Title: Tech Etiquette: Old-Fashioned Manners in a Wired World
Word Count: about 1300 words
Abstract:
According to a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project titled Teens and Technology: Youth are Leading the Transition to a Fully Wired and Mobile Nation, 84% of all teens own at least one personal media device (cell phone, laptop, PDA, MP3 player) and nearly half of all teens own at least two such devices. That’s a lot of wired kids – and parents, schools and communities are seeing increasing levels of technology-enabled bad behavior among kids. So what can parents do to stem the tide? This article offers real world strategies kids (and parents!) can use to keep things civilized in a wired world.
Excerpt:
giv yr kdz d 411 on teknoloG Ps n Qs b4 it’s 2l8
A friend told me recently that her adolescent daughter had just broken up with her boyfriend.
“Oh, those conversations can be so hard,” I said, sympathizing.
“Well, apparently my daughter didn’t think so. She just texted the poor boy,” my friend replied. “Its ovr 2 bad 4 U l8r lsr dnt 911 NEmor xoxo jen” (see sidebar: Lost in Translation). My friend was embarrassed by her daughter’s actions, and wondered what she could have done as a parent to help her daughter handle the situation with more tact.
Nancy Willard, author of Computer Ethics, Etiquette and Safety for the 21st Century Student, suggests getting back to basics by teaching kids a few simple “tests” to help them choose more civilized behavior when using cell phones, email, text messaging, IM and other technology tools (see sidebar: Tech Etiquette Sanity Tests) . . .
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