Computing Ethics and Modern Parenting Dilemmas

As part of the first year New Media module I am teaching on this semester, I attended a guest lecture by Dr David Horner on Issues and Ethics in Emerging Media. This isn't an area I've looked into before and I found it fascinating - the idea that technology isn't a neutral thing; changes in technology lead to new forms of behaviour which imply new ethical issues. We find ourselves in situations that our norms and rules just don't cover.

David talked about Moor's (2008) model where because of these new 'rule-free' situations we find ourselves in, we create a conceptual muddle. This covers things like sexting...what is it, is it illegal? And software piracy...what is software, is it like physical property or is it like intellectual property?

Helping my 6 year old son learn right and wrong when the world keeps changing

To try and relate this to my life, this got me thinking about the conceptual muddles I find myself in at home with my children, which they didn't teach you about at childbirth classes...

1. Supervising YouTube
The kids know which tv channels they like and which DVDs on the shelf are 'theirs'. They know they can't watch Harry Potter 4 yet, because it's a 12. They also find endless hours of entertainment on YouTube, but things online aren't quite so clearly labelled. What looks like innocent cartoon sometimes turns out not to be. I tend to go down the line of educating rather than blocking, so they get full access to look up whatever they want - but I can't get on with something else in the same way I could if they were watching CBBC.

2. My iTunes Store Password
My 8 year old knows my iTunes store password. Because he knows he's not allowed to spend money without asking, but he is allowed to download free games that are labelled as suitable for his age, and he can update things on the iPad without needing me. But, technically he could spend an awful lot of money on Smurfberries (for example) if he wanted to.

3. Smurfberries
Since I mentioned it. I don't spend money on virtual goods in games. I think it's a complete waste of money. But to an 8 year old, spending 69p on a basket of virtual smurfberries is as good a way to spend his pocket money as a bag of sweets for himself. And it's his money, so yes, he is allowed to spend it - he pays me the cash and types in the iTunes password to buy.

These are just a few - feel free to add to the list.