Parenting in the digital world

Source: Tribune

There is no doubt that we live in a world that has seen exponential progress when it comes to the digital enablement of our lives. And that this digital progress has forced us to find a balance to use these progressions to better our lives while fighting the negative impacts that arise over time. It is a classic double-edged sword situation. In the midst of this puzzle, even as adults, we continue to educate ourselves and wrap our minds around the efforts required to found a balance. However, many of us are also responsible for parenting our little ones. Parenting in this era requires providing our young with advanced critical thinking abilities and emotional strength so they are independent enough to distinguish between decisions that will enhance their lives and those that will harm their lives. On top of that, let’s not forget that we are dealing with a pandemic that overlays its own short-term and long-term impacts on us as individuals, as parents, as well as on our kids. How do we do this in a world that is seeing hyper digital progressions fueled by the pandemic? Let’s face it, we support one another to guide our collective and individual journeys. We are in this together.

Over the years, the rise of social media, handheld devices and information accessibility has increased the occurrence of depression, anxiety, fear, and isolation in kids from an early age. Technology that hailed the possibility of creating stronger connections has created distance.