Building  Family  Cyber-Values

    Papert suggests that parents establish a healthy “family learning culture” regarding the computer (p.79). One of the most important values of this is an emphasis on learning. “Parents should spend less time worrying about what the kids are doing or are not doing with computers and more time trying to find common interests or projects to do together” and support projects children take on independently of their parents (Papert, p.79). Children’s computer and decision-making skills are developed with this integration of both emotion and logic into their computer decisions and actions (Dodson, p.57). The more children’s thoughts and ideas are accepted as contributions to family decisions (especially regarding the computer), the more empowered they will become (Dodson, p.57). Empowered children not only have developed computer and decision-making skills, but a great outlet to channel their imagination and creativity.
 

    Although authoritative parents do not control their children’s computer behavior, they are an interdependent, active part of their children’s life. Papert also recognizes that children are not the only ones who learn in a dynamic family learning culture. Collaborating and supporting education with the computer is not only beneficial for the children, but the parents, too.  Regarding the dangers of the internet, Papert suggests three values that parents instill in their children as they make decisions online. These three values are honesty, respect, and materialism (p.73). Papert defines honesty as not deceiving people on the internet (in addition to being cautious not to be deceived by others). The next value includes respecting people and their ideas on the internet. The last, materialism, refers to developing the understanding that a computer is still an object, and that it is not to be used as a status symbol. Empowering children with these values enables them to be more responsible and aware online users. Papert sees the relationship between the computer and the family learning culture as a two-way street: "The computer will affect the learning culture and the learning culture will affect what you do with the computer" (p.81). As both parents and children become even more engaged with learning online, a new issue arises within the family: who gets to use the computer?

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The Cyber-Struggle Between Parents and Children by Julie Carvey

From the Flinstones to the Jetsons:
How Technology is Sprocketing the American Family into the New Millennium
 

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This project was produced for Psy 380, Social Psychology of Cyberspace, Spring 1999,  at Miami University.  All graphics in these pages are used with permission or under fair use guidelines, are in the public domain,  or were created by the authors.  Last revised: .   This document has been accessed   times since 1 May 1999.  Comments & Questions to R. Sherman