Dr. Mary Aiken:

That is a very important point. The literature shows us that where parents adopt too much surveillance of their children online, by hacking their phones or trying to read their messages, their children are less likely to go to their parents if they are in genuine trouble. Another point for parents is to avoid the impulse to vent their frustration with technology on the child when the child does something wrong. We see parents confiscate smart phones, iPads and computers where, say, a child broke a curfew. Where that 13 year old child goes to their bedroom hating the parent, the world and himself or herself, one has actually deprived the child of his or her entire support network. We do not want to do that. Go old school and make them mow the lawn or wash the dishes, but do not vent one's frustration with technology on the child. We are talking about smart phones, which are a transactional entity. They are here and the child is here. What is coming next is head-mounted display units, HMDU; full helmets and virtual reality environments. The problems we are talking about now will be exacerbated when the child is not only psychologically immersed in the space, but physically encased in it.