As grim as these realities are, it seems worth remarking that the current phenomenon unfolds at a time when parents and children — because of technology and the shared cultural affinities that are the product of hyper-attentive parenting — seem more connected than they had been before in this country.
As adults turn, increasingly, to mobile devices like tablets, Kindles, and iPhones, their children — even the smallest ones — are doing so as well, according to a new study, "Zero to Eight: Children's Media Use in America, 2013" by Common Sense Media, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that examines children's use of technology, and rates children's apps, games and Web sites.
Most parents are vigilant at first, but they often get too comfortable with their child's use of technology as time goes on, leaving their child vulnerable.
For parents thinking of sending a child to technology camp this summer, early-bird registrations and discounts are ending, but there is still plenty of time to sign up.
The home page of one of these "parental intelligence" firms, uKnow.com, states its role as: "Helping mom and dad understand their child's use of technology, and protect their safety, privacy and reputation".
ut just to be safe, protect your child's use of technology by using software to ease your burden.
As if to prove that the cosmos has a sense of humor, we, their technologically befuddled parents, are supposed to choose a computer for these children of the technology age as they head off to college.
So how do you navigate through what I believe is a transition in human evolution, in which the rules of reproduction are changing, without passing on the angst to these children of reproductive technology?
Crowdsourcing, an idea-child of the technology age, allows for a massive number of people to participate, as opposed to the six-person team from before.
And perhaps no wonder: Parents who show little concern about their children's use of technology themselves spend big chunks of their leisure time with media.
