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The Newest on Teens, Social Media & Technology

Posted on: 07/24/18 3:33 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Pew Research just released their newest report on Teens, Social Media & Technology giving us the newest numbers confirming what we already knew: almost all teens have smartphones and use social media a lot!

But their numbers also revealed some interesting realities about where teens navigate and their perceptions about social media. Here are some random facts that stood out to me from their report:

95% of teens have access to a smartphone. That’s huge! They don’t even talk about phone ownership, but access. Last time Pew released this report (in 2015) 73% owned a phone and 85% had access.
Only 3% didn’t use social media Continue reading “The Newest on Teens, Social Media & Technology”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Youth Culture | Tags: smartphone ownership among teens, smartphones, social media, teens, teens on instagram, teens on snapchat, teens on social media | Leave A Comment

Refreshingly brutal advice to young guys

Posted on: 04/24/18 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Today’s guys face a lot of distractions… a lot more than I faced as a young man.

Let’s be honest. When I was 13 in 1983 I had access to porn, drugs, and raunchy entertainment media.

But porn wasn’t just a click away in my pocket, it was in a magazine at my friend’s house if we dared to sneak into his dad’s bedroom.
Marijuana was available, but it wasn’t mainstream or encouraged… and it sure wasn’t legal.
I loved movies, music and television, but my house had one screen and a boombox. Now I have a dozen screens, and my entire entertainment media library is available in the cloud. Name a movie or music video. I can watch it within seconds, regardless of rating.

But I think the biggest difference between then and now is Continue reading “Refreshingly brutal advice to young guys”

Four conversations parents must have

Posted on: 04/17/18 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

As requests are coming in for speaking this fall, I wanted to let you know about a new workshop I’m launching… FOUR CONVERSATIONS! It’s the first parent workshop I’m doing where I have parents and kids in the same room!

Right now my go-to workshop for parents is PARENTING THE SMARTPHONE GENERATION… I taught this workshop in almost 30 churches in the U.S. last year Continue reading “Four conversations parents must have”

Posted in Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Speaking/Training | Tags: Jonathan McKee, parenting, parenting teens, phone contracts, smartphones, social media, teens | Leave A Comment

Interviewed on Canadian TV

Posted on: 03/20/18 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last Friday I was interviewed by our polite neighbors up north on Canadian TV show 100 Huntley Street.

The conversation was about teens and mobile devices–who our kids are talking with, what they are posting, and the content they’re absorbing. I love host Maggie Johns who opens the door immediately declaring, “Social media! You can’t hide it from your kids forever!” She thanks me for my new book, The Teen’s Guide to Social Media and Mobile Devices and informs me, “This is the book I’m going to give to my son Ethan on his 13th birthday!” Continue reading “Interviewed on Canadian TV”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media | Tags: 100 Huntley Street, Canadian TV, parenting help, sexting, smartphones, social media, wise posting | Leave A Comment

What age should my kid be on social media?

Posted on: 03/16/18 10:21 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s one of the biggest questions I hear from parents at my workshops each month. “What age should I let my kids have a smartphone?” or “What age should I allow them to get SnapChat, Insta and all the other social media apps they want?”

We’ve posted some great resources on TheSource4Parents.com recently that will help answer that question, including a brand new article posted just this week titled, Parenting Middle Schoolers: More Than Just Surviving This Transitional Phase. But parents of high school students shouldn’t ignore that article, because in the early part of the article where I talk about “Delaying Social Media” I not only provide some brand new research about the undeniable connection from social media to the rise of depression in America, but I also provide some helpful questions you can ask your kids to engage them in meaningful conversation about this subject Continue reading “What age should my kid be on social media?”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Parenting, Self Image, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media | Tags: mobile devices, parenting help, smartphones, social media, teen depression, teens and social media | Leave A Comment

Answering top questions from today’s parents PART III

Posted on: 11/16/17 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

In PART I and PART II of this series we already tackled some of the big questions today’s parents are asking…

How do I regulate screen time with a high functioning autistic kid?

When your kids push you away and go silent, how do you reconnect?

Is there a way to receive your kids’ texts directly on your device?

These are just a few of the countless questions I just received from parents… and for three days I’ve been answering them in this blog. Each day I’m narrowing it down to the top 10.

Here are the final 10 answers to the last 10 questions… Continue reading “Answering top questions from today’s parents PART III”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Parenting, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media | Tags: apps, mentors, parenting, parenting teens, single mom, smartphones, social media, teens | Leave A Comment

Answering top questions from today’s parents PART II

Posted on: 11/15/17 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Yesterday we already tackled some of the big ones…

What age do you recommend allowing children on social media?

Is there a way to filter the stories on SnapChat?

How do you prevent sexting?

These are just a few of the countless questions I just received from parents… and for three days I’m going to answer all of them in this blog. Each day I’m going to narrow it down to the top 10. (See yesterday’s 10 answers HERE.)

Here are today’s 10 answers to 10 questions… Continue reading “Answering top questions from today’s parents PART II”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Parenting, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media, Youth Culture | Tags: parenting, raising autistic kids, raising teenagers, smartphones, social media, youth culture | Leave A Comment

Answering top questions from today’s parents PART I

Posted on: 11/14/17 3:30 AM | by Jonathan McKee

The questions began rolling in…

What age do you recommend giving our kids phones?

What is the easiest way to monitor a child’s online safety?

What are the dangers of the app Musical.ly?

These are just a few of the countless questions I just received from parents… and in the next three days I’m going to answer all of them in this blog. Each day I’m going to narrow it down to the top 10 Continue reading “Answering top questions from today’s parents PART I”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Music, Parenting, Sexuality, Smartphones/Cell Phones, Social Media | Tags: COPPA, Jonathan McKee, media discernment, parenting, parenting questions, raising teenagers, smartphone contract, Snapchat, social media, teens and smartphones, The Teens Guide to Social Media and Mobile Devices | Leave A Comment

Mean girls, mean boys, mean words…

Posted on: 11/3/17 6:43 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Yesterday I was in Canada recording an interview on Canadian TV show 100 Huntley Street dialoguing about how we can help teens learn to think before they post (to be aired early next year). As I was there, host Maggie John and I talked off camera about bullying… and that word can be a little misleading… I’m not talking about a kid punching another kid and stealing his lunch money. I’m talking about the much more common bullying that takes place… mean words.

Two months ago Maggie Skyped me in on their show for a discussion about “cyberbullying” and the mean words kids are using on their devices. These words are often posted everywhere, for everyone to see… and they have devastating effects Continue reading “Mean girls, mean boys, mean words…”

Posted in Bullying/Cyberbullying, Internet, Social Media | Tags: bullying, cyberbullying, mean girls, mean words, social media | Leave A Comment

3 Reasons Why Today’s Teens are Depressed More Than Ever Before

Posted on: 10/31/17 11:33 AM | by Jonathan McKee

If you’ve picked up a newspaper in the last few months, you’ve probably noticed article upon article about the rise of teen anxiety, depression and suicide. It was just last year that suicide moved up to the second-leading cause of death among US teens.

The question everyone is wondering is why?

Experts are speculating, and most of their theories have one “device” in common: the smartphone.

I can’t say I disagree. In fact, I see 3 ingredients catalyzing this unprecedented increase in teen anxiety and depression Continue reading “3 Reasons Why Today’s Teens are Depressed More Than Ever Before”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Internet, Parenting, Self Image, Social Media, Youth Culture | Tags: anxiety, Depression, smartphone, social media, suicide, teen depression | Leave A Comment