ABSTRACT
Children and adolescents are digital natives, and technology is an integral part of their lives. From a very early age, children use computers, smartphones, tablets, and other devices, and by the time they start school, most are quite proficient with these tools. By adolescence, digital technologies are seamlessly integrated into all aspects of their lives (school, socializing, entertainment); they are not separate activities but ways in which young people exist in the world. For early adolescents, digital technology provides a way to be in constant communication with peers even as their mobility is restricted by the inability to drive and/or by parental rules. From middle childhood through adolescence, peer relationships are of paramount importance, and technology is employed to maintain those relationships and explore new ones.
