Pornography is real and it is hurting our children's minds. 7/10 tweens and 8/10 teens will encounter nudity or content of a sexual nature online (Bark, January 2021). So what can we do? A lot! There is great hope for this conversation and very practical, loving steps we can take to help our children know what love is, what God says about their bodies and sex, and how to handle pornography when they run into it (because odds are they WILL run into it in this digital world).

What can we do with the Gospel when it comes to tech? What can we do, starting today, to apply the tech to our lives in faith? Today's conversation gives seven steps every family can take that put the Gospel at the center of our tech lives in practical ways, and that will challenge all of us to trust God more in areas of our lives that can be easy to excuse because they're "not that bad". Let this episode encourage you to see God for all He is, and see the amazing hope and opportunity there is in loving God and using tech.

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.

We need to have transparent tech. Many of our digital devices are branded with the idea of freedom, privacy, and personal exultation:

Our shows are selected based on our preferences.
Our social media is populated by people who follow us.
Our devices are encrypted and personal.
Our online identities are easily obscured or hidden.

Yet instead of online anonymity healthy tech means we:

Avoid digital secrets
Apply the Gospel in action
Have a plan for what to do when tech is unhealthy

Today's gives practical steps we can all take to ensure our tech is transparent.

It’s back to school time!
So how do we keep our technology safe? Or, for many of us, how do we push tech back into the normal little box we used to keep it in?
Today we’re going to talk specifically about how we can prepare for this new season of school and tech in three areas:

our home networks and devices
smartphones
specific steps for safe tech times and places

We have a problem with comparison. We are constantly trying to decide if we’re good enough for God, as parents, as citizens, based on how we perceive we rank to those around us. It’s for this reason social media is so devastating to so many of us. We are constantly bombarded by our inadequacy but, unlike the Gospel, social media offers us no recourse.
This is a problem in our personal lives, as it leaves to spiraling anxiety and depression, poor sleep, and lack of general satisfaction, but it is also detrimental to our spiritual lives and the lives Christ has called us to as His Church.
Today we’re tackling this conversation, and my hope is we’ll come out of it more prepared to love, repent, and be the body of Christ.

It can be easy to tell when our children are unhealthy with their tech (check out episodes, 71, 54, 53, 49 and many others!), but what should we do about it? One of my all-time favorite options is the Analog Adventure. Today we'll discuss how we can find real-world outlets for energy and creativity that our children will love to do and that will inspire more of who God has created them to be rather than distract from his purpose and plans for them.

Should our children be on social media? This conversation can feel loaded. Kids often believe it includes a request for a smartphone (because which kid honestly would prefer to use social media from a shared public computer?) and parents frequently have no idea what to make of most of the apps out there. 
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, what parents need to know in order to be informed, and what benefits and potential pitfalls we should expect when stepping into the world of algorithm-controlled relationships.

Should our children play video games? 
More than 2/3 of Americans play video games, and it's a fairly even split between males and females (although mays tend to put in the most time). So there's a good chance our children will ask us if they can play video games, and we want to have an answer built out of the Gospel not simply our opinions or feelings in the moment. 
In today's conversation we'll look at video games versus some of the other favorite entertainment tech options (social media, shows, music), and remind ourselves what the Gospel says about our gaming. 
Then we'll walk through how we can help ensure gaming stays a benefit, not a distraction, to God's purpose for them.
Finally we'll address what to do if and when gaming gets out of control—how to spot it and how to lovingly intervene.

What gets you out of bed every morning? There is a difference between making through today, and living with the legacy God has given us. Legacy is a word fraught with the middle school trauma of poorly-executed motivational speeches. We have come to think of legacy as the influence we have on the world after we're gone, but is that what the Bible tells us? Today we're going to discuss how legacy is less about what or who we become, and more about being who God has made us in Christ.  It isn't about carpe-ing the diem or achieving some scrap of success. It's about living in light of a greater hope, looking to those who have lived long, and not so long, yet reflect the hope available to each of us today through God's saving work in Christ Jesus.