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Parents' Guide to

Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier

By Liz Perle, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Powerful look at the impact of technology on our children.

Movie NR 2010 60 minutes
Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier Poster Image

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What's the Story?

In Frontline's DIGITAL NATION: LIFE ON THE VIRTUAL FRONTIER, award-winning producer Rachel Dretzin continues her examination of the impact of technology and digital life on kids that she began in her superb 2008 report, Growing Up Online. Social commentator and expert on the digital revolution Douglas Rushkoff joins Dretzin as they examine everything from virtual worlds, video gaming, and multitasking to how the military uses video games for recruitment. They examine the perils and the possibilities inherent in the digital world, showcasing everything from schools that have used innovative digital technologies to lower dropout rates to how companies like IBM are using virtual worlds like Second Life. Like the 90-minute program, the accompanying website is organized into five sections: Living Faster, Relationships, Waging War, Virtual Worlds, and Learning.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Dretzin deftly presents the personal and the political, as well as the technological and the human sides of the digital revolution. Excellent use of expert interviews combines to create a very balanced presentation of the advantages and costs of growing up in a digital, connected world. The most commanding part of the documentary is its examination of the role of technology in war -- both in killing and in recruitment.

Dretzin balances the consideration of the subject by showing how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be mitigated through digital recreation of trauma. But the interviews with the "pilots" of the bomb-dropping drones are downright bone-chilling.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the impact of multitasking. Do your kids think they're successful at it?

  • What do your kids think about being connected 24/7? Do they know how to protect their privacy?

  • The documentary shows how the military uses video games for recruitment. What do your kids think about that?

Movie Details

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