Show 9: Modern Families & The Digital Age

Social networking, smart phones, the internet and instant messaging have always been a part of today's kid's world. All this digital distraction can seriously cut into family time - and, it's not only the kids who are guilty of excess "screen time" these days, parents are just as likely to be distracted by phones, games, tvs, computers and gadgets. So on this episode we're exploring the challenges (and the benefits!) of raising a modern family in these high-tech times.

IN-STUDIO GUESTS: Joining KTD Host Shana Sheehy to talk all things high-tech is...

• Anne Collier, the founder and editor of Net Family News, co-director of ConnectSafely.org and the co-chair of the presidential administration's Online Safety & Technology Working Group. Anne is also the co-author of MySpace Unraveled: A Parent's Guide to Teen Social Networking. She joined us by phone from Luxembourg where she was attending the European Commission's Safer Internet Forum.

RESOURCES FROM THIS PROGRAM:

• Kaiser Family Foundation Study
• Net Family News/ Anne Collier's response to the study
• PBS Talk Tips: Digital Media & Kids (opens as PDF)
• NY Times article: Toddlers' Favorite Toy: The iPhone
• ASD Voices video competition

FEATURED STORIES:

- Education unplugged - While computers are a daily staple in many modern schools, not all institutions are incorporating technology into their curricula. KTD Contributor Jessica Cochran visited the Aurora Waldorf School in Anchorage where education gets unplugged. [Listen]

- Best Apps for Kids - Contributor, Paul Flahive, reports on the coolest apps for kids, and speaks to Gizmodo.com tech blogger, John Herrman, about the emerging app market for children. [Listen]

- Raising 'Techno Addicts' - Local writer and mother of two, Leslie Hsu Oh, shares an original essay on the ups and downs of raising, what she calls, "Techno Addicts". This is her first contribution to her original blog written just for KidsTheseDays.org - Love + eMotion. [Listen]