Book Review - The App Generation

About the Book
From the famed Harvard psychologist and an expert on the impact of digital media technologies, a riveting exploration of the power of apps to shape our young people, for better or for worse.

No one has failed to notice that the current generation of youth is deeply -- some would say totally­ involved with digital media. Professors Howard Gardner and Katie Davis name today's young people The App Generation, and in this spellbinding book they explore what it means to be "app-dependent" versus "app-enabled" and how life for this generation differs from life before the digital era.

Gardner and Davis are concerned with three vital areas of adolescent life: identity, intimacy, and imagination. Through innovative research, 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, the authors uncover the drawbacks of apps: they may foreclose a sense of identity, encourage superficial relations with others, and stunt creative imagination. On the other hand, the benefits of apps are equally striking: they can promote a strong sense of identity, allow deep relation­ ships, and stimulate creativity. The challenge is to venture beyond the ways that apps are designed to be used, Gardner and Davis conclude, and they suggest how the power of apps can be a springboard to greater creativity and higher aspirations.

About the Author
Howard Gardner, co-author of The App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World, is Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and senior director of Harvard Project Zero, an educational research group. He is renowned as father of the theory of multiple intelligences. He lives in Cambridge, MA.

Katie Davis, co-author of The App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World, is assistant professor, University of Washington Information School, where she studies the role of digital media technologies in adolescents' lives. She is a former member of the Project Zero team. She lives in Seattle, WA.



My Take on the Book
This is a book that will open your eyes to the changing world around you and the children and what they will bring to our society as they grow up. Being someone who has read about the different generations, along with worked with many of the Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials and others, this is a seemingly apt name for this generation and the book is a well written account and preview of what today's generation will bring to society in the future. The topic is important for all to understand, not only parents, but educators, law makers and so many more. While the authors take a somewhat academic approach, I appreciated the personal reflections that were also incorporated within the book as well. This is a book that all should read, as understanding today's youth will give us a glimpse into the world to come!


----------------------------------------
New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions? Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com