海角大神

It鈥檚 not a PC, a laptop, a tablet or phone; it鈥檚 an 鈥渦ltramobile.鈥� That鈥檚 what tech research firm Gartner Group calls what鈥檚 replacing desktops.聽聽says it鈥檚 鈥渁 fully functional personal computer that is light enough to tote around,鈥� which sounds like a smartphone. You can read more about how it鈥檚 different at USATODAY. The point is, we鈥檙e just getting a whole lot more mobile now, and parents don鈥檛 even need to hear that the evidence of that is mounting. But the latest evidence is that PC sales were down 13.9% for the first quarter of this year, compared to January through March 2012, my ConnectSafely co-director Larry Magid reported in聽. Sure, Windows 8 might have 鈥渟lowed the market,鈥� as IDC told Larry, but neither that nor the tough economy is the real explanation. 鈥淚t is a reflection of a long-term change in user behavior,鈥澛�.

We鈥檙e turned a corner on several levels. It鈥檚 not just that we (regardless of age) want all that a connected computer is capable of with us wherever we are, we want different tools or capabilities on it for different contexts and circumstances, whether it鈥檚 reading in bed, conducting a meeting, disputing a bill, shooting a film, leveling up in a game, skyping grandkids, hanging out with friends, or whatever. We like having a world of possibilities at our fingertips. 鈥淪creen time鈥� is not only increasingly mobile, it鈥檚 highly differentiated now and forever 鈥� don鈥檛 try to extrapolate anything about your kids from 鈥渟tudies鈥� that generalize about it or suggest it鈥檚 just entertainment. It鈥檚 a highly individual experience not only from family to family but also from person to person within a family. In fact, it鈥檚 situational and contextual for each individual.

Which means that parenting has turned a corner too. As I mentioned in response to educator聽, going forward, working through things 鈥渙ut loud鈥� (transparently) with our kids rather than applying predetermined responses may work better. To borrow聽), parenting, just like learning, is now more like whitewater kayaking than piloting a steamship. Though a lot of the wisdom, values, etc. we got from our parents is the same, we now need to work more from tacit knowledge we gain/act on as we go rather than from the explicit knowledge of 鈥渢his is the way we鈥檝e always done it.鈥�

As for the tech trend, it鈥檚 by no means defined by 鈥渄ecline.鈥� That鈥檚 only for PCs and laptops, Gartner says, but with an overall 9% increase in sales of devices worldwide projected for this year (to 2.4 billion units), USATODAY reports. 鈥淕artner expects mobile phones to continue to dominate 鈥� and tablet sales [to] increase sharply. But in the same period, its analysis sees sales in the ultramobile category growing exponentially, from fewer than 10 million in 2012 to more than 23 million this year, and 96 million by 2017.鈥�