I am not sure that cell phone conversations fall into the category of screen usage. The fact that two people TALKING falls in the middle of the list gives me some hope that Gen Y will be able to learn empathy, compassion and listening skills, that human conversation is still something they seek from time to time.

The issue with the screenager, screen dependent communication mode of texting, messaging, MySpacing and Facebooking, is that it is under the radar, quiet and unable to be readily monitored. Too many secrets can be held, and in many cases, about 80% of those closed conversations are inappropriate. The lack of real human presence offers the opportunity for young people to try on different, alternative personas, and push the edge of the envelope. We deal with the consequences and fall out of these kinds of communications daily at school.

Texting, messaging, MySpace and Facebook are to me, like passing notes. The circle can become too tight, the vision and horizon too limited. It begins to become so narcissistic, so self-centered and at times, destructive to positive growth and development.

The car was the apparatus that allowed teens from the 50′s forward to the turn of the century to ride out from under parental supervision. But phone conversations were usually heard in the family room.

Music on iPods and podcasting can also isolate participants from the community and family around them.

I appreciate what you’re saying about the preferences, and I’d like to see more parental counseling and guidance about what types of communication technology are 1) truly necessary, and 2) age-appropriate, as educators struggle to meet this new mandate on communication modes.

I can’t begin to fathom how I can implement strategies that would engage each of my 160 students in this way to try and capture their attention and meet the rigorous standards employed by the state of Georgia.

I am at a juncture where I believe parenting and decision making about these gadgets has severely undermined the mission of public education. Seems we always employ technology first, and then in hindsight, begin to evaluate the ethical and moral impact of them only after the dominoes have fallen.