Diane Phillips is the Technical Services Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library. Read Diane Phillips' column in the October 9, 2014 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.
While classifying a stack of non-fiction books, I came across one title that caught my attention, iRules: What Every Tech-Healthy Family Needs to Know about Selfies, Sexting, Gaming, and Growing Up, by Janell Burley Hofmann. This book intrigued me because my husband and I just recently gave our son an iPad mini for his birthday. He unwrapped the gift and actually said, "Is this real or is something else in the box?" We told him that yes, indeed it was real but before he could have it, he had to listen to some rules regarding its use and care. I could tell that he was only absorbing about half (if that much) of what we were telling him. He just kept looking at the box and nodding his head and saying, "uh huh" every once in a while as we were listing the do's and don'ts. He already knew how to do most everything already having used my iPad or his friends' devices. I wanted to make sure that he fully grasped the restrictions and guidelines that we were trying to communicate. This is where Hofmann's book, iRules, comes in handy.
In the beginning of the book, Hofmann includes the set of rules in a contract that she drafted for her thirteen year old son when she and her husband gave him an iPhone for Christmas. In order to use his new present, he needed to agree to the terms. This set of rules went viral when she published them last year and since I wasn't in that frame of mind at the time, I didn't pay much attention to them. Well, I am now. Although the iPad mini doesn't have phone capabilities, it has everything else – messaging, email, internet and therefore, access to all types of social media. For a pre-teen, it's exciting and part of their culture to interact with one another electronically. Our job as parents is to teach him how to use the technology responsibly. The suggested set of rules that Hofmann provides serve as a framework for a family to adapt to their own situation. Some of the rules are, "1. It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. … 2. I will always know the password…. 8. Do not text, email, or say anything through this device you would not say in person…. 17. Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without googling." Those listed here are ones that I particularly like and yes, there are more – a total of eighteen rules in their contract. The author elaborates on each rule in the book to give the reader more information on each point and some personal narratives that describe the scenario that either created the rule or an incident that enabled them to talk about a rule and why it was in the contract.
Although this book gave us a good reference point, we were still interested in learning more about protecting our son from some of the risks of being online. We were also interested in how the technology of today is affecting the kids of this generation. To find out more, I discovered these titles which discuss more of the social and developmental aspects of technology on today's youth: The App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World by Howard Gardner and Katie Davis; The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age by Catherine Steiner-Adair; It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens by Dana Boyd. Some books that discussed parenting in this digital world are: The Parent's Guide to Texting, Facebook, and Social Media: Understanding the Benefits and Dangers of Parenting in a Digital World by Shawn Marie Edgington and Talking Back to Facebook: A Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age by James P. Steyer. These are but a few of the resources out there for parents.
If you haven't yet stepped into the realm of iPads and apps, you can try them out here at the Morrill Memorial Library. For the adults, you can check out an iPad at the Reference Desk for a three hour time period for use within the library. You can use the device to access the internet, check your email, play pre-loaded games or even use headphones and watch videos on YouTube or listen to music on internet radio. For the kids, you can use the iPads in the Children's Room. Both devices have pre-loaded apps that are child-friendly games that will keep the kiddos entertained. The iPads are used on a first come, first served basis.
