Parent Reactions

Posted on: 09/30/14 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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teenagers-phone-adviceI love hearing feedback from parents after they attend one of my Parenting the Smartphone Generation workshops– it’s fun to hear how their kids respond when the parents arrive home with all this new information (knowing that I’m telling their parents to start paying attention to what they are watching, what sites they are browsing, etc.), and I’m always curious to hear how the parents responded to the glimpse I gave them of music, TV, video games and other entertainment media.

A good friend forwarded me the feedback from a church in Amish Pennsylvania where I spoke about three weeks ago. They actually printed the parent feedback right in one of their newsletters to the church.

Here’s the feedback, as printed Continue reading “Parent Reactions”

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

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

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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3 Studies I Eagerly Await

Posted on: 05/29/14 5:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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teen-social-media-hookup-cultureAs you know, I like to keep my thumb on the pulse of youth culture. (Funny analogy. Does anyone really take someone’s pulse with a thumb?) This means hanging out with teenagers, but also keeping my eyes on research about youth culture and technology.

Currently there are three reports I am eagerly awaiting because of what they tell us about teens and tweens today Continue reading “3 Studies I Eagerly Await”

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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

Brutally Honest Advice to Today’s Guys

Posted on: 04/22/14 5:45 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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Teen-Boy-TodayA bunch of people have been asking me the story behind my brand new book of brutally honest advice to today’s guys. The truth is… I almost didn’t write it.

Last summer my agent called me and said, “I’ve got a book for you to write.” I thought, No way. Already swamped. I was wrapping up my Zombie book, and halfway through writing Get Your Teenagers Talking, all this on top of all my speaking and training for our ministry… but then he told me what the publisher wanted:

“It’s a book that will provide candid advise to teenage guys.”

He hooked me. I couldn’t say no. Next thing I knew, I was writing The Guys Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket.

I sent out texts to my friends and family and asked them this question Continue reading “Brutally Honest Advice to Today’s Guys”

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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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5 Days of Get Your Teenager Talking- DAY 1

Posted on: 03/31/14 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

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talking-with-teensEach day in my blog this week I’m going to give you a little somethin’ you can use to provoke meaningful conversations with young people. 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 this week:

Conversation Springboard No. 1:
A nationwide survey asked people about the appropriate use of cell phones in social settings such as mealtimes, meetings, and in classrooms. The answers varied considerably by the respondent’s age. The younger the person, the more they perceived texting as permissible in social settings. For example Continue reading “5 Days of Get Your Teenager Talking- DAY 1”

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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