This entry refers to the article “Fighting the Internet Invasion of Childhood” by Martin Kutnowski in the WSJ on Wednesday September 10, 2014 on page A13 (Opinion section).
Reading about the efforts that Kutnowski has made to ameliorate the negative impacts of accessing the Internet is interesting and sparks my empathy as a parent. From my perspective, the Internet, especially in its early adopter days, was a research and academic tool with its main feature being communication innovation. These were its best days which are now faded because of the extensive pollution that it now carries – like river basins overcome by industrial waste. The Internet poses relatively minuscule benefit today thanks partly to the push to monetize its access and use. That is a major reason why the Internet is a negative factor in childhood development – in academics, family and social ways.
I like how Kutnowski describes his strategy to program his wireless modem (router actually, I would presume) to set access enabled times. Hopefully, he has learned how to program restricted web sites and read router logs too. I’m not sure why he uses “hacking” to describe what he did with the modem; perhaps its because he was not aware this was necessary in the parenting skill set.
I like too that he shares his experiences upon returning home, at dinner, and play time. This is really good insight into the parent experience and can help youth appreciate the experimental nature of parenting. As we read about the experimental trials in this story, we learn that the parent needs to build and maintain intrinsic motivation. But what’s important to remember is that intrinsic motivation comes from advancement in mastery, autonomy and purpose. An empathetic positive and growth mindset also helps with sustaining this motivation between the parent-child pair.
What is concerning though in this story is the fear (as suggested by words such as “parasitic”, “zombies” and “shudder”) that is cast over the condition of internet addiction, and it would be far more beneficial if the parent could, using intrinsic motivation, make childhood far more resilient by enhancing the positive mindset in his children so that the internet is supportive rather than invasive.