THE "BIG MOTHER" EFFECT

Parenting is hard...

Digital Parenting is HARDER!

Being a digital parent is like walking along a narrow line. It is the art of balancing personal privacy with safety and surveillance.

Cyberparents are at risk of making two mistakes

Digital Parents risk (a) becoming too involved in their teen's online activity, or (b) remaining unaware of the digital dangers their child has and will be exposed to.

PARENTS AND SOCIAL MEDIA

• THE CONS OF MONITORING TEENS' SOCIAL MEDIA:
• Teen's loss of privacy, and permanent loss of trust in parents
• Parents may see/ find out more than they wanted to know
• The "Big Mother" effect
• Culminating, in a more extreme version of helicopter parenting

The "Big Mother" Effect is a play on George Orwell's term "Big Brother" that voices concerns of too much surveillance. It aligns monitoring children's online and mobile activities with snooping.

The term "Big Mother" has been used to critique digital parenting, usually comparing a child's online activity to their journal. If you wouldn't read one, why read the other?

Cyberparenting has also been compared with "helicopter" parenting.

The question:

Is Digital Parenting worse than "Helicopter" Parenting?

The ANSWER:

Yes: "A helicopter hovers above, at a safe distance, with lots of insulating air between them. Cyberparents, on the other hand, are squished right up next to their offspring"
- Dan Savage, quoted in "Cyberparenting and the Risk of T.M.I", New York Times

No: The digital era calls for more involved parenting with the internet and all its threats.

While there is a lot of negativity surrounding DIGITAL PARENTING, the need for it is UNDENIABLE!

WHY CYBERPARENTS ARE GOOD

CYBERBULLYING FACTS:

• 88% of teens have witnessed others be mean or cruel on social media
• 15% of teens say they have been the target of online meaness
• Adult social media users are just as likely to say something mean or cruel
• And 19% of teens have been bullied in the last year in some form
• Half the time, the bullying occurs online.

CYBERPARENTS CAN ALSO:

ONLINE PRIVACY IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE

• It protects against identity theft
• It protects against online predators
• And it ensures that some info isn't publicly consumed

OTHER REASONS FOR CYBERPARENTING

• Sexting
• Loss of damage of teen's reputation
• Open communication between parents and children
• HAPPY CONNECTED FAMILY

UKNOW.COM

• A website that helps make digital parenting easier
• uKnow powers smart tools that connect & protect digital families
• Helps parents and kids understand and manage their digital footprint
• The application is not a secret to the kids
• Helps families stay connect!!

THEREFORE

BECOME DIGITAL PARENTS!!

SOURCES:

• "Cyberparenting and the Risk of T.M.I", New York Times
• PEW Research Internet Project, "Teens, kindness and cruely on social media
• "Big Brother? No, It's Parents", Somini Sengupts, The New York Times
• www.uKnow.com
• "Snooping on your kids", Mathew Ingram, Gigaom.com