Tech Generation

Parents often worry about raising kids in a tech-saturated world - the threats of cyberbullying, video game violence, pornography, and sexting may seem inescapable. And while these dangers exist, there is a much more common and subtle way that technology can cause harm: by eroding our attention spans. Focused attention is fundamental to maintaining quality relationships, but our constant interaction with screens and social media is shortening our attention spans -which takes a toll on our personal connections with friends and family and our ability to form real relationships. Tech Generation: Raising Balanced Kids in a Hyper-Connected World guides parents in teaching their children how to reap the benefits of living in a digital world while also preventing its negative effects. Mike Brooks and Jon Lasser, psychologists with extensive experience working with kids, parents, and teachers, combine cutting-edge research and expertise to create an engaging and helpful guide that emphasizes the importance of the parent-child relationship. They reject an "all ornothing" attitude towards technology, in favor of a balanced approach that neither idealizes nor demonizes the digital. Brooks and Lasser provide strategies for preventing technology from becoming problematic in the first place; steps for addressing problems when they arise; and ways of intervening whenproblems are out of control. They also discuss the increasingly challenging issue of technology use in schools, and how parents can collaborate with educators when concerns arise over kids' use of technology.

The use of examples like the ones mentioned in the book work so well to engage the reader that reading the book is an enjoyable experience as well as a learning opportunity. There are concrete and doable suggestions for parents to follow that should help to accommodate the use of the new technology while maintaining some of the best practices of the past.

Mike Brooks, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and the director of the Austin Psychology & Assessment Center (ApaCenter), which is a group of psychologists and other practitioners who provide psychological and neuropsychological assessments, therapy, consultation, and coaching to people of all ages.Jon Lasser, PhD, is a professor and program coordinator of the School Psychology Program at Texas State University.