Professional Development

Technology and Young People

Introduction to Part 1: Technology and Young People

The following presentation aims to provide you with a basic understanding of how using technology may help your practice.  It will also begin to provide you with strategies to integrate technology into your sessions.

Learning objectives:

  • An understanding of the benefits associated with using technologies both for your own professional development and with young people.
  • An understanding of what young people feel might be useful and why.
  • A basic knowledge of current research into the use of technology with young people and evidence supporting this.
  • An understanding of why it's not essential to be an expert in technology in order to use it with good effect with young people.

 

Note from key author, Psychologist Liesje Donkin:

"Often as a clinician, parents will come to me with concerns about the amount of time their children are spending online. It's not common to hear them say things like "they spend all their time on Facebook", "They're constantly on the phone, texting", and "It can't be healthy, because in my day…". It's often hard to reassure parents that their children can actually gain positive experiences online and to normalise some of this behaviour.  This in mind, this section has been written to present some of the literature around the frequency and use of technology and the positives that young people gain from this use. It provides up-to-date statistics and helps conceptualise technology use as an extension of the young person, not a maladaptive behaviour.  Since writing this, I've been able to direct parents to this information to help reassure about the normality of their children's behaviour. I hope you find it as useful as I have."

 

Click here to go to the Tutorial for Part 1: Technology and Young People