The easy interface of touchscreen technologies like tablets and smartphones have enabled children to access the digital world from a very young age. But while some commentators are enthusiastic about how this can open up a new world for play, learning, and developing digital skills, others see the dangers of yet more screens, inauthentic play, and time spent isolated with electronic babysitters that detract from interaction with parents and the learning of social skills. Including a glossary of key terms, this book draws on a three-year research project examining the realities of 0-5 years olds' experiences of these technologies in the UK and Australia. The authors draw heavily on Vygotsky and engage with other thinkers including Bronfenbrenner and Bruner. It explores how parents of young children evaluate these opportunities and concerns, and how they try to work out ways to parent in relation to technologies they did not experience in their own childhood. The book examines how digital technologies fit in with other elements of children's daily lives including their preferences, pleasures and sociability. The book also explores the extent to which grandparents, parents and educators engage with children's experience of digital technologies.

Presents new research on the realities of 0-5 years olds' experiences of digital technologies in the UK and Australia

List of TablesAcknowledgements1. Contextualizing Digital Media Use in Early Childhood2. Conceptual and Other Framings of Children's Media Use3. Screen Time4. Parenting and Digital Media5. Grandparents6. Digital Media in Preschool Settings7. Infants8. Toddlers9. Preschoolers10. The Bases for Diversity in Children's Digital Experiences11. Parents' Evaluation of Children's Learning Through Digital Media12. Summarising Our Research FindingsAppendixGlossaryNotesReferencesIndex