What is Digital Parenting?
What if my little boy outsmarts me one day when it comes to web-based applications and social media functionality?
This thought hit me like a train a couple of days ago when I was busy posting content to BitClout. In a nutshell, BitClout is a twitter-like social media platform that runs on the DeSo blockchain, where DeSo stands for Decentralized Social. It’s a fairly new platform and I just began to grasp the influence it may have on the existing social media ecosystem.
I couldn’t help but think, someday in the future, my boy will be posting on BitClout also, and I’m going to say to him:
Your old man was there when the whole thing started!
Hopefully, when this day comes, I kept myself busy engaging on this platform so I’ll know what’s hot then. This would level the field between me and my kid, so we can have an actual conversation about the platform.
This boggled my mind for quite some time, and this is what I came up with:
Although it might be coined already, I want to introduce the term Digital Parenting. It includes so much more than respecting age ratings on video games.
- It is about how we as already grown-ups keep track of technological innovation and of its possibilities and potential harm.
- It’s about being interested in what the younglings are interested in.
- It’s about a respectful and informed conversation between parents and kids on a level playing field.
It’s a fact, we millennials can remember a time without cell phones. We can remember the awkward noise of a 56k modem connecting to the internet.
Those tiny humans are growing up with all this technology. They are used to have at least three screen devices within hands’ reach and enjoying wifi-level mobile data on their class trip to the farm.
So, the term Digital Parenting means fulfilling my parental responsibility of providing guidance when asked and also stepping in when there is potential harm. What do you think? I’d love to hear what’s your opinion on that!
Let’s get relational. What‘s on your mind, Kristina God, Adelina Vasile, Burk, Patricia Rosa?
PS: If you want to learn more about BitClout, check out this intro by Jessie van Breugel
