Recently, a term launched by the United Nations to meet the educational needs of this era has emerged, namely “Digital parenting” or “Digital Education,” in order to draw attention to the fact that there is a different role for parents towards their children, and they must become familiar with the characteristics of the Black Mirror generation (those who follow television, iPad, and mobile phone screens…) in order to recognize the distinctive features of this generation that grew up in front of screens, and how the realities of their era have changed them, so that they can carry out successful parenting.
There are many studies that have examined the changes and characteristics of this generation. I will mention some of the most important characteristics and summarize them:
- Inflated self-esteem, pride in oneself, and prioritizing oneself above all else.
- An increase in the level of creativity that surpassed all human creativity since the beginning of time.
- Weak and fragile values, with attention given to appearance at the expense of substance.
Low level of social awareness due to a lack of human interaction.
- Deterioration of ethics and methods of dealing politely with the group.
- Emotional recklessness, impulsiveness, and resorting to violence often in dealing with people.
Lack of patience and ambition; they cannot tolerate slow learning, and it is difficult for them to compete with the screen; therefore, they developed a hatred of school and dropped out of education.
They have an addiction to screens, where the happiness hormone is only released in front of the screen, and they feel anxious and unattracted to anything other than screens.
Health problems and poor general health, sleep disturbances and lack of fitness, hysteria and disruption of priorities and the day.
These were the most prominent characteristics of the Black Mirror generation. Our knowledge of them now leads us to think about two things:
1- How should children be treated correctly?
2- How do we face these challenges to bring them to safety and fulfill our duty of proper upbringing?
There are many approaches for educators, and the methods of upbringing vary between authoritarianism, neglect, and care… I will not go into describing them all, but I will describe what the educator should be distinguished by at this stage, and let us call him the wise and mature one.
First: Perhaps the most important qualities are love, acceptance, expressing feelings, and spreading affection to the extent that it leads to a warm and positive relationship.
Secondly: Establishing clear rules and regulations in collaboration with the children to ensure their safety and define their daily routine. For these rules and regulations to be effective, the parent must be resolute and consistent in enforcing them, and encourage the children to adhere to and respect them.
Examples of some controls that an educator can put in place: - Permission must be sought before connecting to the internet and accessing any account.
- Preventing the acceptance of any invitations from friends and contacts without informing the educator.
– Prohibiting the exchange of personal information.
- Blocking the abuser or inappropriate websites.
Third: Paying attention and being vigilant to the dangers that children are exposed to, and being aware of the dangers and cybercrimes such as spying, blackmail, and others… and not being negligent, and the necessity of observing and being present with them, as the presence of a degree of anxiety makes the parent not feel secure from the dangers of digital relationships and their negatives, which may harm his child, provided that the degree of anxiety does not exceed its limit and harm the level of trust in the child and respect for his privacy.
Fourth: Empowering children and honing their digital skills to raise their efficiency in dealing with the digital space safely and professionally, balancing between granting permissions so that they do not become illiterate in their digital age, and prohibiting them so that they do not become addicted.
Fifth: The educator should be a role model and example, not sitting for hours in front of devices. We should also enhance the child’s social interaction with family members and present him with diverse human role models so that he may learn from them and with them the ethics of social interaction.
Dear parent, plant the love of God, His Messenger, and the correct faith in the hearts of your children. Build values from a young age and review them constantly. Make your child feel that God is watching him, that He sees him and knows his secrets and his public actions. Do not complain about the times or blame the environment, for complaining weakens resolve. Remember that screens are a blessing, just like anything else. They are neutral tools and do not cause addiction in themselves, but misuse is what makes them dangerous. What causes addiction may be the child's enthusiasm, his love of discovery, his curiosity, or the desire to spend enjoyable time… and the most dangerous thing is the absence of guidance, supervision, and controls.
So have faith in your abilities, review your goals, and envision the future you want your son to be like.
So make up your mind and put your trust in God, and do not hesitate to regulate screen time and do not give in to the pressure of the child. You are responsible and you are the one who makes the decision and reaps the consequences. Spending a lot of time on screens does not make our children more intelligent. Talk to your child and spend time with him, for there is no substitute for human interaction to instill values and morals. Be a leader for your children, listen to them and stay away from blaming and reprimanding them, converse with them, encourage them and remind them, give love and respect privacy, establish values and review them, hold them accountable for shortcomings, face problems with courage and responsibility, and rely on God and put your trust in Him and arm yourself with supplication to God to help you, guide your children and protect them.