Child + technology = so much to learn

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of OurPact.

* * * 
My five-year-old son knows what Facebook is and what it looks like, and he knows how to scroll through my Instagram photos. He will understand, in time, that social media is part of my job...my passion...my livelihood.

What I also want him to understand, as he grows, is that social media is like a glossy advertisement in a magazine. It’s a slice of life not necessarily representing REAL life, with a capital R. The recent tragedy of Madison Holleran and the incongruence between her social media image and her real feelings reinforces that I need to teach my son about the pitfalls of social media. It can be the 21st-century version of "Keeping Up with the Joneses" and spurs comparisons to ghost realities.

Photo by Lynn Friedman, Flickr Creative Commons

The technology of computers in its infancy when I was a kid is vastly different now. It’s my job to keep up with it as much as I can, but even more importantly, I have to keep the lines of communication open. I can put blocks on apps, video, and internet content, but he’s going to be exposed to various forms of media through school and through friends and I can’t control all of it. Together, we must navigate and discuss issues as they come up, and tackle them.

When I finally got an iPad for Christmas last year, I asked a few of my mom friends about setting technology limits. They didn’t say anything about hard and fast rules for time limits, or specific ways to determine what was best. They used phrases like "everything in moderation" and “you'll find your own balance” and “use your best judgement.” That made sense to me.

So far, I haven’t worried much about his electronic consumption. But that’s the thing: technology moves very fast. There is no way to know what the popular social media channels will be when he’s old enough to have his own account. There are a scant eight years between now and the time he turns 13, the age that Facebook has set as a requested age minimum for an account.

Think about how much has changed in the last ten years. Facebook exploded. Then Twitter. The iPhone. The tablet. And the influx of social media channels competing for attention with the already-established ones means that eventually, something is going to stick. Today’s Ello, YikYak, Burn Note, or SnapChat will be either tomorrow’s Facebook or it will be as obsolete as a VCR. They become proficient in a network before anyone's ever heard of it, and when it becomes commonplace, they seem to abandon it.

Some of the things I want him to know are reminders for me, too:

1) Don't let social media be a substitute for real-life interaction. Get your face out of the phone.

2) Hold your life to your own set of standards and not to what is pictured in filtered Instagram photos.

3) Ensure that the face you are presenting to the world via social media is the one you want people to remember about you. Consider your privacy very carefully.

4) There is a lot of bad information and junk on the internet. Don't waste your time on it.

5) Stay away from online drama, but speak up when you see something unkind or dangerous. Manners and etiquette are important online, too.

I'm keeping my eye on sites like AskDocG, AgeCheq and CommonSenseMedia and Family Online Safety Institute for tips on the newest media and how to determine what is appropriate.

A friend recommended I check out an app called OurPact, and it has a lot of features I can use with my son as he grows, including internet blocking, social media blocking, time limits, even household chores. He starts kindergarten in the fall, and with school comes more responsibility, homework, and good sleep becomes even more necessary; his elementary school has an iPad for each child, and that means that I'll want to ensure that he is not on it constantly at home too.

For now, I'm learning, and then teaching as I go. With any luck, I will have set a good example for him to follow, and my monitoring of his computer and internet use will be a streamlined way to ensure that we're all on the same page.

* * * 

If you have any ideas for me, I would love to hear them! There's a lot I don't know. 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of OurPact.

* * * 
OurPact is a tool for parents to harness the power of their child’s mobile device to their advantage. By allowing parents and children to set agreements and implement responsible habits into their daily routine, OurPact allows parents and children to use the world of mobile to strengthen their relationships through communication and compromise.

OurPact was born from the idea that responsibility can be taught through technology. Mobile device use can be hard to grapple with, so we have built OurPact with the functionality of family life in mind. We’re here to help you balance the risks and rewards of iOS and Android technology for your family, with ease.

Need a family contract? They have one for you here. 

Website  |  iTunes Store  | Android coming soon