SnapChat and the Ostrich Parent

Posted on: 09/5/13 3:27 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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You’d think the recent news about SnapChat would be enough to finally convince parents to step in and hit the DELETE button, right?

So why is it 74 percent of parents are simply sticking their heads in the sand and just “hoping for the best”?

Most of us already knew this popular mobile app SnapChat was dangerous for young people. If you read my warnings about the app long ago, then you realized it was not only a convenient little tool for sexting, but it also provided teenagers with a false sense of “lack of accountability.” The pictures “vanish”… don’t they?

A recent lawsuit amongst the SnapChat creators has revealed Continue reading “SnapChat and the Ostrich Parent”

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The VMAs: Insight into Our Kids Music

Posted on: 08/28/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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What music videos are most teens watching?

What songs fill your teens’ music library in that device in their pocket?

Which artists are the biggest role models for young people today?

What truths are your teens gleaning from these heroes?

The VMAs answered these questions with a megaphone on Sunday night, and surprisingly… people were actually surprised with the answers. Funny. The event wasn’t surprising in the least. It was typical Lady Gaga, typical Miley Cyrus, typical Justin Timberlake, Typical Bruno Mars… typical MTV.

Sad that “typical” is often confused with “no big deal.”

So what can we take away from cable’s #1 entertainment telecast of 2013 among young people age 12-34? Glad you asked.

Here’s our Youth Culture Window article unveiling what millions of young people gleaned from this eccentric and aberrant pop culture jamboree this year.

CLICK HERE FOR THIS ARTICLE:
THE CULTURE BEHIND THE MUSIC

Posted in Entertainment Media, Music, Parenting, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, TV, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Blocking Unwanted Web Sites

Posted on: 07/2/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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“What can I do to block my kids from wandering onto bad web sites?”

That’s the gist of the question I hear at least once a week and at every one of my parenting workshops. I just heard it from multiple youth workers (who happened to also be parents) last month at the Student Leadership Conference 2013 in Dallas.

The answer is never simple, because many parents are searching for a miracle pill, and unfortunately, that’s not what their kids need. I don’t blame parents—it would be nice to have some magic guardrails keeping our kids on course as they navigate today’s tumultuous waters. But the truth of the matter is, our kids need to learn discernment. Life is full of distractions, and young people need to learn to press on when the beautiful voices of the Sirens attempt to lure them to steer into the rocks.

But discernment isn’t learned instantaneously. We’re fools to think that our 8-year-olds, our 11-year-olds, and yes… even some of our 15-year-olds… are ready to meander through the red light district (like what they might find on the iTunes video charts) without wandering into trouble. So what can parents do to block off some harmful distractions during this vulnerable stage of teaching our kids discernment?

After my recent Lure of the Glowing Screen workshop, a youth worker named Robby asked if I had heard of blocking content at the router level. I had heard a little, but am no expert. He told me about a free resource he uses Continue reading “Blocking Unwanted Web Sites”

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Teenage Tech Advice

Posted on: 06/17/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Last week I had the privilege of teaching at Doug Field’s 2013 Student Leadership Conference in Dallas (the next two are in July). Wednesday night when I arrived, I interviewed a bunch of student leaders, recording their answers for my “Lure of the Glowing Screen” workshop.

I asked these student leaders the following question: What advice would you give to a young person if they just got a new iPhone for Christmas?

Here are some of the answers I received:

“Don’t drop it!”

“Don’t let it become an idol in your life. You need to honor God first.”

“You gotta be careful with Continue reading “Teenage Tech Advice”

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Smartphone Ownership Still Rising

Posted on: 06/13/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Every time a new report is released, the numbers have grown even bigger. The smartphone craze is still full throttle. Even 42% of American mobile subscribers over 55-years-old now own smartphones.

That’s a whole lot of mobile Facebooking!

A couple months ago I provided you with an update about the digital devices we own, how many of us own them, and the rapid rate in which this number is increasing. Well… those numbers are still growing. Here’s a glimpse, according to the most recent June updates from Nielsen:

  • 61% of moble subscribers in the U.S. owned a smartphone during the most recent three month period (March-May 2013)
  • 53% of smartphone owners used Android
  • 40% use iPhones (but Apple’s smartphone market grew 7% and Android only grew 2%)
  • Woman make up the majority of smartphone owners
  • 78% of Millennial subscribers aged 25-34 own them
  • 75% of Millennial subscribers aged 18-24 own them

So what are they doing on these phones? Nielsen’s June 10th report about mobile consumers reveals… Continue reading “Smartphone Ownership Still Rising”

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From YOLO to FOMO

Posted on: 06/4/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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“Let’s stay up all night Friday night!”

“Why not. YOLO!”

It’s a term young people have latched onto in the last year, expressing exactly what the acronym says, “You only live once.” But as popular as YOLO is (I’ve written about YOLO before), this attitude might not be quite as prominent as FOMO, the “Fear Of Missing Out.” Because, in today’s world of hyper-connection… no one wants to be the last one to know.

College Humor captured this phenomenon well in this hilarious YouTube video I’ll be showing to student leaders in my workshops about technology at the SLC2013 conventions.

We’ll probably be seeing more of these. A few other funny FOMO videos have surfaced already.

This phenomena goes beyond the desire for social interaction. Young people just want Continue reading “From YOLO to FOMO”

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Should I Just Smash My Kid’s Phone?

Posted on: 05/13/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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This week I’m teaching a brand new parenting workshop in an exciting new venue… we’re inviting parents and teenagers under one roof and opening up the doorways of dialogue.

The workshop is titled, “Should I Just SMASH my Kids Phone?” and it’s based off of the new workbook Doug Fields and I just wrote by the same title. The seminar equips parents to build lasting values and set boundaries that really work, teaching discernment along the way Continue reading “Should I Just Smash My Kid’s Phone?”

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SmartPhone Safety Nets

Posted on: 05/7/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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If your child accesses iTunes today and simply clicks on the music video charts, one of the top 10 videos features topless girls dancing… something anyone can see in the free preview of the video.

Sad, but true. Literally today.

(I know, I know. I can foresee it now. Someone is going to email me and tell me, “Jonathan, why are you telling us this! This will tempt us to click on it!” And to that I say, “In a world where anyone can jump on Google at anytime and type ‘naked girls’ and see just that in a matter of seconds… I’m not telling you anything new.”)

The question I want to raise is, “Have you set some guardrails to help your kids steer away from these kinds of temptations?”

Let me ask Continue reading “SmartPhone Safety Nets”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Movies, Music, Parenting, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Youth Culture |  | Leave A Comment

Teenage Digital Devices

Posted on: 04/29/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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“It’s crucial to get to know them now in order to better understand who they’ll be tomorrow.” –The Teen Transition, Nielsen, 4/16/2013

I start the majority of my workshops with a youth culture quiz. I ask parents and youth workers, “Do you know today’s teenagers? Are you familiar with their culture, attitudes, habits and trends.”

But keeping up with today’s teen is no easy task, because the only constant is change… especially in the area of technology.

Take smartphone ownership, for example Continue reading “Teenage Digital Devices”

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Ashley’s Rules for Parents

Posted on: 04/9/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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The blogosphere is currently bursting at the seams with insightful posts and articles from parenting authors providing helpful social media rules and guidelines for their teens and tweens, everything from iPhone rules, Instagram guidelines, to general social media parenting advice how to monitor your teenagers online activity (in a world where Facebook is just one of many choices).

I’ve been using some of these articles as discussion-springboards with my daughters. After all, the one common denominator almost all this research shares is the advice to parents to regularly dialogue about this with their kids.

Ashley (my 15-year-old), of course, is all “sighs” during these conversations. If I bring up social media, she rolls her eyes, exhales loudly, and proclaims, “Dad, have you ever had any problem with me and this stuff? No. Then relax!”

If I only had a dime for every time my daughter told me to relax.

Yesterday, after asking Ashley a little about Instragram and showing her an article with parental guidelines, she sighed, rolled her eyes, and informed me that its parents who really need a list of rules for social media Continue reading “Ashley’s Rules for Parents”

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