Posted in cell phones, digital devices and gadgets, digital parenting, iPhones and iPads, parents and technology

Kids’ Cell Phones? Who’s in Charge Here?

Posted on by Marti Weston
Made at Wordle.com.

Read You Make the Call on Kids’ Phones in the Sunday, November 27, 2011 Washington Post. Written by columnist Michelle Singletary and aimed at the parents of digital kids, the article examines the practice of giving children cell phones at younger and younger ages. The author believes that, in reality, cell phones are simply playful gadgets that easily confuse children about the difference between needing things and wanting things.

Most Compelling Thoughts from the Article

Posted in digital parenting, parents and technology, social media, social media friends, social networking

Redefining Public Relations in Our Digital World

Posted on by Marti Weston
Check out this article about social media at Wikipedia.

If you wonder about the still-new world of social media, and are continually amazed when a few comments on a social media site affect prompt change  (whether it’s a political movement, corporate policy, or an unsatisfied customer quieted down) this New York Times article, Redefining Public Relations in the Age of Social Media, provides helpful background. The article, by Stuart Elliott, describes the evolutionary and revolutionary changes in the digital public relations world.

A Few Interesting Thoughts from the Article

Posted in 21st century job hunting, digital parenting, parents and technology

Relying on a Resume? Think Bigger!

Posted on by Marti Weston

If you are a parent helping an adolescent get started on the first hunt for a job or internship, or if you know someone who is searching for a job right now, Business Insider has just published an unusual infographic to help you understand that a resume may not always be the best — or at least not the only — job seeker’s tool.

This infographic offers an overview of the personal characteristics that employers cannot discover just by reading resumes. Any individual who seeks a position in this day and age needs to think about how to expand a resume and more clearly demonstrate these additional traits to potential employers.  These include:

  • People skills
  • Grace under pressure
  • Integrity
  • Work ethic
  • Charisma
  • Ambition
  • Leadership
  • Positive attitude

Continue reading “Relying on a Resume? Think Bigger!” →

Posted in parents and technology, research on the web, social media, social media friends, social networking

Communicating on Social Media: As American as Apple Pie?

Posted on by Marti Weston
Check out the full report at http://bit.ly/vNhmnw

The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently published new social media data, this time asking why American adults use social networks.

From my point of view, keeping in touch with people is a grand old American tradition, as traditional as apple pie. Over the years whether it’s over the backyard fence, via snail mail letter, postcard, telephone, or e-mail, Americans like to connect and communicate.

Interestingly, according to this new Pew data, adults become involved with social media — Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and others — because of the ease of keeping in touch. People use a social medium if it makes communicating with friends and family easy and fun.

Moreover, users like that social media now offers faster and faster ways to reconnect with the people from the past — something that was far more difficult in the “olden days.”

Posted in digital parenting, parent education

Texting Dictionaries for Parents of Digital Kids

Posted on by Marti Weston

Do you sometimes wonder about the meaning of all those shortened words and acronyms that arrive in kids’ e-mails and text messages?

Check out the Texting Dictionary of Acronyms, published by C.G. Publishing in 2011. I purchased mine at a gift shop, but it’s available on the web. I’ve fun pulling it out of my purse or book bag when someone mentions one the lesser known shortened words that often arrive in text messages of people under twenty-five years old. And there’s even a family-friendly version.

You can also check out those unfamiliar words at NetLingo and at the Common Sense Media Digital Glossary.

Posted in electronic communication, family conversations, interesting research, online research, parents and technology

The Global Economy, My New iPhone 4s, and Grandpa’s Voyage to America

Posted on by Marti Weston

If I had any doubt about the efficiency of the global economy, it was put to rest these past three days as I watched my new iPhone 4s traverse the world via Fed Ex, from Shenzhen, China to my front porch in northern Virginia, USA.

The iPhone began its journey on November 2nd, though allowing for time zones and the international date line, it was probably still November 1st where I live. Nevertheless, after it left China the package made intermediate stops in Hong Kong, Anchorage, Alaska, Memphis, Tennessee, and Dulles, VA, before being loaded onto the Fed Ex delivery truck in Alexandria, VA and arriving on my front porch in the early afternoon of November 4th. The package spent the most time standing still at the Fed Ex hub in Memphis, where packages accumulate all day and then fly out at night to destinations around the United States. Continue reading “The Global Economy, My New iPhone 4s, and Grandpa’s Voyage to America” →

Posted in American Academy of Pediatrics, answers to media questions, digital devices and gadgets, media literacy, parents and technology

Discouraging News on the Media Lit Frontier

Posted on by Marti Weston
Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America, p 11

The New York Times has reported on a Common Sense Media (CSM) sponsored study, Zero to Eight, Children’s Media Use in America (PDF). The Times article, Screen Time Higher Than Ever for Children, describes the study and points out that kids are in front of a screen more than ever despite the recommendations of their doctors.

After reading this I am feeling a bit more pessimistic than usual. Adults are used to tossing health caution to the wind for themselves, but we were vigilant about protecting the health of our children. Now we seem to disregard the recommendations of pediatricians — the very people who can help us do the most possible to ensure that our kids grow into strong and productive adults. Are we as a society less and less concerned about the development of strong minds? Times reporter Tamar Lewin writes:

Despite the American Academy of Pediatrics’ longstanding recommendations to the contrary, children under 8 are spending more time than ever in front of screens…

Continue reading “Discouraging News on the Media Lit Frontier” →