Anne Rieke Word count: 426
In class, it was asserted that family professionals who are on the front lines with families should model and encourage digital citizenship. One could argue that this is not the job of a family professional; that our work is on the content and practice of family life, not teaching about technology. What do you believe?
I agree with the assertions that were made in our class FSOS 3105. I believe that family professionals who are on the front lines with families should model and encourage digital citizenship. I believe this because family professionals are to work on the content and practice of family life, and in modern times technology is a crucial aspect of family life. Technology is at the center of almost every aspect of life today, including family life and relations and therefore healthy technology use and proper digital citizenship should be one of the main aspects of the teachings and work of family professionals.
The reality of living today is that “whether we like it or not, we are all digital citizens” we are all affected by and effecting technology on a daily basis and this should be addressed by family professionals (Godfry, 2016). While the ever-growing influence, use, and “progress of digital technologies and applications being used in schools, family, and consumer science (FCS) educators have a collective responsibility to teach what it means to be a responsible digital citizen in the virtual world” (Godfry, 2016). In this, I believe that it is the duty of family professionals to incorporate technology and the teaching and discussion of technology into their work with families, otherwise, they are not addressing a major aspect of modern-day life that had a major influence on family development and family relations.
In addition the importance of teaching digital citizenship in general, I also believe that utilizing technology in other family professions such as family educations is very important. For example, utilizing technology and talking about healthy and effective technology use in family therapy is very important, because technology is so influential on relationships. As stated by Piercy et al. “new technologies are shaping the ways we form and maintain our relationships” and therefore should not be disregarded by family professionals” (2015). Considering the large effects that technology has on relationships, I believe that family therapists, as well as other family professionals, should regard it as a central part of their work.
It is important for family professionals to be aware of the fact that technology can have both positive and negative influences on relationships. For example “While technology can certainly have its shadow side, with the potential to distance partners and facilitate affairs…New technologies such as social media, Internet “ (Piercy et al., 2015). In all, I believe that it is crucial that family professionals work focuses on the content and practice of family life, which also includes modeling and encouraging digital citizenship.
Work Cited
Godfry, R. V. (2016). Digital Citizenship: Paving the Way for Family and Consumer Sciences. Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences. Vol. 108. No. 2.
Piercy, et al. (2015). Ch, 10. What Marriage and Family Therapists Tell Us about Improving Couple Relationships through Technology. Blacksburg: Virginia Tech.
Technology and the Family 