Media Alert!
February 2024
BLOG #52
Sue Summers
MediaSavvyKids.org
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:2 (The Message)
“Much More Than a Phone!”
Most parents today are in a quandary about screens – phones in particular. We know our children need the tools of safety that smart phones provide. This is understandable. What is troublesome is that smart phones provide so much more. Today’s phones are truly powerful hand-held computers!
We all know that our cell phones have built-in cameras that allow us to forego the purchase of additional cameras. But without supervision, phones can become tools of harm, used for bullying, sexting, and blackmail. With the addition of AI-assisted features embedded in operating systems, or purchased phone “apps”, images and photos can be manipulated and not even reflect reality.
“A New Jersey teen is suing a classmate for allegedly creating and sharing AI-generated pornographic images of herself and other classmates.
A male classmate used an ‘AI application or website’ to alter photos of the 15-year-old, who is identified only as Jane Doe because she is a minor, and other female classmates at Westfield High School, according to a federal lawsuit… The photos were initially shared on Instagram.
In all of the photos, Jane Doe and the other girls were clothed, but the AI application digitally removed the clothing and created new images that made the girls appear nude. Their faces remained easily identifiable. ‘These nude photos of Jane Doe and other minor girls are virtually indistinguishable from real, unaltered photos,’ the lawsuit said.” (February 9, 2024, http://www.aol.com/teen-sues-classmate-allegedly-creating-191716926.html)
In addition, phones with access to the Internet expose youngsters to “the good, the bad, and the ugly”. It’s been said that giving your child a phone with an Internet connection is like taking your child to New York City and leaving them there unsupervised for 8 hours. They are not discerning enough to handle what they see or make wise choices!
Smart phones are the “super highway” to social media that fill their days and nights with videos, opinions, rantings, and cultural coarseness that may set their moral compass spinning. But, of course, their curiosity and the arguably addictive properties of social media pull them in for hours each day.
It’s important that we don’t ignore probable encounters with the scary and overwhelming omnipresence of predators, pornography, and scams.
Then the unlimited availability of thousands of apps allows cell phone users to download all kinds of opportunities to connect with the world, through games, online gambling, and social media, to name just a few. To learn more about what is available and potentially hazardous, read “A Complete Guide to Potentially Dangerous Apps for Kids”. (www.familyeducation.com/entertainment-activities/online/a-complete-guide-to-potentially-dangerous-apps-all-parents-should-be-aware-of)
All in all, children and teens are not ready for all that the world is going to throw at them!
So… what’s a parent to do?
Fortunately, there are companies that supply the answer: phones without Internet connections. For information about the various phones that are available without Internet access, read “The Best Cell Phones Without Internet Access”. (www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Cell-Phone-with-No-Internet-Access)
Schools are definitely struggling with children and teens and their cell phones. One school tried something new:
“Buxton [boarding school in Massachusetts] was wrapping up the first year of a simple yet novel experiment: banning cellphones on campus. Or, rather, smartphones. Instead, the school gave everyone on campus – including staff – a Light Phone, that is, a “dumb” phone with limited functionality. The devices can make calls, send texts (slowly) and can’t load modern applications; instead coming with deliberately cumbersome versions of music and mapping apps. They are about the size of a deck of cards, with black and white screens.” (https://apple.news/Agq9mp_caRlC7Z5nyHeDqOA)
If this seems too radical or expensive, consider the ingenious solution one high school in Hotchkiss, Colorado, uses: each teacher has a plastic “over the door hanging shoe organizer” (about $8 on Amazon) and every slot has a number. Each student has an assigned number and places his or her cell phone in the appropriate slot at the beginning of class. The phone needs to be silenced or there is a penalty if it rings during class. The students pick up their phones as they depart from the classroom. Clever and inexpensive!
So how can we help teens become media-savvy about the culture that surrounds them?
Parents need to talk with their children and teens about the potential dangers of cell phones that have Internet access as well as the good and the bad aspects of smart phones. It’s not enough to hand them phones and assume they are mature enough to use them wisely. Consider purchasing phones without Internet connections. In addition, have ongoing conversations with the family about appropriate cell phone use. Parents should discuss acceptable cell phone behavior at school with their children as well as possible solutions for cell phone misuse at school with PTAs, school boards, and teachers. Try these discussion starters:
• “What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a cell phone?”
• “Do you see any inappropriate use of cell phones at school?”
• “Let’s talk about cell phones that have Internet access. What are the pros and cons?”
• “Would your friends be irritated or relieved if the school created a solution for cell phone use in the classroom?”
• Share and discuss the information above about how Buxton – a boarding school in Massachusetts – resolved the issue of cell phones. Ask, “Is this a solution you would support?”
• “What do you think would happen if we didn’t have cell phones for a week?”
• “What do you think God’s opinion would be about the time we spend on our cell phones?”
• “Let’s brainstorm ideas about how to lessen our involvement with our cell phones.”
Note: Share this blog with your church’s youth pastor as a lesson for youth group gatherings.
//
Sue Summers is a Christian media analyst, teacher, author, and speaker.
She is the Director of Media Alert!
Contact Info:
Blogs: MediaSavvyKids.org
Website: http://www.MediaAlert.org
Email: Sue@MediaAlert.org
#MediaSavvyKids, #ChristianParenting, #ChurchAndCulture, #YouthPastors, #YouthGroupCurriculum, #HelpForChristianParents, #TeensAndCulture, #AChangingCulture, #CriticalThinkingAndTeens, #IAmNotDefinedByTheCulture, #CellPhonesAndTeens, #CellPhoneIssues, #CellPhonesWithoutInternet, #MoreMoreThanAPhone!
Join the movement!
“I am not defined by the culture®” tee shirts are now available.
Navy blue, men’s sizes:
Medium – XL: $20
2XL & 3XL: $23
FREE SHIPPING!
PayPal is now available for purchases at: www.MediaAlert.org
© Sue Summers 2024
@font-face
{font-family:”Cambria Math”;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073697537 9 0 511 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
margin:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:”Calibri”,sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
Sue Summers is a Christian media analyst, teacher,
author, and speaker.
She is the Director of Media Alert!
Media Alert! 