Coming of Age in a Digital World: The battle of Old Vs. New
1. Coming of Age in
a Digital World
Image: Stuck in Customs
2. Being born in the early part
of the 90’s, childhood was
largely absent of social
connections like Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube and for a
larger portion…
…the accessible internet
Image: Stuck in Customs
3. Image: Jose Luis Mieza Photography
With the inception of these social mediums, the
developmental social landscape of childhood
has changed completely
4. Image: Stuck in Customs
Children are now being raised in
a world that is very different than
the one their parents would have
experienced….
…essentially a battle of Old Vs.
New
6. Many social media sites require a minimum age to access their services and
offerings
Image: wwward0
7. Yet there are 7.5 Million underage Facebook
users, two thirds of which are 10 years old or
younger
Image: Daniel*1977
8. Image: Reena Mahtani
Therefore, the message
that the websites are
producing are not being
clearly understood…
Should responsibility be put
on the parents?
11. The idealized childhood is under
attack from mobile phones and tablets
as well
Image: dai-kon
12. Image: Paul Mayne
A study in 2010 shows that
two-thirds of children ages 4-
7 had used an iPhone
13. Image: Alvimann
“As technology become ubiquitous in our
lives, American parents are becoming more,
not less, wary of what it might be doing to
their children”
- Hana Rosin
14. Image: bjornsk
“On the one hand, parents want their children to swim expertly
in the digital stream that they will have to navigate all their lives;
on the other hand, they fear that too much digital media, too
early, will sink them”
- Hanna Rosin
15. Image: Ol’1 eye
Parents end up treating tablets like precision surgical instruments, gadgets that might perform
miracles for their child’s IQ…but only if they are used just so
….[or they] could end up one of those sad, pale creatures who can’t make eye contact and has
an avatar for a girlfriend. – Hanna Rosen
16. When we look back and consult Hanna Rosen, she states that
“every new medium has, within a short time of its introduction,
been condemned as a threat to young people”…
Image: Antimidia
17. Image: S Richards Photography
Although there have been no studies on the effects of early screen time in
children I don’t think we should discount them just yet…
18. Image: rolfkallman
Introduction of
tablets, smartphones
and
access/membership
to several websites
will only help
improve digital
literacy and help
close the divide in
the upcoming years
19. Image: Stuck in Customs
Mobi l e devi ces and t he i nt er net enabl e l i f e-l ong l ear ni ng
as wel l as connect i ng us t o essent i al ser vi ces l i ke
mobi l e heal t h and mobi l e banki ng
20. It is under these advantages that one must remember when trying
to bridge the gap between the old style of childhood and the new
style
21. Sources:
• The Touch-Screen Generation. By Hanna Rosen. The Atlantic. March
2013.
• Coming of Age in the Digital Age. By Kevin Makice. Wired
Magazine. February 2013.
• Course Lectures