Digital Download
Written by Dane Duigan & Kim Maslin Illustrated by Phoebe Zeng
Fred watched too much TV and played too many games.
He stayed inside, every day was the same.
He would stare at that screen without even a blink, hardly moving off his bed, not when hungry or for a drink.
He didn’t move, not a bit.
All he did was sit, sit, sit, sit
In the end, there was no food in the cupboard (except a mouldy pear), and he had stared and stared so much that his eyes had gone square!
With disbelief, he gaped in the mirror at his misshaped eyes. His parents had warned him, but he’d thought they were lies! He tried squishing his eyes, and then squished them some more. But as soon as he stopped, they were as square as before.
Feeling terribly disturbed, he ran out the door, looking for someone to help him some more.
He saw his friend Toby, ‘Oh please, won’t you help?
What will my mum say?’
he said with a yelp.
Toby stopped, looked at him, and said, ‘It’s because you only live in your head.
Every day you stay inside, playing video games. In the dark you hide.
Give it a rest, take a break, and soon your eyes will change their shape.’
Fred listened to what his friend had to say, and gave the video games a break for the day.
He jumped on the trampoline and played his sax.
He walked Mavis the dog and filled the pantry to the max.
Slowly but surely, his eyes changed their shape. All thanks to taking some time for a break.
From that day on, When Fred played games on his screen, he kept an eye on the time to help balance his routine.
And with each passing day, Fred would now look around, grateful for all the other fun things he had found.
Fun with digital media: Getting the balance right
For children
We hope you liked this story about Fred, who sometimes found it hard to balance his media use. While Fred loved to play video games and watch TV, he needed to remember to take care of himself and his friendships. Can you think of a time when you realised you needed to take a break from digital media – even for just a little while?
For educators and families
We often hear that families and educators are concerned about the amount of time children spend using digital media technologies. We think it is great that families and educators are talking about this issue and are searching for resources.
Also, it is important to recognise that what might be appropriate will be different for different children and families. There may not be any one ‘right’ answer to the question of how to have media balance, but we can have conversations with children about this issue.
We hope you find the Stories by Digital Children series of children’s picture books, including this one, Digital Download, useful in starting or continuing these conversations.
You might ask children:
• What does a fun day look like to you? What kinds of activities do we do?
• What are our favourite things to do with technology?
• How do you know when it’s time to put technology away?
• How do you feel when a grown up asks you to put technology away?
Further information about children and the digital world is available at the eSafety Commissioner website. The eSafety Commissioner is a partner in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child.
Children:https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids
Parents:https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents
Educators:https://www.esafety.gov.au/educators
Learn more
The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child provides evidence-based transdisciplinary research related to children and digital technologies with a focus on positive outcomes for all children. We aim to enhance public understanding, inform policymakers and provide guidance for families, educators and technology creators to support children to be confident growing up in a rapidly changing digital world.
You may have heard the saying, “Don’t watch too much TV, or your eyes will go square.”
Fred had heard this saying many times, but he thought it just an old fable to scare children… never in his wildest dreams did he think it would actually come true!
Now, Fred is on a quest to re-shape his eyes and re-balance his life.
by Dane Duigan & Kim Maslin
Illustrated by Phoebe Zeng
Written