Glenbard parents to discuss 'The App Generation'

The Glenbard Parent Series, Navigating Healthy Families, will present "The App Generation: How Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy and Imagination in Today's Digital World" in two presentations Wednesday, Nov. 19.

The first program will be from noon to 2 p.m. at the Marquardt Elementary District 15 Administration Center, 1860 Glen Ellyn Road, in Glendale Heights. The second will be at 7 p.m. at Glenbard West, 670 Crescent Blvd., in Glen Ellyn.

The featured speaker at both presentations will be Katie Davis.

Digital technologies, social media sites and other online spaces play a significant role in young people's lives, Davis says. Certain qualities of digital spaces, including their public or semipublic nature, 24/7 connectivity, and the arm's length quality of computer-mediated communication introduce new dynamics to our actions and interactions online.

What are the implications for growing up in this digital world?

Drawing on an extensive and varied research program with colleagues at Harvard University, including interviews of young people, focus groups of those who work with them, and a unique comparison of youthful artistic productions before and after the digital revolution, Davis will explore both the potential and drawbacks of new media technologies for today's young people and will touch on parental concerns regarding sites such as Yik Yak and more.

The metaphor of the "app" will serve to illuminate those uses of technology that promote a strong sense of identity, encourage deep relationships, and stimulate creativity, and those that pose challenges to youth's development.

Davis is an assistant professor at the University of Washington Information School, where she studies the role of digital media technologies in adolescents' academic, social and moral lives. She also serves as an advisory board member for MTV's digital abuse campaign, A Thin Line.

These free Glenbard Parent Series events are open to the public. GPS is sponsored by the Cebrin Goodman Center, Cooperative Association for Special Education, College of DuPage, DuPage Medical Group, Emmy Gaffey Foundation and Trust Company of Illinois.

For information regarding GPS programs, visit www.glenbardgps.org or contact Gilda Ross, Glenbard District 87 student and community projects coordinator, at (630) 942-7668 or gilda_ross@glenbard.org.