Digital for Good

Starred review from June 21, 2021
Culatta (Stuttering Therapy), former head of the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, examines the promises and perils of the digital world in this stellar survey. It’s time to move beyond strict limits on screen time, he writes, and instead details how children at any age can learn to become responsible digital citizens. To that end, he offers “five practical digital citizenship skills that all kids need to learn: being balanced, informed, inclusive, engaged, and alert.” Culatta suggests parents ensure their children use technology to do more than simply “watch content,” balance recreational time with time spent building skills or maintaining personal connections, and help children to intelligently assess the vast amount of information on the web. Parents are also encouraged to make a list of “do’s,” not “don’ts,” for online time (such as being kind and honest), be more specific than “you’re addicted to your phone” if screen time becomes a problem, and facilitate nonpunishment technology breaks. His advice is easy to implement and leavened with humor: “We also found that without some structure, our well-intentioned Sunday family time quickly turns into fight-with-your-brothers-all-afternoon time (shoot me now).” The result is a trenchant and hopeful guide for parents anxious about the impact of technology on their children’s development.