Main description:

Parents often worry about raising kids in a tech-saturated world - the threats of cyberbullying, video game violence, pornography, and sexting may seem inescapable. And while these dangers exist, there is a much more common and subtle way that technology can cause harm: by eroding our attention spans. Focused attention is fundamental to maintaining quality relationships, but our constant interaction with screens and social media is shortening our attention spans -
which takes a toll on our personal connections with friends and family and our ability to form real relationships.

Tech Generation: Raising Balanced Kids in a Hyper-Connected World guides parents in teaching their children how to reap the benefits of living in a digital world while also preventing its negative effects. Mike Brooks and Jon Lasser, psychologists with extensive experience working with kids, parents, and teachers, combine cutting-edge research and expertise to create an engaging and helpful guide that emphasizes the importance of the parent-child relationship. They reject an "all or
nothing" attitude towards technology, in favor of a balanced approach that neither idealizes nor demonizes the digital. Brooks and Lasser provide strategies for preventing technology from becoming problematic in the first place; steps for addressing problems when they arise; and ways of intervening when
problems are out of control. They also discuss the increasingly challenging issue of technology use in schools, and how parents can collaborate with educators when concerns arise over kids' use of technology.

Contents:

1. Introduction2. Technology in Our Lives3. Is Our Technology Making Us Any Happier?4. The Pull of Our Screens5. The Effects on Technology on Children and Families6. Press Start: It's About the Relationship7. Green Light Strategies for Prevention8. Yellow Light Strategies for Emerging Concerns9. Red Light Strategies for When Intervention is Necessary10. Parenting, Technology, and SchoolingSummary