'This is your brain on devices': Media accounts of young children's use of digital technologies and implications for parents and teachers

Contemporary children are growing up in a post-typographic era, where mobile electronic devices and digital texts are increasingly present. For parents and educators, shifts into new digital practices and new text forms can create a sense of uncertainty. In response to parent and teacher interest, popular media have frequently focused on topics relating to young children and shifting digital practices. This study addresses popular media accounts of children and digital technologies over five years (2013–2018), looking in particular at the emergence of mobile devices and their impact on children’s changing literacy practices. The authors collected popular media articles over this time period and analysed them for the ways in which children and digital technologies were represented and these media called on teachers and parents to respond. The authors provide an overview of their findings and address key themes from the articles, sharing influential examples and addressing the implications and influences of media perspectives. Finally, the authors examine the implications of popular media accounts in relation to informing parent beliefs and approaches, and curriculum responses.