Lelia Green – The Digital Child

Adults spend an average of 44 hours on screens every week. How do we set up our kids for a healthy digital future?

Digital media is sometimes blamed for stunting early language development; other times it’s lauded for supporting children’s language and imaginations. Restricting access is thought to protect children, but research suggests that fostering responsible internet use is more effective. What is the way forward, through the dire warnings and doubts? Is there a possible policy reset that allows parents to worry less?

In the wake of Australia’s social media ban, Lelia Green draws on many years of research into digital parenting to examine online safety and screen time in the digital age. First-time parents often discuss schooling, religion and diet, but rarely talk about how to parent with technology. Parents can guide their child on a digital journey to become confident, competent internet users.

Professor Lelia Green is Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child at Edith Cowan University, where she leads a team of researchers from across health, education and social connection. Green was an early pioneer of research with children (rather than about children) and has been Chief Investigator on numerous projects including Australian/UK studies of toddlers’ media use, and teens’ relationships with parents and peers. She has consulted for UNESCO Asia-Pacific and been part of several international networks including the European Commission-funded DigiLitEY, EU Kids Online, and Marie Curie Actions project Narratives in Health Communication. Green serves as an editorial advisor for Media International Australia and recently retired from the editorial board of the field-leading Journal of Children and Media.

Lisa K. Kervin AM is a Professor of Early Childhood at Monash University Australia whose research examines literacy education, play, and digital technologies. Lisa has also developed significant expertise in children’s museums as sites of learning, wellbeing, and intergenerational engagement. Her current research explores how young children participate in literate practices, how adults and children interact during play, and how shared play environments shape intergenerational learning and connection. In 2024 Lisa was acknowledged on the King’s Birthday List for her excellence in early childhood research, particularly digital literacies. Lisa is mother to 3 teenagers; she can also cook at scale, manage sporting teams, and score a cricket match.