Realities of the Digital Age
Have unwanted graphic texts, violent video games, pornography, cyberbullying, sexting, or screen addiction been a concern for you as a parent raising children in this cyber age?
These are only a few of the concerning vices that our screen-saturated world has brought. Parents can feel lost in the digital landscape where their children are the technology experts and Mom and Dad struggle just to keep up. But keeping your child screen-free is just about as realistic as keeping them from outgrowing their clothes.
If it isn’t already your reality, eventually your child will one day have that tell-tail rectangular pattern lining their jean’s pocket. Most parents are dependent on their child having a phone of some type in order to keep up with one another in this busy, fast-paced life. Despite the discouraging engagement that a world of devices can bring, we must ask ourselves, are screens really the problem?
Navigating the Digital Age
Is the solution to avoid allowing your child access to technology? Most parents find that this is an unrealistic option. Screens enter children’s lives at the earliest ages. Pediatrician’s offices have TV screens in their waiting rooms to help the children pass the time. Libraries loan out colorful tablets that are preloaded with books and games for preschoolers. Schools begin using iPads at the elementary level and many students are assigned a device at the start of a school year.
Parents fighting for screen-free space in their family can wrongly vilify the device as the problem. But if screens are not the problem, what is? In Raising Kids in a Screen-Saturated World, parents will find practical answers to this tension and will receive valuable direction on how to address heart issues that will lead to God-honoring screen use. Consider the following:
“We are not fighting against technology. Phones, tablets, laptops, etc., are amoral. They are tools that can be used for good or evil. Don’t over-spiritualize activities because they either include or exclude a screen. Certainly, there are times where living a life pleasing to the Lord will mean the intentional absence of screens but keep in mind that the screen is not the enemy. The frailty of weak and wandering hearts turns a potentially helpful tool into an instrument of destruction. In a world so profoundly dependent on technology, the answer is not to label devices as the problem and avoid them. Rather, reflect on what technology is revealing about what is in your heart and your child’s heart.”[1]
The Deeper Issues of the Digital Age
This approach deals with the deeper issue. Conversations about what is driving screen activity are most important. What is motivating what they consume, produce, and promote online is the deeper issue for parents to explore. The screen simply provides a platform for the heart. As parents, we want to know and address the hearts of our kids.
Recognizing that technology and screens are not the root problem will create an avenue to see the potential positive use of screens in your child’s world. Rather than focusing on the screen, consider how to better understand what is drawing your child in and begin to have conversations there. Raising Kids in a Screen-Saturated World is a readable, practical, and much-needed book for all parents.
BCC Staff Note: Raising Kids in a Screen-Saturated World is available to purchase from Amazon and 10of Those.com. Also, check out Raising Teens in a Hyper-Sexualized World by Eliza.
[1] Eliza Huie, Raising Kids in a Screen-Saturated World (Leyland, Lancashire, UK: 10ofThose, 2018).