While writing the article last July, Sharon called me for an interview, and I interviewed her back! I didn't want to wait six months for those insights into elementary-school kids' behavior on virtual playgrounds, which Sharon found pretty much mirrors what happens in real-world schoolyards, hallways, classrooms (when the teacher's not looking), family rooms, and backyards (see "Top 8 workarounds of kid virtual world users"). This is the grade-school version of social networking, and these are just additional - digital - environments for growing up, playing, expressing oneself, being a friend, testing boundaries, working out social norms, and exploring identity.
That interview last summer was the start of many fun conversations that 1) revealed a shared philosophy about youth, parents, and social media and 2) got us to thinking we should collaborate! So I'm pleased to announce a new series for NetFamilyNews: weekly installments from Undercover Mom about her experiences with fellow avatars of all sorts - "eye-opening guided tours through some of the most popular cyber-locales" of today's elementary school-aged kids. "Expect a balanced perspective and practical advice," Sharon writes, "as we delve into this uncharted parenting terrain together." This brings a new kind of balance to NetFamilyNews too, because my coverage has always been a little more focused on tweens' and teens' experiences with social media than those of 4-to-10-year-olds.
Avatar anthropology
Undercover Mom is not a spy, though. She's really a cultural anthropologist in kid virtual worlds, one with nearly 20 years' experience as a schoolteacher and educational consultant and 16 years' experience as a parent. "My intent is to give parents an understanding of what it means to be a child in the digital age," Sharon wrote me, "to help bridge the gap between digital natives and their parents with insights into the subtleties and complexities of digital childhood - not from the point of view of the media, which is perpetually hyperfocused on the dangers of Internet predators and online porn, but through the eyes of a fellow engaged parent focused on the well-being of the whole child."
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