How can makerspaces help parents encourage their children to become digitally literate? The MakEY research project brings together researchers to explore the benefits and challenges of running making workshops in a variety of settings. In this post, Alicia Blum-Ross and Sonia Livingstone explore ‘makerspaces’ and what they mean for parents and children. Sonia is Professor of Social Psychology at LSE’s Department of Media […]
Jackie Marsh discusses the research she conducted about augmented reality apps, investigating their use, value and potential for young children. She urges that as these apps become increasingly ubiquitous, it will be important for parents and early years practitioners to appraise and assess the apps and decide whether they are of fleeting interest, or if they hold the potential […]
How does the popular game Pokémon GO provide active, educational and social screen time? Kiley Sobel presents interview data and tips for parents about the way in which Pokémon GO allows families to and engage with media together and to make meaningful connections with each other and the spaces around them. Kiley is a Ph.D. candidate and National Science […]
Mark Griffiths reflects on the realities, implications and consequences of “screen time” in the context of gaming. He argues that it is not about the amount of screen use, but rather about its content and context. His piece follows a special workshop¹ convened by the Media Policy Project and Parenting for a Digital Future on ‘Families and “screen-time”: challenges of media self-regulation’ and the publication of a […]
Lelia Green takes a closer look at how parents’ attitudes to children’s digital media use change as they move towards adulthood. Lelia is Professor of Communications in the School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia. Her current research investigates the different influences of parents and peers on young people’s internet use. [Header image credit: R. Pollard, CC BY 2.0]
Leslie Haddon’s […]
Credit: YouTube
As the YouTube Kids app was launched in November 2015 in the UK and Ireland, nine months after it hit the US market, Dale Kunkel discusses how Google is stirring the debate on what is and what isn’t acceptable when it comes to advertising to children. In April 2015, Dale partnered with a coalition of 10 public interest […]
Credit: P. Cuhalev, CC BY-NC 2.0
Guest contributor Christopher J. Ferguson looks at research on video games, the problems around thin evidence and the grand claims it oftentimes makes. He examines what studies of children and gaming actually say – and here’s his list of take-home messages for parents. Christopher is an associate professor of psychology at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. He has written numerous peer-reviewed […]
Credit: J. Flinchbaugh, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Daniel Kardefelt-Winther looks at digital gaming and parental struggles to guide and protect their children in a digital world where one of the most popular activities is perceived as both beneficial and a cause for concern. Daniel is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, where he conducts research on […]
Credit: K. Jarrett, CC BY 2.0
Can Minecraft teach digital skills? Anthea Edalere-Henderson looks at how games such as Minecraft can help educate parents about the new digital worlds of their children. Anthea teaches in the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) at the University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica. Her work focuses on globalized forms of media […]
Credit for all images: Michael Dezuanni & Anna Whateley
Michael Dezuanni and Anna Whateley tell us about their own home, technology in family life and the role of Minecraft in teaching digital skills across generations. They both work at Queensland University of Technology, Michael is Deputy Director of the Children and Youth Research Centre, Anna teaches adolescent fiction and the sociology of education.
Minecraft […]
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