Download PDF - Adventist Review

Adventist Life
BY PAMELA CONSUEGRA
Parents in today’s technological
age are dealing with
issues that their parents
never had to face. Social
media is a cultural change
that did not enter our world until the
end of the last century—and it’s not a
passing fad. Instead, it’s become the
fabric of our American culture.
As with many things, technology has
proved to be both a blessing and a curse.
We’ve witnessed ruling parties of nations
overturned, in part, because of the influence
social media had upon its citizens. If
it can impact a nation, it surely has an
impact upon our
individual families.
Many
parents feel
as if their
attempts to
control the
use of media
are futile.
A recent study
conducted by the
Institute for
Advanced Studies in
Culture 1 revealed
some startling
information. Parents
shared a view indicating
that the family
is in decline. This
decline was attributed, to a large degree,
to social media. Parents expressed a sense
of danger to their child that was linked
directly to the use of technology. Here are
some of the findings the study revealed:
• Eighty-four percent of teenagers
carry a cell phone.
• Ninety-three percent of teenagers
are connected to their peers via cell
phone or online social networking.
• Seven out of 10 teenagers are texting
at least once a day, and 64 percent
are texting multiple times daily.
• Four out of five teenagers have a
Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking
account with which they follow
and “friend” people whom their
parents don’t know.
• Two thirds of teenagers connect
to their online social networks at least
several times a week.
• Sixty-two percent of all parents of
teenagers say their children “ are constantly
connected electronically with
their friends.”
Another study indicates that the situation
is actually worse than parents
report. It shows a disconnect between
parents’ perceptions and reality. “The
Online Generation Gap: Contrasting Attitudes
and Behaviors of Parents and
Teens,” conducted by Hart Research Associates
for the Family Online Safety Institute
(FOSI), 2 found a “generation gap”
between what parents think they know
about their kids’ online behavior and
what the teens say they actually do know.
In short, this study revealed that parents
think they have a better handle on their
kids’ online behavior than they actually
do. This means that the problem may be
worse than parents think it is. In fact, 71
percent of teens say they hide their
online activity from their parents. 3
Our children’s lives are infused with •
contacts, conversations, and information
that many parents feel are out of their control.
Parents readily admit that their child
sees things in media that they should not
be seeing. Parents have a sense that they
should, in fact, be doing more; however,
they’re uncertain as to how to get a handle
on social media and the digital world that
has invaded their child’s life. Many parents
feel as if their attempts to control the
use of media are futile.
If parents try to envelop their child
in a safety net against the influences of
social media, they are left with
nowhere for their child to go. After all,
social media is all around us. There’ s
no escaping it. So should parents just
admit defeat? Do we throw up our
hands and give up?
A key role of parenting is teaching
our children to become responsible
adults. This is not a matter of control;
it’s a matter of living up to our Godgiven
responsibility as parents. In so
doing, we’ll help to ensure their safety
amid social media frenzy.
Here are some thoughts to consider:
Install parental
control software.
Teens should never have accounts that
don’t allow parents complete access. Noth-
24 (840) | www.AdventistReview.org | September 19, 2013