CHILDREN AND GOOD DIGITAL MANNERS

In Good Company CEO Lew Bayer was recently asked to comment on children and “good digital manners.” She had this to say :
“As a civility expert for the past 18 years, my companies  offer social skills training and supports for both parents and children. I would say that parents should think first about whether a 7-10 year old for example needs to be online at all – e.g., emailing and engaging in Facebook or Tweeting etc.  Our research shows that if children first learn to communicate effectively face to face, they tend to transfer their understanding of empathy, courtesy, and relational respect with them.

As an example, when children are encouraged to interact face to face they learn subtle nonverbal cues and tonal nuances that they just can’t learn being online. Once they understand how words hurt, how to apologize, how to show empathy when in person, many children automatically carry that knowledge with them when engaging online. However, many children these days spend far more time online than they do in live social settings and so they don’t know how to be kind online or what is appropriate. Additionally they have access and exposure to language and content that is beyond their emotional and social capacity.

I would also say that parents and schools should be requiring that children learn respectful communications and online etiquette BEFORE they get online so that there is less meanness to worry about.”