Raising Humans in a Digital World : Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology

Sexting, cyberbullying, revenge porn, online predators... all of these potential threats can tempt parents to snatch the smartphone or tablet right out of their children's hands. While avoidance might eliminate the dangers, that approach also means your child misses out on technology's many benefits and opportunities. Raising Humans in a Digital World shows how digital kids must learn to navigate this environment, through developing social-emotional skills balancing virtual and real life building safe and healthy relationships avoiding cyberbullies and online predators protecting personal information identifying and avoiding fake news and questionable content becoming positive role models and leaders. This book is packed with at-home discussion topics and enjoyable activities that any busy family can slip into their daily routine. Full of practical tips grounded in academic research and hands-on experience, today's parents finally have what they've been waiting for?a guide to raising digital kids who will become the positive and successful leaders our world desperately needs. Praise for Raising Humans in a Digital World "If you need practical, positive advice on how to handle your and your kids' digital lives, look no further. This book tackles the risks and addresses the potential harms, while keeping our eyes on the prize of the remarkable rewards that the online world brings." ?Stephen Balkam, founder & CEO, Family Online Safety Institute "Raising Humans in a Digital World is not only a timely book, it's essential reading for every parent, grandparent, and teacher. Diana Graber empowers you through her educational (proven and practical) curriculum and engages you through anecdotal stories." ?Sue Scheff, founder of Parents' Universal Resource Experts and author of Shame Nation, Google Bomb, and Wit's End "Brilliant, compelling, and essential are the first words that came to my mind when reading Diana Graber's Raising Humans in a Digital World. Diana not only taps her own exemplary expertise but also assembles a "who's who" of digital thought leaders to deliver a treasure trove of pragmatic advice via an engaging storytelling style." ?Alan Katzman, founder and CEO, Social Assurity LLC "Diana Graber not only shows parents how to create safe and responsible relationships in this ever-changing digital world, but she gives them the powerful tools to navigate through the many aspects of what is required to keep kids safe online. The misuse of technology and the cruel behaviors that take place daily by kids and teens can be changed, and Graber shows this in her informative and educational book Raising Humans in a Digital World. The book should be every parent's bible as a resource to ensure that their children are responsible and safe." ?Ross Ellis, founder and CEO, STOMP Out Bullying "This beautifully written book gives you the tools to raise healthy kids in a digital world. The anecdotes underscore the thoughtfulness of today's youth and their hunger for learning how to navigate their world well, instead of just being warned off by fearful adults. It is thoughtfully organized and theoretically sound, and will empower parents to have some of those much-needed conversations with their kids." ?Dr. Pamela Rutledge, director, Media Psychology Research Center and faculty member, Fielding Graduate University Digital literacy advocate Diana Graber demystifies the complicated digital landscape facing today's kids and provides answers for parents and teachers eager to show them how to use technology as an empowering force in their lives and in their role as future leaders. Simply telling your child to stay away from technology may eliminate the dangers but also means that your child loses out on the many benefits and opportunities that technology brings. In Raising Humans in a Digital World, digital literacy advocate and founder of Cyberwise, Diana Graber, a mother, producer, and educator with an M.A. in Media Psychology and Social Change, demystifies the complicated digital landscape today's kids are navigating and provides answers for parents eager to know how to teach their kids to use technology well. Here are some startling facts about the current relationship of children with technology: 50% of teens feel addicted to their phones -- Common Sense Media, 2016. 34% of students will experience cyberbullying in their lifetimes -- Cyberbullying Research Center, 2016. 39% of teens have sent or posted sexually suggestive messages (sexting) --GuardChild 2017 80% of students can't differentiate between real and fake news -- Stanford University, 2016 Technology is making children dangerously unhealthy -- World Health Organization, 2017 Graber draws upon eight years of in-classroom experience teaching her popular Cyber Civics curriculum, now taught in over 30 US states and internationally, plus countless discussions with and presentations to parents, educators, and students. She weaves in interviews with top experts, including other media psychologists, tech insiders, pediatricians, educators, journalists, and more, with her own story--to explain why and how digital kids must learn social-emotional skills; balancing virtual and real life; building safe and healthy relationships; avoiding the dangers of sexting, cyberbullying, revenge porn, and online predators; protecting personal information; identifying and avoiding fake news, harmful stereotypes, and questionable content; and becoming the positive role models and leaders of tomorrow. Raising Humans in a Digital World is packed with at-home discussion topics and enjoyable activities that any busy family can slip into their daily routine. Full of practical tips grounded in academic research and hands-on experience, this book gives parents what they've been waiting for--a guide to raising digital kids who will become the positive and successful leaders our world so desperately needs The Internet can be a scary, dangerous place especially for children. This book shows parents how to help digital kids navigate this environment. Sexting, cyberbullying, revenge porn, online predators...all of these potential threats can tempt parents to snatch the smartphone or tablet out of their children’s hands. While avoidance might eliminate the dangers, that approach also means your child misses out on technology’s many benefits and opportunities. In Raising Humans in a Digital World , digital literacy educator Diana Graber shows how children must learn to handle the digital space through: developing social-emotional skills balancing virtual and real life building safe and healthy relationships avoiding cyberbullies and online predators protecting personal information identifying and avoiding fake news and questionable content becoming positive role models and leaders Raising Humans in a Digital World is packed with at-home discussion topics and enjoyable activities that any busy family can slip into their daily routine. Full of practical tips grounded in academic research and hands-on experience, today’s parents finally have what they’ve been waiting for—a guide to raising digital kids who will become the positive and successful leaders our world desperately needs.