50+ Lifestyles

Ever Wonder?

By Kathryn Graver
Community Education Coordinator
Child Abuse Council

Ever wonder what your children and grandchildren are doing on their cell phone or computer for hours?

If you have never texted or looked at a Facebook page, take some time with someone who has and let them help you better understand this
phenomenon. You may get hooked as well and become the cool grandparent or parent. Or you may say it is way too much to keep track of, but at least give it a chance.

Connecting with friends and communicating with your grandchildren and children through these types of networks can also bring concerns for privacy. The younger generation is much more forth coming with personal information than the previous generation. Many people want to live in a small world and be private, but with the many social networks and online communication, as well as cell phone and texting, the world has become open to anyone. So, if you decide to explore with the experience younger people in your life beware of the many ways your private life will become not as private anymore. Don’t be scared to try, but be cautious to what you let folks know about you. Best advice is to look, explore and ask questions before you jump into the future.

This month the Child Abuse Council is hosting its annual conference, Children Exposed to Violence, on Friday, March 12. the Isle of Capri Conference Center, Bettendorf. This very topic about social networking, and the pros and cons of this new method of communication, will be highlighted at the conference. The other conference workshops will cover resilience, stress reduction, handling anger, and a study that looks at childhood experiences and how they relate to our health later in life.
For more information about the Child Abuse Council’s annual conference or about its prevention and education programs, you can visit us at www.childabuseqc.org or contact me at kathyg@childabuseqc.org.