BOOK: James Steyer’s Talking Back To Facebook
Steyer—who is a frequent commentator on national TV and radio—offers a blend of straightforward advice and anecdotes that address what he calls “RAP,” the major pitfalls relating to kids’ use of media and technology: Relationship issues, Attention/Addiction problems, and the lack of Privacy. Instead of shielding children completely from online images and messages, Steyer’s practical approach gives parents some great tools and idea to help filter content, preserve good relationships with their children, and make commonsense, value-driven judgments for kids of all ages.
In the book he takes to task digital companies that are eroding individual privacies, explores the brain research that shows that the internet and constant connectivity is changing the way we think, and explodes the myth of multitasking.
He also has an interesting (but probably unfeasible) idea- that companies and government come up with a sort of digital eraser, to be able to undo some of the damage that might be done when people post potentially damaging photos and texts to the internet.
Overall it’s a very interesting book, and well worth reading.
James Steyer has spent more than twenty years as one of the most respected experts and entrepreneurs on issues related to children’s policy and media in the United States. As founder and CEO of
Common Sense Media, he is responsible for the overall leadership of the nation’s leading nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the media lives of kids and families. Steyer began his career as an elementary school teacher and went on to become a nationally respected child advocate, public interest lawyer, and Stanford professor. Jim lives with his wife and four children in the Bay Area.
Listen (and read) the Fresh Air interview with Terri Gross
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Gertsacov is the co-founder and co-organizer of Digital Family Summit. He wears many hats, including those of a professional clown, an author and publisher, an artist/educator, a non-profit administrator, a P.T. Barnum impersonator, a flea circus impresario, and the esteemed hat of the Clown Laureate of Greenbelt, Maryland.
