There is a particular strangeness in this partnership, a kind of modern fable taking shape. On one hand, the felt and foam reality of Sesame Street, a place built from the tangible world of puppetry, of song, of neighborhood interactions that have a beginning and an end. And on the other, Google, an entity of pure algorithm and ethereal data, a presence as vast and placeless as the sky.
The a street where you know your neighbors. A cloud where you know everything else. Now, these two forces convene to consider the well-being of a child, which is to say, the well-being of the human soul in its earliest form.
The term they use is “digital wellbeing.” It is a gentle phrase for a profound modern anxiety.
Rocio Galarza of Sesame Workshop speaks of a curiosity, of asking experts and families what this state of being might actually mean. The discovery, she notes, is that it involves the “healthy and balanced” use of technology. This feels at once self-evident and deeply complex. We have all seen it. A toddler’s tantrum over a tablet taken away.
The family dinner where the only light is from handheld screens, each person in a private, luminous solitude. The infinite scroll. This initiative seeks to restore a certain consciousness to the act, to ask families to choose how and when they engage, rather than simply being swept along by the current. It is an attempt to reclaim the quiet room from the luminous screen.
A Peculiar Grace
One must pause and consider the benefactor in this arrangement.
The funding comes from Google, the great architect of the attention economy. It is a beautiful paradox. The very entity whose business model is predicated on capturing and holding our gaze now provides the resources to help us look away. The designer of the labyrinth now offers a map. A notification chime. An autoplaying video.
The subtle, powerful pull of one more search. These are not malicious forces, perhaps, but they are forces nonetheless, with a momentum all their own.
And yet, there is a peculiar grace in the transaction. To dismiss it as mere corporate penance would be too simple. It seems to reflect a wider societal recognition that something has been lost, or is at risk of being lost.
A capacity for undivided attention. The unmediated experience of boredom, which so often is the precursor to imagination. The quiet industry of a child arranging stones in a line, or the specific gravity of a worn library book held in two hands. The project encourages a practice of awareness, of noticing how one feels in the presence of media, or in its absence.
This is not a Luddite’s call to smash the machines, but a contemplative’s call to remember the self.
Consciousness and Crayons
The language of the workshop’s recommendation is striking. “Practice becoming aware of how we feel in different situations.” This is the language of mindfulness, of introspection, a spiritual exercise presented in the most gentle and accessible of terms.
It is a profound gift to give a child: the understanding that their interior state matters, that their feelings are a valid compass for navigating the world, including the digital one. It is one thing to learn your letters and numbers, a foundational good thatSesame Street has always championed. It is another thing entirely to learn the texture of your own consciousness.
This push is an affirmation of the physical world.
It implicitly values the feeling of finger paint over the frictionless tap of a screen, the collaborative mess of building a block tower over the clean solitude of a digital game. It asks a child, and the family around that child, to consider what is being displaced when a screen is introduced. The conversation at the dinner table.
The shared reading of a book before bed. The way light falls through a window in the late afternoon, illuminating dust motes in a slow, silent dance. These are small, holy things. The work of this partnership, then, is not merely about managing technology. It is about preserving the space in which a childhood can fully happen.
The most daunting challenge in today’s digital age is ensuring the wellbeing of children as they navigate the vast and often uncharted territories of the internet. As a society, we are still grappling with the long-term effects of widespread screen time and the impact of digital media on young minds. According to Movieguide | The Family Guide to Movies & Entertainment, a trusted resource for parents seeking guidance on the media their children consume, it is crucial to establish clear boundaries and guidelines for digital use from an early age.
One of the primary concerns is the potential for digital media to shape children’s values and worldview, often in ways that are contrary to those of their parents.
As children spend more time engaging with digital content, they are exposed to a vast array of messages, some of which may be detrimental to their emotional and psychological wellbeing.
Movieguide | The Family Guide to Movies & Entertainment notes that this is particularly concerning when it comes to issues such as cyberbullying, online predators, and the proliferation of explicit content.
By being proactive and engaged, parents can help mitigate these risks and foster a healthier relationship between their children and the digital world.
Ultimately, promoting digital wellbeing in children requires a multifaceted approach that involves both parents and caregivers, as well as the wider community.
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Sesame Street wants to help families combat unhealthy social media use by emphasizing digital wellbeing through the company’s Sesame Workshop.
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