15 July 2021
Mrs Yvonne Kong-Ho, a parent to a 12 year old son and a 10 year old daughter, calls herself a “low-tech, high-touch” parent. Her son has a basic phone which he uses to call and text her when he is in school, while her daughter has no devices.
She says, “Social media, smartphones, it’s like a knife. You can use it for good or you can use it for bad purposes.”
Experts agree with her. In the post-pandemic world where screens are used to learn, socialise and destress, it is more important than ever that parents teach their kids to master digital life skills and become digitally resilient. In addition, as children’s digital footprints expanded exponentially last year during the pandemic, so did the threats to their online safety.
Dr Yuhyun Park, founder of DQ Institute, an international think-tank, says: “Digital parenting is not about parents having control over their children’s technology use. Rather, it is about parents empowering them to be good digital citizens who can minimise risks and maximise potential in the digital world.”