Gospel Tech with Nathan Sutherland

As we look forward to Christmas we remember what Advent is all about: The coming of the long-promised Messiah, the fulfillment of God's promise to fix the problem of Sin of his own effort, mercy, and grace (Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 9:7, Psalm 22:1, John 19:30). Understanding Advent means: 
1) We plan our actions in this life in light of the work God has already done
2) We act on those plans
3) We connect our tech, and especially our Drool Tech, to the truths God reveals in the birth of his Son, our Messiah.


Resource: “Should My Child Play This Game?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22U1mc0t0mw

There are three amazing tidbits David Murrow gives in our interview with him today:

we need to fix our eyes on Jesus, not on Facebook. (5:45)
We need to be “wolf aware”. (12:00)
most of what you read online is true…but that doesn’t mean it isn’t biased. (34:30)

In our conversation David mentions a few resources / articles so I've included the links if you'd like the check them out for yourself:

(24:00): reference to the rolling stone article. Link here: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russia-troll-2020-election-interference-twitter-916482/
(26:30) he references WA Post articles. Here is an example from May, 2020: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2020/05/24/grocery-workers-coronavirus-risks/?arc404=true
(28:43) media bias chart. It’s pretty great! - https://www.adfontesmedia.com


A little about David Murrow: David Murrow has been in video production for nearly four decades and has produced over a thousand television commercials, documentaries, and specials. His work has aired on NBC, ABC, CBS, Discovery, and HGTV and many others. He’s operated a media production company in Alaska since 1987. His books have been featured in dozens of publications including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Today we are speaking with him about his latest book: Drowning In Screen Time (releasing Dec. 29, 2020).

#gospeltech #techwise #drowninginscreentime #bewolfaware #socialmedia #techaddiction #healthytech

If we don’t talk to our kids early and often about technology, about the allure, benefits and dangers, Big Tech is more than happy to step in. There are four different trillion dollar tech companies (Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft who are vying for the hearts and attention of our children. If we don’t teach our children about tech, these companies will.
In today’s episode we’ll discuss how the Gospel applies to our tech, how Big Tech vies for our attention and the hearts and minds of our children, and what we can do about it.
The Family Tech Framework resource we discuss in the podcast can be found here: gospeltechworkshop.com
If you haven’t watched it yet, the Social Dilemma is worth a viewing.

There are lots of reasons to read, but four major reasons to make it a priority when looking for analog adventures are that it:

Expands vocabulary. 
Improves imagination. 
Increases empathy. 
Develops academic success. 

We will also discuss some excellent reading options to get early wins with your children in this amazing analog adventure!
Resources we discuss:

Read Aloud Revival Booklists: Prepared lists of books to read with your child.

Honey For a Child’s Heart: Suggested readings broken down by age and interest.
Analog Adventure Guide: Books: The reading list I reference in the podcast.
Four Steps for Finding a Great Book: An article to help you deep-dive on your own!

Board games are amazing at creating adventure and amazement rather than simply consuming other people having such experiences. 
If you want to research games on your own I highly recommend Board Game Geek. Check out some of the highest ranked games in lists like:

Family Games 
Strategy
Party Games
Best Overall

You can also check out the blog post that lists each of the games we discussed in today's episode.

Today we’re talking about sleep in three facets:

Biblical model for rest and rejuvenation
The science behind sleep
How your (and your children’s tech) disrupts this

Sleep is one of those areas we know is important to our overall well-being, we know it’s important for our children, and yet, it often gets pushed to the back burner. For a number of reasons. But a like a lot of facets of tech that we talk about here, we need to step back and consider our big picture goals—for ourselves and for our families.
If our chief goal is to glorify God and enjoy him, then even decisions regarding our sleep and the tech we allow in our bedrooms should aim to achieve this goal.

The alarm clock we reference in this episode is here (not sponsored -- we just love it and use it ourselves): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V1PZS8W/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_XZDPFb4G8Q7AH?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 
If you want to contact us you can email us at [email protected] or check us out on social media on either Facebook or Instagram @loveGodusetech.
If you want help making a Family Tech Framework (which includes addressing our need for sleep) you can check out Gospel Tech’s Online Workshop here: gospeltechworkshop.com!

Dina Alexander started Educate and Empower Kids (educateempowerkids.org) as a resource to help parents fight for their kids in a  tech world. She especially loves talking with parents about how to establish healthful boundaries in the areas of smart phones and pornography.  
In today's conversation we get to hear from Dina on some of the most-asked questions regarding tech for kids:

When should my child get a smart phone?
What boundaries parents do I need to create for my family?
What online resources can I use to help engage my kids in this conversation?

Many parents we speak with talk about feeling trapped in the smartphone conversation. They're concerned about problems a smartphone may cause,  or  even see the it causing issues with focus, behavior, and relationships, but they've already given them a smart phone. Now what?
We tackle this tough conversation with a focus on the hope we have in Christ, not the fear of what could go wrong with tech.
Then we walk through practical steps on what it looks like to act on hope, not fear, in situations we know are potentially dangerous and unhealthy.


A few other resources:
Last week's episode (hope > fear -- Accountability vs. Control): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s-3-ep-8-re-establishing-tech-boundaries-accountability/id1498508882?i=1000495377769
Our previous discussion on why your child doesn't need a smartphone: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gospel-tech/id1498508882?i=1000484865287
Want help making a family tech framework? We made Gospel Tech's Online Workshop just for that! Check out the workbook and resources at gospeltechworkshop.com

Today we're continuing our conversation about how to Re-Establish tech boundaries specifically with a discussion focused on the important difference between accountability versus parent control of technology.
For Accountability vs. Control we’re going to address:

God’s respect for the human will
Love as a verb
Accountability focuses on redemption / hope. Control focuses on punishments / fear.

We’ll end by answering the question: “How do we help keep our kids accountable?

Be clear with expectations.
helpful checks in place
Clear next-steps for remove/replace

Here are the promised resources for learning more on this subject: 

The Techwise Family, Andy Crouch
Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport
Glow Kids, Nicholas Kardaras
The Shallows, Nicholas Carr
The Four, Scott Galloway
12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, Tony Reinke

The Gospel brings us back to hope - so we don't stare at tech and go “Oh man, it’s gonna be bad, better run away.” Instead we say “wow, this is gonna be bad, we’d better stay close.”
This film includes interviews with lots of people who have a deep understanding of what’s going on in the world of tech development. Here are just a few:
-Tristan Harris, former Google ethicist and co-founder of the Center for Humane Tech.
-Shoshana Zuboff, PhD, Harvard Business School, Author: Age of Surveillance Capitalism
-Jeff Seibert (former Twitter exec)
-Roger McNamees, FB venture capitalist
-Jonathan Haidt, PhD, NYU Stern School of Business, author: The Rightoues Mind: Why Good People Are Divided on Politics and Religion
-Aza Raskin - inventor of the infinite scroll
-Cathy O’Neil, PhD, Data Scientist, Author: Weapons of Math Destruction
-Sandy Parakilas, former FB / Uber management
-Guillaume Chaslot, (former youtube engineer, IntuitiveAI CEO, AlgoTransparency, FOUNDER)

This video is well worth a watch. The information is pertinent and powerful. It’s worth a chance to reflect. Three major take-aways that make me believe everyone should watch it, are:

This tech conversation is complicated - in the first minutes they ask "What is the problem” and every person stumbles over their words. It’s not that there isn't a problem, it's simply a one-word answer, or one sentence, feels cheap.
It will not resolve itself - there is literally no incentive for trillion-dollar companies to simply give up on their trade.
There is hope - lots of it. But without action that hope will be squandered

I’d add one more we have for this conversation - we know from whom we get our hope. It is the definition of unloving to be indifferent to the helpless and the needy. Our kids, our grandkids, our friends and family, even our enemies, are being eaten alive by tech that is simply smarter than they are. It’s costing us all as a country, sure, but more importantly it's impacting the hearts and minds of people who need to know their purpose and be shown the great love God has for them.