Connecting Parents and Teenagers in this Gaming Era

Navigating the Digital Maze
How to forge deeper connections with teenagers in this gaming era?
‍In an age dominated by screens and virtual worlds, a common fear for parents is becoming disconnected from their teenagers. How can parents stay connected to their teenagers when their lives are lived digitally and online, on social media, in video games, and on other platforms that parents don't seem to fully understand? In a recent Bridge IT. podcast episode, Dr. Tiffany de Sousa Machado, a multiple award-winning expert in development and a lecturer at the University of Adelaide, shared her insightful perspectives and strategies for not only bridging this gap, but also strengthening the parent-child bond simultaneously. It turns out that the key is not to become a tech wizard, but to foster healthy relationships through communication and genuine interest.

Foundational pieces of advise Dr. Tiff gave are for parents to shift their focus from mastering the technology to understanding its landscape. Parents do not need to know how to code, build a PC, or even use every social media app. Instead, parents should become familiar with the potential benefits, dangers, and the profound effects these digital media can have on a teenager's development and wellbeing. This level of awareness enables parents to guide and protect their teenagers without having to be an expert on digital media themselves.

From the Mundane to the Monumental: Building Trust
‍Dr. Tiff emphasises that the way to discuss serious issues is through everyday interactions and conversations. When parents express interest in the "mundane" aspects of their teenager's lives, such as their friendships, their gaming frustrations or excitement, or even their favourite content creator, they are laying a foundation of trust. This increases the likelihood their teens will turn to them when they encounter a significant problem online.

The digital world provides teenagers with a unique and new space to explore and reinvent their identities, allowing them to be almost anything, anyone, in any shape and form. While this can be a fantastic creative outlet, it also carries risks. When teenagers approach their parents with a problem, the parents' initial reaction should be to reserve judgement and reserve panic. Focus on actively listening and communicating effectively, at the very least to give some space to calm down and think. Parents' first priority is not always to solve the problem, but rather to be present, to listen to their teenagers, and to be the figure to fall back on. By doing so, parents reinforce that their relationship (parent-child) is more important than their technical and technological knowledge. Teenagers are not looking for a tech wizard; they are looking for a parent figure.