of technology. But for parents with Y Generation children it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get in touch with their children on mobile phones.
Unlike in the Baby Boomer days when modes of communication were few, today, teens communicate in dozens of different ways. From texting to blogging, social networking sites and occasionally the telephone, they need it all.
No other generation in history as grown up in such an environment of technological change. Even Generation Y is struggling to keep pace. Parents are not under the same pressure from their peers to progress technologically, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune to interest in the latest fads.
“This is the first generation of teens dealing with the cell phones and the Internet. And so it is also the first generation of parents,” says Sarah Burningham, author of “How to Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl's Survival Guide.”
Experts from the Pew Institute say parents will have better luck staying in touch with their kids if they learn to text. Text messaging has reportedly become the first choice of communication for Generation Y.
“This is just the way it's going to be. We as parents have to accept that,” said Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University and author of “Me, MySpace and I: Parenting the Net Generation.”
The Pew study found that 36 percent of teens send text messages everyday, even more than 35 percent of those that talk on the phone. While email is one of the most popular forms of communication for the Baby Boomers, only 16 percent of Y Gens use it daily.
The advantage of the text message for Y Gens is that you can carry on multiple conversations at once, as well as beginning and ending them without notice. Nowhere is the choice of communication within circles of friends more obvious then within social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.
But parents still need to know their limits when trying to communicate with their kids. Many Y Gens feel that having their parents on Facebook or MySpace is potentially damaging to them. Apparently mobile access to kids is ok at the moment but social networking is off limits.
Unlike in the Baby Boomer days when modes of communication were few, today, teens communicate in dozens of different ways. From texting to blogging, social networking sites and occasionally the telephone, they need it all.
No other generation in history as grown up in such an environment of technological change. Even Generation Y is struggling to keep pace. Parents are not under the same pressure from their peers to progress technologically, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune to interest in the latest fads.
“This is the first generation of teens dealing with the cell phones and the Internet. And so it is also the first generation of parents,” says Sarah Burningham, author of “How to Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl's Survival Guide.”
Experts from the Pew Institute say parents will have better luck staying in touch with their kids if they learn to text. Text messaging has reportedly become the first choice of communication for Generation Y.
“This is just the way it's going to be. We as parents have to accept that,” said Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University and author of “Me, MySpace and I: Parenting the Net Generation.”
The Pew study found that 36 percent of teens send text messages everyday, even more than 35 percent of those that talk on the phone. While email is one of the most popular forms of communication for the Baby Boomers, only 16 percent of Y Gens use it daily.
The advantage of the text message for Y Gens is that you can carry on multiple conversations at once, as well as beginning and ending them without notice. Nowhere is the choice of communication within circles of friends more obvious then within social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.
But parents still need to know their limits when trying to communicate with their kids. Many Y Gens feel that having their parents on Facebook or MySpace is potentially damaging to them. Apparently mobile access to kids is ok at the moment but social networking is off limits.
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