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When I think of appropriate use of digital media I think of three components: time, place, and content. Of these, I think a lot of young (and old) people go overboard with the time aspect as much as anything. How often are you on a device? Is the communication necessary? Could it be done face-to-face? Too often I see people sitting at a restaurant, ball game, wedding, etc. interacting with their phones instead of paying attention to the people and the situation in front of them. As educators, we talk about teaching kids how to respectfully interact with others online. In my view that requires the development of empathy. The nuances of empathy are learned by reading the reaction on a person's face, listening to the tone of their voice, etc. - things that don't come across on a tweet or facebook post (regardless of how many emojis there are to choose from). While the ability to communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere is a good time, it doesn't mean it needs to be done all the time. I try to encourage my students to put their phones/computers down from time to time and to focus on the people and experiences that are in front of them.
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