Vast Majority of Parents Say Digital Media Skills Are as Important as Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic – But Also Express Skepticism About Educational Potential of Digital Media

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and NEW YORK, May 8, 2008 – In a new, nationally representative poll from Common Sense Media and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center (JGCC), American parents agreed by a wide margin that digital media skills are important to kids’ success in the 21st century, but they also expressed skepticism about whether digital media could contribute to the development of skills like communicating, working with others, and establishing civic responsibility.

The full results of the poll, the first of its kind, will be unveiled at the first-ever Joan Ganz Cooney Center Symposium in New York City on May 9. The symposium, sponsored by Electronic Arts, McGraw-Hill Education, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS, will convene thought leaders from the fields of research, communications, and policy to address how best to use digital media to improve children’s learning and development.

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