Free Online Training

Posted on: 09/4/14 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Screen Shot 2014-09-03 at 7.40.40 AMI constantly receive emails from people who can’t come to one of my training workshops, but wonder if we provide any free online training.

I’ve always answered, “Yes!” and provided a link to our Free Training Tools page, which includes a myriad of free online video training. But here’s the link to another training… this time… an entire workshop I taught online via “webinar” earlier this year titled, Grappling with the Smartphone Generation.

NOTE: I don’t typically like these kind of “online training webinars”… because they’re a little static and dry Continue reading “Free Online Training”

Posted in Internet, Movies, Music, Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Speaking/Training, TV, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

In Your City

Posted on: 08/18/14 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Faith-HappeningsFinally… someone created an online hub for Christian happenings!

It’s like this. Every time someone brings me out to their city to speak they always want to publicize their event, their training, or their conference… and depending on the city, some have some good “word of mouth” networks to get the word out… but most don’t.

For years I’ve been commenting, “I wish their was one ‘hub’ where people could go to and see what events, resources, speakers, etc. were available in their own area.”

It’s finally here! And by a group I trust.
Continue reading “In Your City”

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Teen Online Behavior 2014

Posted on: 06/10/14 5:00 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Teenager-Online-DangersLast week McAfee released their newest Teens and Screens study to help us understand exactly what our kids are doing online.

The report revealed some interesting findings about teens’ online habits.

Here are a few observations worth noting:

Teenagers Love Talking with Strangers:

  • 59% of teenagers engage with strangers online.
  • 1 in 12 meet the online stranger in real life.
  • 33% of teenagers feel more accepted online than in real life.

This report isn’t alone in their findings. Just a few weeks ago Continue reading “Teen Online Behavior 2014”

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The Social Media Irony

Posted on: 04/24/14 3:20 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Millennial watching laptop(and 5 Ideas to “Socialize”
the Socially Isolated)

In a world where 4 out of 5 teenagers are social media users, you’d think young people would be growing more… social?

Sadly, no.

In fact, most research is revealing quite the opposite. The reality is, the more time a young person spends dialoguing with people through screens, the fewer close friends they have, and the more difficult it becomes for them to actually communicate with people face to face.

Let’s break that down, and then I’ll provide 5 ideas to help you “socialize” a generation who have socially isolated themselves Continue reading “The Social Media Irony”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Jonathan's Rant, Movies, Music, Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, TV, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

5 Days of Get Your Teenager Talking- DAY 2

Posted on: 04/1/14 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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talking-with-teensEach day in my blog this week I’m giving you a little somethin’ you can use to provoke meaningful conversations with young people. (Click here for yesterday’s.) My brand new book, Get Your Teenager Talking has 180 conversation springboards that “get teenagers talking”… I thought I’d share some with you. I’ll give you one each day:

Conversation Springboard No. 2:

If the power went out in our city for a day (and you forgot to charge your battery-operated devices), what would you do? Continue reading “5 Days of Get Your Teenager Talking- DAY 2”

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Keeping Social Media Safe

Posted on: 03/24/14 3:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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phone-safety-children“Should I allow my 13-year-old to use Twitter?”

It happens after every parent workshop I teach. Parents line up with specific questions.

“Is Instagram bad?

Should I let my teenager have her phone in her room at night?

“Should I be worried if I found my teenager using Omegle?”

“All my daughter’s friends are on Ask.fm and she wants to be too. Should I let her?”

(By the way, I know I’ll get comments asking, so my answers to those questions would be: no, no, yes, and no. I let my own teenage daughters have multiple social networking sites, but Omegle and Ask.fm both are venues where anonymous people can chat with little to no accountability, and that’s never a good situation. Here’s an article with more specific details about individual apps.)

The questions always vary, but they all root from the same question:

“Is social media safe?”

This is a pretty broad question. It’s like asking Continue reading “Keeping Social Media Safe”

Posted in Bullying/Cyberbullying, Entertainment Media, Internet, Jonathan's Rant, Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Young People and Selfies

Posted on: 03/12/14 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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teen-girls-selfieSmile!

“Aren’t we cute?”

Within seconds the selfie pic is posted to Instagram, and Tweeted to her 326 followers. Just another emblematic snapshot from the life of today’s teen.

Five years ago we didn’t even know the word “selfie.” Fast forward to the end of 2013 and it was declared “word of the year.”

What’s the fascination teens have with selfies? Does this desire to snap pics in everyday life make them narcissistic?

When most people hear “selfie,” they probably think of a Continue reading “Young People and Selfies”

Posted in Bullying/Cyberbullying, Entertainment Media, Internet, Jonathan's Rant, Self Image, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Smartphones for Kids?

Posted on: 01/16/14 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Girls texting“Do you know where your children are?”

If you’re my age, you probably remember that catchy slogan from the 80’s. I don’t think I’ve heard that question in over a decade. Probably because parents have access to handy little GPS locators in every one of their kid’s pockets!

They’re called “iPhones.”

The problem is, many parents are hesitant to by their 10-year-old an iPhone when they find out Continue reading “Smartphones for Kids?”

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Searching for Sex Answers

Posted on: 01/14/14 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Don't Talk About SexGoogle has become the number one place young people go for answers to their questions about sex.

Why?

Two glaring reasons.

  1. It’s embarrassing. Who wants to ask Mom or Dad what they heard in the locker room that day, “What does ‘anal’ mean?”
  2. Mom and Dad will freak out. (Wouldn’t you if your kid asked you what ‘anal’ meant? Regrettably Continue reading “Searching for Sex Answers”

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Craving Face to Face

Posted on: 01/2/14 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Today's-Teens“My kid spends way too much time staring at her phone!”

It’s the number one complaint I hear from moms and dads at my parent workshops across North America—kids spending too much time glued to technology.

So whose fault is that?

Microsoft researcher Danah Boyd says parents should blame themselves.

“Teens aren’t addicted to social media. They’re addicted to each other.” Boyd says. “They’re not allowed to hang out the way you and I did, so they moved it online.” Continue reading “Craving Face to Face”

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