Parenting in a technological age

Abstract

Technology is not just a tool but an amalgam of conceptual, institutional, and interactional issues that occupy the space of technical reason. In this space, parents’ identity is becoming narrowed according to a limited conception in which the place of caring is in danger of being lost. Parents are increasingly required to adopt knowledge on parenting instead of adapting it to their child's needs. By use of the Heideggerian idea of Enframing, I argue that educational experts and practitioners need to undo parenting from this technological straitjacket. It needs to be recognised that (writing about) being a parent is about acknowledging that caring for your children is about questioning the borders of Enframing rather than accepting its boundaries uncritically. I argue that experts, in order to provoke parents to care, ought to create space for ethical questions on how the Information and Communication Technology we once managed has come to manage us.

Keywords:

• parenting
• technology
• educational books
• care

Acknowledgements

I thank my PhD supervisor and co-supervisor who have discussed this work with me and who provided an invaluable support in bringing this article to where it stands.

Notes

Notes

1. These are families that I interviewed as part of my PhD research.

2. The name of a UK television programme: see http://www.supernanny.co.uk/