Category: social media

  • Should I get my kid a smartphone?

    Should I get my kid a smartphone?

    A few weeks back my church hosted a screening of the film, Screenagers. Afterwards I was part of a panel that helped parents process the movie plus answer questions about social media use in the home. The crux of the entire documentary was this exchange between the mom and her teenage daughter: Mom: “How can you…

  • Applying Tuning In Principles in the Local Church

    My new book, Tuning In: Six Ways to Get Your Life Back from Technology comes out on April 12th. But the content in the book has been leaking out in my discussions with church leaders over the last several months. I’m really passionate about helping people find some health in their lives and ministries when…

  • Are You Ready for a Technology Tune-Up?

    Are You Ready for a Technology Tune-Up?

    In the following pages, you’ll discover a series of essays which deal with everyday challenges you and I face as a direct result of technology. I believe that most of these challenges and bad habits creeping into our daily lives are happening because none of us made a careful and conscious decision to allow technology…

  • (Less) sex, (less) drugs, and the smartphone

    (Less) sex, (less) drugs, and the smartphone

    New research is suggesting that married couples are having less sex than in the past. New research is suggesting teenagers are abusing fewer substances. Both studies point to the smartphone as a possible reason: The smartphone. When looking only at married people, the drop was even sharper — from around 73 times a year in 1990 to…

  • Why I Wrote Tuning In

    Why I Wrote Tuning In

    “So, why did you write this book?” Here’s two things you need to know right off the bat.

  • I can’t wait for the new book to come out!

    I can’t wait for the new book to come out!

    As my new still nameless book makes it’s way through the editorial process I am getting more and more excited for a few specific reasons: It’s the book I had to write, not the book the market was demanding I write. I’ve not done well over 100 parent workshops and along the way I’ve learned that…

  • Parents, Look Out for Curious Cat

    Parents, Look Out for Curious Cat

    Here we go again. Another app lying to users.  There is yet another anonymous question asking/confession social media app floating around the internet claiming they’ve solved the bullying (and suicides) that plague older confessional apps like Ask.fm, this one borrows it’s name from the ever-popular cat movement online: Curious Cat.

  • New Research About the Online Harassment of Teenagers

    New Research About the Online Harassment of Teenagers

    27% of victims, which translates to 11% of all internet users, experienced trouble in a relationship or friendship because of something that was posted about them online. This morning I read a newly released Data & Society study about the prevalence of online harassment in America. The lead researcher is Amanda Leinhart, formerly of Pew…

  • Understanding Social Media and Teenagers – My new online course!

    Understanding Social Media and Teenagers – My new online course!

    Since… forever… I’ve been helping youth workers understand and better use social media for their ministry. Seriously, since the AOL chat room days.  And for the past several years my “go to” seminar at training events has been called “Teenagers + the Small Screen” where I help you get a framework of understanding why teenagers…

  • Stop Gawking

    Stop Gawking

    Rubbernecking, gawking, eyeball, peer, rivet, glare, ogle.  These are synonyms for what the 24/7 news cycle wants out of you. The antonym? There’s only one: Ignore.  Source When the News is More than The News About 18 months ago I had the epiphany. Huffington Post and CNN weren’t showing me news. They were showing me…