‘Technology as the Beach’ – how a new way of thinking about children’s use of digital technologies may lead to better outcomes for children

Children’s use of digital technology such as tablet computers, mobile phones and TVs is a hot topic of community interest. However, parents and professionals working with children and families currently receive conflicting messages about how best to use technologies with young children.

Media reports highlight the potential physical, mental and social wellbeing risks of children using technology but also suggest digital technology use is essential to children’s learning, development and socialisation.

Technology as potentially harmful, but also essential for learning, development and socialisation, suggests a conflict between using or not using technology with children. This conflict can be seen in guidelines from government and other authorities. For example, public health guidelines typically position ‘screens’ as toxic and recommend their use should be minimised¹ whilst education and industry organisations promote their use to support children’s learning and social participation as citizens² and the United Nations declare access to digital technology as a right of children³. We have previously argued that these opposing perspectives create confusion and that a new perspective is needed⁴. We have also noted that the community experiences with COVID-19 highlighted the use of technology for education, play and staying in touch with friends and family and provided an opportunity to re-imagine children’s technology use⁵.

One way of reducing the conflict between using or not using technology may be to think about children using technologies in the same way we think about helping children to enjoy the beach.

The beach can be a risky place for children – they could drown, be dumped by a wave and experience an injury, there are many creatures there that could harm children, or children might get sunburnt, and later in life develop skin cancer.

However, the beach can also be an engaging and happy place for children – they can have fun with friends, play games with family, or relax. Opportunities to be physically active at the beach help children to develop stronger muscles, bones, coordination and heart fitness. They benefit from socialising with family and friends, and get to learn about and experience nature.

It would seem extreme to ban children from enjoying the beach because of the risks. Rather, as a community and as parents we create a series of safeguards to help children gain the benefits of being at the beach whilst respecting and navigating the risks. We set up ‘swim between the flags’ safe zones, we have responsible adults accompany children, we teach children critical skills like how to swim, how to spot a rip, and how to ‘be sunsmart’, and we engage with our children to help them play, learn and socialise respectfully with friends and family.

What would the conflict between using or not using technologies with children look like if we thought about technology like we think about the beach? Yes, there are risks, but using technology also has benefits for children. Just like at the beach where children develop skills like swimming and knowledge about the ocean, using technology allows children to develop skills and knowledge to navigate the digital environment and its many opportunities for learning and education.

We think research should be directed towards enabling children to gain the benefits whilst reducing the risks.

For example, we worked with Early Childhood Australia to develop a Statement on Young Children and Digital Technologies⁶. This assists educators to develop practices which help children learn about using digital technology while enabling positive relationships, supporting their health and well-being, promoting digital citizenship and fostering opportunities for digital play and learning.

Similarly, in an Australian Research Council funded project⁷ we are working with ABC Kids, the Raising Children Network and PlaygroupWA to develop resources for parents to use technology to promote physical activity in young children and help parent strategies to support children to learn self-management skills to transition smoothly from sitting at a screen to some other activity. We also collaborate with the Australian Council on Children and the Media to support their work providing guidance on movies and apps that are appropriate for children.

We have also recently started work as part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child to bring together the perspectives of different areas of knowledge to provide evidence-based information considering the whole child⁸.

Parents are risk managers and promotors of experimentation to enable children to develop competence and confidence in many things (hot water, relationships, learning to walk, hygiene, roads, sharp objects etc). Instead of focussing on conflict and contributing to adult confusion about children using technology, now is the time to rethink how, why and when to use technology in positive ways which minimise risk – just like we ensure children are safe, well and happy at the beach. This would help families to better prepare their children for life in a digital world.

References

1. Department of Health (2017). Australian 24-hour movement guidelines for the early years (birth to 5 years): an integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. Commonwealth of Australia. Canberra, Australia.
2. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (2009). Belonging, being and becoming: the early years learning framework for Australia. Commonwealth of Australia. Canberra, Australia.
3. United Nations (2021). General comment No.25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment. Committee on the Rights of the Child, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. CRC Geneva, Switzerland.
4. Straker, L., J. Zabatiero, S. Danby, K. Thorpe and S. Edwards (2018). Conflicting guidelines on young children’s screen time and use of digital technology create policy and practice dilemmas. Journal of Pediatrics 202: 300-303.
5. Straker, L., V. Booth, V. Cleland, S. Gomersall, D. Lubans, T. Olds, L. Reece, N. Ridgers, M. Stylianou, G. Tomkinson and K. Hesketh (2022). Re-imagining physical activity for children following the systemic disruptions from the COVID pandemic in Australia. British Journal of Sports Medicine. June. Retrieved from https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/early/2022/05/18/bjsports-2021-105277.full.pdf
6. Edwards, S., L. Straker and H. Oakey (2018). Statement on Young Children and Digital Technologies. Early Childhood Australia. Canberra, Australia.
7. Edwards, S., A. Nolan, M. Henderson, S. Grieshaber, K. Highfield, A. Salamon, H. Skouteris and L. Straker (2020). Rationale, design and methods protocol for participatory design of an Online Tool to support industry service provision regarding digital technology use ‘with, by and for’ young children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17: 8819.
8. Straker, L., A. Beynon, S. Smith, D. Johnson, P. Wyeth, J. Sefton-Green and L. Kervin (May 2020 preprint). Towards a transdisciplinary approach to evidence-based decision making regarding digital technology use with, by and for children. Retrieved from osf.io/7krjv

Acknowledgments

Australian Research Council Linkage Project #LP190100387 and Centre of Excellence #CE200100022