How children navigate their hybrid digital-analog world

Our kids' native environment is the digital and the physical world. How do we help them thrive in both places? [View this email in your browser]( [[Wired Magazine] Parenting 3.0 5.21.19]( [illustration of a video game controller surrounded by other kid-friendly icons] For our kids, the [digital world is as much their native environment as the physical world](. It's up to parents to help them thrive in this often mystifying existence. Illustration: Daniel Ramirez Perez Kids today are voracious technology consumers for sure, but they are also active participants—creators, collaborators, and even influencers. So [parents]( have much more to wrestle with than some broad-brush notion of “[screen time]( Whatever you think of [Fortnite]( when [children]( play it they are working together as a team (that’s good!), in a tech-mediated environment (is that bad?); and they’re not just playing a [videogame]( they’re socializing—factor that into your screen-time calculus. The youngs are also creating their own content, from unboxing toy reviews and “watch me play [Minecraft]( videos to [DIY]( slime posts on [Instagram]( some of them attracting massive audiences and making serious money. They have agency and aspirations online, which makes them vulnerable to the same forces and incentives that continue to transform society. [Technology]( is their native environment as much as the physical world is, and it’s up to parents—most of whom have their own tech-related issues to deal with—to help them thrive in this often mystifying hybrid existence. It’s nothing to freak out about. We’ll all get through this together. [two girls playing with giant slime] Kids & Tech It's the World Slime Convention! Let's Goo! By Louise Matsakis Welcome to the World Slime Convention, where fans and purveyors of the internet's gloppiest trend gather to network and talk shop—many with their parents in tow. [photo illustration of toys in a Minecraft cube] Kids & Tech HobbyKidsTV, YouTube, and the New World of Child Stars By Emma Grey Ellis One family's video empire shows what it takes to shield young YouTube stars from the platform's dark side. Kids & Tech What Online Chess Taught One Teen About Digital Life By HANNAH W. DUANE High school is hard; the internet is messing with our self-esteem. Then my friends insisted I download Chess Time. [a illustrate collage of someone playing video games] Kids & Tech Facing the Ubiquity of Fortnite in Our Kids' Lives By Claude Brodesser-Akner About a week after the L dance was decoded, and 72 hours after the carpool surveillance, my wife and I convened the Fortnite security council again. [Advertisement]( [Powered by LiveIntent]( [AdChoices]( Kids & Tech A Food Pyramid for Kids' Media Consumption By Caitlin Harrington Researchers are beginning to study screen-based media in all its forms. We've distilled their findings into some handy recommendations. [Culture_parenting-screentime-phones] Kids & Tech Parents and Kids Weigh in on Their Family's Tech Protocol By Emily Dreyfuss What's your screen time scheme? [individual parts of a robot spread out] Kids & Tech Build a Raspberry Pi GoBot With Your Kids By Matt Timmons-Brown With just $60 worth of hardware and 10 lines of code, you and your child can build a simple wheeled droid that can drive around the house. W25 Restart Spend Some Time With the FAM at WIRED25 Restart WIRED25 Restarts in San Francisco, November 7-10! Join us for FAM day, entirely dedicated to children, parents, and the future of tech. Sign up for more details. Be Part Of the Discussion Join Our Parenting Facebook Group Check out ‘Parenting in a WIRED World,’ a vibrant Facebook Group for parents to discuss how to preserve kids’ mental and physical well-being, while also encouraging a healthy relationship with technology. Get WIRED Our Memorial Day Sale is here! For a limited time, get a full year of print + digital access for just $5. Subscribe now [Advertisement]( [Powered by LiveIntent]( [AdChoices]( [Wired Magazine]( This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, [wired@newsletters.wired.com]( to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( Copyright © Condé Nast 2019. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.