Worried About Your Kids' Smartphone Habits? Yeah, Me Too.
Smartphones have changed absolutely everything in our lives.
While today’s parents have had to integrate smartphones and social media into our lives, our kids' generation has grown up with them. Some experts say that young people today have been part of a ten-year experiment to determine the effects of constant technological and social connection on our lives. The data is just coming in and the findings are not good.
In an article titled "Has the Smartphone Destroyed A Generation?" psychologist Jean M. Twenge writes that parents should be alarmed. It’s worth a read.
An entire generation is at risk.
Among other things, Jean Twenge writes that:
*Rates of teen depression have skyrocketed since 2011 (when smartphone use became commonplace), including many factors connected to suicide.
*Psychologically, teenagers today are "more vulnerable than millennials." (Millennials integrated smartphones into their lives while teenagers today have literally grown up with them.)
*They are on "the brink of the worst mental health crisis in decades."
What is the root cause of a generation’s mental health crisis?
Twenge says, "The arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of teenagers' lives, from the nature of their social interactions to their mental health."
Add to that a recent CDC study that found that suicide rates among teenage girls are at a 40-year high. The most obvious culprit is the power and influence of social media. Vulnerable girls already prone to insecurity or depression are fueling their pain with a constant stream of comparison. Twenty years ago, it hurt to not get invited to the party. Today, our kids get to see pictures of all they missed. This stuff hurts deeply.
While your teenager might be physically present in your home, he is likely far more connected to the influence of his peers than the influence of his family. If that influence is primarily negative (and it usually is), our kids' well-being will suffer. That will be the case unless you do something about it.
What’s an overwhelmed parent to do?
You will spend an entire year teaching your child to drive a car. But in many ways, his phone is more hazardous than his car will ever be.
As parents, we must be intentional to train our kids to use their smartphones with wisdom. As with every other dimension of parenting, you need to have a plan.
What can you do to prepare them for the impact that a smartphone will have on their hearts and minds? How will you help them navigate the pressures of social media? How will you protect them from explicit content or even online predators? How can you prevent their smartphone from taking over their lives and equip your kids to be smart on their smartphone?
We’ve created a powerful resource that provides the help you need.
Smartphones 101 is an online digital course for families. With 10 short video lessons and 35 printable pages of resources, families can go through the course together.
Whether you're preparing your child for their first smartphone or you're wanting to reel in your teenager whose phone habits are getting out of control, Smartphones 101 can help.
The course effectively tees up the critical conversations you need to have in your home about "the basics of smart phone use."
The Smartphones 101 Course features:
Ten Video Lessons
Watch them on your computer or smartphone. The lessons are brief, so they cover some important info before anyone has time to get bored.
Discussion Guides and Other Resources
For each video includes an interactive "guide" for each person to take notes. Plus there are plenty of additional resources that will come in handy.
Meaningful Conversations
Our goal is to get families talking. So we introduce some valuable truths and ideas, and then give you tools to discuss them with your kids.
The course is ideal for any parent who is concerned about things like:
The impact of smartphones on their brain development.
The increase in anxiety and depression in kids due to social media pressures.
Online predators and who might be trying to connect with your kids when you're not looking.
How much time your kids spend on their phones, and how that is impacting their relationships in real life.
The explicit content and porn that kids regularly stumble onto via their phones.
How you can adjust the settings and then provide guidance and oversight to your kids as they learn to use their phones.
How Does Smartphones 101 Work?
We recommend having your child or teenager go through the entire course as a pre-requisite for getting a phone. (Or as a requirement to continue using the phone they have.) Spend a few weeks going through the 10 lessons. Simply watch a video together as a family and then use the provided discussion guide to talk about it. The course isn’t a replacement of you; it’s a resource to help you talk about all those things that concern you. The good news is that you don’t have to be the bad guy...I am! And I could care less if your kids don't like me. ;-)
Smartphones 101 is available now. It is easy to use and costs about what you pay each and every month to add one teenager’s phone to your cell plan.
"We have launched 4 kids into adulthood. During their teen years, phones sort of caught us off guard. So I’ve spent years researching and preparing to help families to get it right. As a speaker, author, and former family minister, I've worked with thousands of families. I know the struggles they face. The teen drama and bullying. The obsession with social media. Kids exposed to (and hooked on) explicit content. Even predators reaching out to kids. Smartphones are awesome, but the potential dangers are huge. Let me help you help your kids to be smart on their phones."
-Barrett Johnson
Imperfect & Normal Families Only