Happy International Day of Families

  15^th May of every year is observed as “The International Day of Families”. You might have celebrated but why do we celebrate these international days? The United Nations observes these international days as occasions to educate the general public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity¹.

COVID-19 pandemic has changed our life. We are adjusting to a new normal. According to Anriette Esterhuysen who is a human rights defender and computer networking pioneer from South Africa, “ It will approach network resilience ‎specifically from a people-centered perspective, exploring how it has supported the human ‎resilience and solidarity needed to respond to the many challenges posed by the pandemic,”. So this year the international day of families emphasizes on the impacts of new technologies on the well-being of families. This year's resolution is “The role of digital technologies on social development and well-being of all” .

COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of digital technologies for work, education and communication.There is an expanded use of digital platforms and related technological innovations. “A new normal will accelerate digital transformation in many areas. These include digital economy, digital finance, digital government, digital health, and digital education” said Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General and Head of UN DESA.

International Family Day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. In new normal digital technologies enabled adults to continue working from home and new ways to participate, engage  and learn in school for children.

Digital technologies are used for communication and connectivity. Family time spent together for entertainment and leisure is  also using digital technologies. There is a great impact of these technologies on every humanbeing. Concerns are raised along with the positive side of digital transformation.

Exposure to screens is vulnerable for brain development for children from pre-birth through age 5. Screen exposure may affect sleep quality of children. This happens because of exposure to blue light affecting melatonin* release. As per the study, screen exposure negatively affects need for reciprocal interaction for learning language, sense of self and executive functioning

Overall screen time of Children of age group of 5-12 years leads to stress, mental health, and physical impacts on obesity and sleep. They are also exposed to threats.

Adolescence with addiction to phones may negatively impact relationships and critical thoughts.

Digital literacy is very important in this digital era. Digital literacy skills help to comfortably and safely use the internet for information. Empower women with equal access to technology, internet and digital devices.

Digital literacy of parents will be able to help their children to safe usage of the internet and digital media. This in turn may avoid interactions that negatively influence mental health.

Many times parents impose restrictions of hardware or software, including taking away technology as a punishment. If parents participate in the same game or view the same media with children then it is possible to discuss and  guide children.

The study conducted by Livingstone along with other researchers² proposed five main types of parental mediation to regulate internet and mobile media across 25 European countries of children aged 9–16 years:

1. Active mediation : By talking with child about online content, sharing experiences, and being with child during online sessions,
2. Safety mediation : By advising and guiding on safe internet use
3. Restrictive Mediation : By limiting online access by setting rules and bans
4. Technical mediation : By using of filters, parental controls 
5. Monitoring : checking online practices after use

Digital technology has united the world but created new divisions. Let us make sure digital technology is used for social development and prevent negative aspects.

References :

1. https://www.un.org/en/observances#:~:text=body,and%20reinforce%20achievements%20of%20humanity.
2. Livingstone, S., Mascheroni, G., Dreier, M., Chaudron, S. and Lagae, K. (2015) How parents of young children manage digital devices at home: The role of income, education and parental style. London: EU Kids Online, LSE. 
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin#:~:text=Melatonin%20is%20a%20hormone%20primarily,and%20is%20typically%20taken%20orally.

  *Melatonin is a hormone primarily released by the pineal gland, and has been associated with control of the sleep–wake cycle³. 

Must read articles : 

•  http://www.with-one-voice.com/sites/default/files/Nominet%20Trust%20-%20The%20impact%20of%20digital%20technologies%20on%20human%20wellbeing_0.pdf 
• https://www.un.org/development/desa/family/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2021/05/Technology-Families-Background.pdf 
• https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/family/docs/BP_WORKFAMILYBALANCE.pdf 
• http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/63378/1/__lse.ac.uk_storage_LIBRARY_Secondary_libfile_shared_repository_Content_EU%20Kids%20Online_EU_Kids_Online_How%20parents%20manage%20digital%20devices_2016.pdf