Common Sense Media: Information for Families

Hello, Team Remote Families! This week's blog diverges from my traditional communique about the goings-on for Team Remote to include some resources for families that pertain to students' digital well-being from a trusted source--Common Sense Media.

Common Sense Media

When I was a kid, I remember sitting in front of the TV with my family watching '70s classics like the Muppet Show, Sonny and Cher, and the Gong Show. Flash forward to today and family time in front of the TV is so much different! My own kids couldn't care less about what is on cable TV--they have access to all the media they can handle on their phones, diving down the rabbit hole on TikTok and YouTube for hours on end. 

Even before the pandemic, today's young people have been immersed in the world of digital media for better or worse. One of the resources I rely on to assess the impact of digital technology on students is Common Sense Media, a non-profit organization that provides education and advocacy to families to promote safe technology and media for children. 

It is the mission of Common Sense Research to provide parents, educators, health organizations, and policymakers with reliable, independent data on children's use of media and technology and the impact it has on their physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development.

Their Research Program was recently updated to include some data-driven insights into families' and educators' experiences with media and technology. Although this information isn't necessarily related to WG's Remote Learning modality, I thought you might find it insightful to review some of their most recent research. One thing I learned--some of the most commonly mentioned personalities teens say they trust for news on social media or YouTube include PewDiePie and Beyonce rather than their local news media! 

• The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Age Zero to Eight, 2020
• Children, Executive Functioning, and Digital Media, A Review, 2020
• CSM/Survey Monkey Poll: Teens Don't Like Online Learning but Still Prefer to Play it Safe, September 2020
• Tweens, Teens, Tech, and Mental Health: Coming of Age in an Increasingly Digital, Uncertain, and Unequal World, July 2020
• CSM/Survey Monkey Poll: How Teens are Coping and Connecting in the Time of Coronavirus, April 2020
• Teens and the News: The Influencers, Celebrities, and Platforms they say Matter Most, 2020

Click here for more of Common Sense Media's research articles. Note: You may be asked to create a free basic account on Common Sense's website to review the full reports. You might also be interested in Common Sense's "Parents Need to Know" pages with helpful information about digital applications that are popular with young people like Fortnite, Snapchat, TikTok and more. 

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