Gospel Tech with Nathan Sutherland

Being present matters. Today's conversation is an extension of Tuesday's, with three examples that help us connect what we learned about friendship to our own daily lives.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/3BKuFui

Are smartphones and social media the new cul-de-sac? Do our children need to be online in order to have friends?

In today's episode we talk about what it takes to make a friend, be a friend, and keep a friend in this digital world.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/3L7gJxo

In our previous conversation we discussed how to handle conversations about new tech with our children. Today we're going to walk through specific conversations addressing three tech parents hear about most often: smartphones, social media, and video games.

Time:
1:30. Smartphones
11:45. Social Media
20.15. Video Games

Resources:
Video Game Grades: I've made a simple tool to help determine if a video game is a good fit for your family. Go to https://www.gospeltech.net/resources/, enter your email, and enjoy!

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/3RIQMGB

It's going to happen: Your child is going to come home from school completely enthralled with some new tech. One of their classmates, or someone on their team, will have something new and shiny, and they're going to bring you a pitch for one:
a smartphone, video game, or the latest social media platform.

Whatever it is, you’ve got to have an answer. In today's episode we'll walk you through exactly how to do that, and how to use these tech conversations as a win for both you and your child.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/3ALAPZk

2/3 Parents say they believe it's harder to parent now than it was 20 years ago, with many citing technology as their reason (Pew, Auxier et al, 2020). That feels about right. Parenting can feel downright overwhelming in this tech world!

Today we'll discuss three steps we can all take to help ensure we have healthy tech as we take on the coming school year.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/3e7txYs

How do we prep our tech for school? We use a RESET.

In today’s conversation we’ll discuss the two types of tech, how to assess tech health, and some practical ways we can begin these conversations at home with children of all ages.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/3AOIx6x

Roger Smith is a 30+ year educator, the VP of a national sports camp, a parent of two young adults, and a major advocate for young people growing up in a tech world.

Roger has been on the front lines of education since the advent of the personal computer and the internet. Now his elementary school students show up with smartphones and are issued school laptops. In today’ interview he shares encouragement for parents, timely reminders, and some impassioned challenges for how we can fight for our children in this tech world.

Resources:
.Learn more about NBC: https://www.nbccamps.com
.a great dumb phone for your fam:
Gabb Wireless: https://gabbwireless.com
Wisephone: http://gotechless.com
.a wonderful tool to help keep online activity open: http://bark.us

There's lots of good information out there on tech. You can watch a documentary, read a book, or review the research. But often ingesting that information doesn't motivate change. Until today.

Today we focus on what we CAN do, wherever we are in our tech use and with whatever information we've got on us as of this morning.

We'll talk about what it looks like to RESET & RENEW. Then we'll apply those to our families and have practical steps for making conversations, and changes, we need to love God and use tech.

Resources Referenced:

The Lexon Flip Plus: the alarm clock you've been looking for
a helpful article talking more about RESET
The 2 hour course I reference: The Gospel Tech Small Group Curriculum
Our website: gospeltech.net
our social media: Instagram & Facebook
The Biblical Standard for our tech use: That we produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), not the fruit of the Flesh (Galatian 5:19-21 & Romans 1:30), that our content meets God's expectations for what we enjoy (Philippians 4:8), and that it reflects the fullness of God's love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/3OVu6B5

There’s a really good chance your child has asked you to get them a smartphone. My first conversation was with my oldest child when he was in kindergarten. His classmate had one and used it to play games during the school day. Whatever age you child, this conversation is fraught with big emotions, a predictable “but everyone else has one” argument, and the difficulty as a parent of threading the needle between being intentional and being out of touch with reality. It's not easy, and today's conversation will walk through the research and practice that will help inform our decisions, as well as practical steps we can take to help get our children on the road to eventual (if delayed) digital independence.

Resources:

Addiction By Design: Machine Gambling In Las Vegas. The book I couldn't remember in the podcast--Ms. Dow Schull looks at how slot machines engage users beyond just gambling, and the implications that has for other digital tech.

Gabb Wireless: great options for trainer phones

The Wise Phone: another great dumb phone option

An article we wrote for Fierce Parenting on how to make your smartphone a dumb phone

A great Protect Young Eyes article on home routers

Some other honorable mentions:

Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. A look at unhealthy tech design and specifically the pull to refresh in Smartphones.
The Social Dilemma: A documentary that sheds light on some of the design aspects of social media (although know going in that the documentary falls short of giving any practical or hopeful next steps)
Hooked: How To Build Habit Forming Products A book by Nir Eyal in which he explores “experiences designed to connect the user’s problem with the company’s product with enough frequency to form a habit.” Show Notes: https://onpurposely.com/gospel-tech-crash-course-5-smart-phones/

Should my child be on social media?

This question can feel loaded, but it doesn’t have to be. Social media conversations are fraught with strong opinions, a desire for belonging, and the parenting version of the boogieman: We don’t know everything ab out every app, and what we do know is often enough to make us lose the little sleep we get.

Today we're going to clarify that there is, in fact, a Biblical standard for social media. We'll talk about how we make these big decisions with our children, and what parents need to know in order to be informed and intentional when stepping into the world of algorithm-guided relationships. Show Notes: https://bit.ly/3RPyEMf