Increased Media Coverage Leaves Cyberparents Even More Helpless

Hooray! After over a decade of relative chaos and over-emphasis on safety, we are finally seeing how, as usual, while created to serve us, tools have profound effects on us. It is about time: In recent days, a spate of articles have peppered media about the effects on humans of technology. They comprise of two categories: Cognitive neuroscience and social-familial. There are alarmists and there are technophiles. Slow-to-come new research is reported, and experts are interviewed to put it in context.

So far so good. But other than piquing curiosity, this mostly alarmist reportage is piecemeal and offers scant practical advise. “In fact, parents tell me that they are left frustrated and without a comprehensive approach and practical tools. ‘What are we supposed to do?’ They are very concerned, and many try to restrict access and time, while others claim ignorance and shrug their shoulders helplessly. None of this works very well,” according to Dr. Eitan Schwarz, a veteran Chicago child-psychiatrist who uses media as play therapy in his practice.