Children and Media

Amid growing concern over social media’s impact and influence on today’s youth, a new Pew Research Center survey of US teens finds that many young people acknowledge the unique challenges – and benefits – of growing up in the digital age. Roughly eight-in-ten teens ages 13 to 17 (81%) say social media makes them feel more connected to what’s going on in their friends’ lives, while around two-thirds say these platforms make them feel as if they have people who will support them through tough times.

The Federal Communications Commission is moving toward adopting a new rule that community television groups say would gut funding for public, educational and governmental channels. “The loser if that ends up happening will be the local taxpayer, the local cable subscriber and the everyday citizens who rely on access to public information that’s provided through these programs,” said Geoffrey C. Beckwith, executive director and CEO of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

When Winterset (IA) Community Schools launched its one-to-one device program, staff celebrated the milestone. But then parents and students began to complain that they didn’t have sufficient Wi-Fi at home to access the online assignments students were expected to complete after school hours. They had Chromebooks, but no connection.“And we said, ‘That’s not acceptable here. We’ve got to figure out a way to fix that,’” said Susie Meade, the superintendent of Winterset Community Schools.

Privacy groups are pressing the Federal Trade Commission for the status of their complaint against Google.

Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called on the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into new evidence of manipulative marketing practices in apps directed at children. A new study recently published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics reveals numerous instances of children’s games using advertising techniques that appear to constitute unfair and deceptive practices under Section V of the FTC Act.

More than 10.7 million low-income households in the United States lack access to quality internet service. In cities like San Jose (CA), local governments are using streetlight poles to facilitate equitable access to high-speed internet to dramatically improve educational outcomes for low-income students and expand economic opportunity for their families.

In apps marketed for children 5 and under in the Google Play store, there were pop-up ads with disturbing imagery. There were ads that no child could reasonably be expected to close out of, and which, when triggered, would send a player into more ads. Dancing treasure chests would give young players points for watching video ads, potentially endlessly. The vast majority of ads were not marked at all. Characters in children’s games gently pressured the kids to make purchases, a practice known as host-selling, banned in children’s TV programs in 1974 by the Federal Trade Commission.

The people who are closest to a thing are often the most wary of it. Technologists know how phones really work, and many have decided they don’t want their own children anywhere near them. A wariness that has been slowly brewing is turning into a regionwide consensus: The benefits of screens as a learning tool are overblown, and the risks for addiction and stunting development seem high. The debate in Silicon Valley now is about how much exposure to phones is OK.

America’s public schools are still promoting devices with screens — even offering digital-only preschools. The rich are banning screens from class altogether. It wasn’t long ago that the worry was that rich students would have access to the internet earlier, gaining tech skills and creating a digital divide. Schools ask students to do homework online, while only about two-thirds of people in the US have broadband internet service.

Some 15% of US households with school-age children do not have a high-speed internet connection at home, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of 2015 US Census Bureau data. New survey findings from the Center also show that some teens are more likely to face digital hurdles when trying to complete their homework.