TECHNOLOGY: FIGHTING FOR PURITY IN THE DIGITAL GENERATION PASTOR AARON PETERS & PASTOR JUSTIN ROPER

I. INTRODUCTION

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8, ESV)

Digital Natives: Your children are the first generation to grow up in a digital world. They live the majority of their lives based upon the Internet.

II. OVERVIEW OF A. History B. Current Landscape C. Social Media Apps and Outlets You Ought to Know 1. WhatsApp: A lot of kids still use Messenger on their phones to get in touch with their friends, but one of Facebook's biggest competitors is WhatsApp -- an extremely popular alternative for individual and group text messaging on mobile. As of October 2013, WhatsApp reported having over 300 million users. It's available on all major mobile platforms, and was free until a subscription fee of 99 cents per year was implemented in 2013. 2. Facebook: a social networking service that launched in February 2004. As of September 2012, Facebook has over one billion active users, more than half use Facebook on a mobile device. 3. : launched in 2006 as a social networking service and microblogger that lets users send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters,

1 called “tweets”. Students are leaving Facebook for Twitter because adults have swarmed their Facebook feeds. 4. : an online photo-sharing and social networking service where users take pictures, apply filters, and share them. As of January 2013 90 million users are active. Note: as of December 17, 2012 Instagram updated its Terms of Service to allow Instagram the right to sell users’ photos to third parties without notification or compensation starting January 16, 2013. 5. : a photo messaging application developed by four Stanford students. Using the app, users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients. Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view their photos, up to 10 seconds, after which it will be deleted from the recipient's device and the company's servers. 6. : Pinterest organizes users around interests. Users create boards, which are like digital bulletin boards where favorite content is “pinned.” It's incredibly popular because of its ease of use, ability to “save” content to look at later, and highly visual layout. Danger? Once a gathering place for home cooks and interior design aficionados, Pinterest has attracted its share of porn. However, your teen probably won’t find it unless he or she is looking. 7. : On Vine, users create and post 6-second videos, which are often also shared on Twitter and Facebook. Expect plenty of inappropriate content here including enough sex and drugs to earn the app a 17+ rating in the iTunes Store. With an unverified confirmation of the age requirement, users are ready to post video. Blocking who watches the video requires constant vigilance to make sure videos are not shown to strangers. 8. Reddit: Reddit users submit links or text, which are voted up or down by other users. Content is ranked to determine the post’s position on the front page. All the content is organized into categories known as “sub-reddits.” This site is more popular with boys, who are using the app less as a than as a source of news and as a search engine. The forum-like interaction means your teen can “talk” to anyone. 9. : Tumblr enables blogging for those afflicted with a short attention span. Of course, teens love it. Photo, audio, and video posts are often re- shared from other sites with very little text. Tumblr’s big attraction is the ability to create collections of media that quickly and powerfully express the poster’s personality. Beware of the anorexia communities popular on Tumblr glorifying images of frighteningly thin young girls and women. 10. Kik: Kik is a smartphone messenger system where users send videos and images instead of text. Think emojis on steroids. Teens love meme and Kik

2 allows them to search for and share images, memes and YouTube videos. Parents might be surprised to see some of the jokes their teens are sharing, but there is no unique danger here. 11. Snapchat: Snapchat allows users to send messages, primarily photos and videos that are destroyed seconds after they have been received. This service is marketed to teens with “capture the moment” messaging, and plays on its contrast to Facebook, which archives every post and pic for years. Snapchat’s fleeting image feature offers users the illusion of anonymity, but screenshots can be taken. The biggest risk here is sending inappropriate content thinking it can’t be used against them. If your kids have the judgment of politicians, they could get into trouble. 12. Pheed: Pheed allows users to share all forms of digital content in 420 character or less. Teens are the primary users of Pheed, which is one of the top apps in the iPhone store. Each user gets their own channel where they can post their content publicly or privately. In addition to the social media aspects like Facebook, Pheed is a full service broadcast medium. Users can share audio tracks and live broadcasts. Your teenager could conceivably live-stream every waking moment on Pheed. I think we’ve all seen that episode of "Law & Order." Users can also charge for access to the channel. A profit motive and under-developed judgment? What could possibly go wrong? 13. Wanelo: Wanelo -- which stands for "Want, need, love" -- is Instagram- meets-shopping and the dream app of many teenage girls. Users post images of and links to products, which are then bought, saved, and shared by other users. When enough users tag a product, a store page is created. Users can follow stores and get updates when new products from those stores are posted. Wanelo is a wonderful tool to find out exactly what your 14-year-old daughter wants for her birthday. Serious threats to your bank balance here. 14. 4Chan: 4chan is a simple forum platform. Anyone can post images on bulletin boards, and anyone can comment. Similar to Reddit, the boards are dedicated to a variety of topics, but here users do not need to create an account to participate in the community. Anonymity can create extremely hostile environments online, so if your teenager is using 4chan, you’ll want to have conversations about how to deal with virtual aggression. 15. Ask.fm: Ask.fm is a social networking website that allows users to post questions, with the option of anonymity. Controversy: Between 2012 and 2014, the site became associated with numerous instances of cyberbullying, some of which led to suicides, particularly in teens.

3 16. Poof: This app allows users to make other apps “disappear” on their phone. Kids can hide any app they don’t want you to see by opening the app and selecting other apps. 17. : An app that is used for hooking-up and dating. Users can rate profiles and find potential hook-ups via GPS location tracking. 450 million profiles are rated every day! The good news is, this app pulls information from user’s Facebook profiles, so it is more authenticated than other apps. 18. Omegle: This app is primarily used for video chatting. When you use Omegle, you do not identify yourself through the service. Instead, chat participants are only identified as “You” and “Stranger.” However, you can connect Omegle to your Facebook account to find chat partners with similar interests. When choosing this feature, an Omegle Facebook App will receive your Facebook “likes” and try to match you with a stranger with similar likes.

III. TECHONOLOGY IS FUNDAMENTAL TO SOCIETY (WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT) A. Important Statistics 1. 24% of teens go online “almost constantly” 2. 92% of teens go online daily. 3. Some 93% of teens ages 12-17 are online 4. The average teen sends 3,339 texts per month. Teen females send an incredible 4,050 texts per month, while teen males send an average of 2,539 texts. 5. 70% of teens have access to a smartphone 6. 69% of teens have their own computer 7. 27% of teens use their phone to get online 8. 73% of teens are on a social network 9. Regarding Facebook, 86% of social network-using teens comment of friends walls 10. 66% send private messages to friends 11. 52% send group messages 12. 83% comment on photos. 13. Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram are just as fundamental to society as radio, TV, and movies.

4 B. Hooked on the Screen 1. 50% of boys and 25% of girls spend an average of more than 42 hours per week in front of electronic screens. TV was the most common. (Data taken from 1,293 7th grade students) C. Hooked on Games 1. 88% of young people play video games 2. A study of American children and teenagers, aged 8 to 18, found that roughly one in 10 video game players (8.5 percent of American youth) show signs of addictive behavior. (Iowa State University and the National Institute on Media and the Family)

IV. SOCIAL MEDIA CAN CREATE A FALSE SENSE OF CONNECTION A. At Home: Social interaction is being removed as the media gains a stronger presence.

B. Friendships: Students have friends they have never met. They have interactions with complete strangers.

C. Isolated: The media creates an ideal image and isolates someone from reality. It drives someone to look a certain way and live a certain life. It says what is accepted and successful. This can further withdraw them from social interaction.

D. Feel Invisible: Students are crying out for attention. They need it. They will adhere to their favorite celebrity or musician. They will do what it takes to feel loved or accepted. But when they do not receive it, they will withdraw and start a new life on the internet. The internet is a willing listener; a place to take your problems and your concerns. The world is at your fingertips…and that is very dangerous.

V. SOME DANGERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA A. Cyberbullying and Violence: Social network sites become a place to confront conflict. Bullying isn’t limited to the playground or schoolyard any longer. Bullying has become even more evident in the online world. 1. Research suggests that 9-35% of young people report being victims of electronic aggression. 2. This predominantly leads to emotional distress and conduct problems as well. 3. By the age of 18, the average American will have viewed over 200,000 acts of violence on TV alone. 4. Media violence can increase aggressiveness, anti-social behavior, fear, and their appetite for more of it.

5 B. Expression of Sexual Intimacy: Social media becomes more saturated with sex each year. Anything one wishes to see or experience can be accessed now. 1. Three out of four teens say TV shows and movies make it seem normal for teenagers to have sex. 2. Young teens (13-15) rank entertainment media as the top source of information about sexuality and sexual health. 3. 40% of teens say they have ideas for how to speak with their others about sexual issues from the media. 4. 25% of commercials include some type of sexual innuendo or even explicit sexual reference as a base for their message.

C. Predators: Adults seeking to interact with children can now post a false identity online to communicate, share information, obtain information, and send pictures. 1. 55% of teens have given their personal info to someone they do not know, including photos and physical descriptions 2. 29% have been stalked or contacted by a stranger or someone they do not know. 3. 24% have had private or embarrassing info made public without their permission

D. Posting Pictures 1. In a survey of college students, more than 80% of men and more than 50% of women said they had been exposed to pornography by age 14. 2. In a survey of college students, more than 93% of men and 62% of women said they had been exposed to pornography by the age of 18. 3. 25% of teen girls and 33% of teen boys have had nude or semi-nude images—originally meant to be seen by someone else—shared with them online or on mobile phones (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy). 4. Unused MySpace accounts have become the source of for hackers, stalkers, and pedophiles to create fake-profiles to lure in unsuspecting people. There are even websites to tell you how to create a fake Facebook profile! (http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Fake-Facebook- Profile)

E. Self-Image 1. 80% of girls 9-18 are on diets. 2. Eating disorders have grown 400% since 1970. 3. 25% of girls feel the media pressures them to have a perfect body. 4. 70% of girls say that models influence their idea of a perfect body shape.

F. Addition 1. The digital generation spends more than 70 hours per week online (IPPR). That equals: 3640 hours or 152 days in a year. That means 1062 days from grades 6-12 are spent online.

6 2. On a typical day, a teenager will send 118 texts. 3. Overall most users reported being very content and having many friends. But those users that felt less content personally tended to be more saturated with the media.

G. Eternal Media: There are many steps to delete Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. However, the content is never gone and will remain on the internet.

VI. PLAN OF ACTION: The greatest threat to children is that their parents are not involved in their children’s interaction with the media and the internet. The responsibility lies with the parents to inspire their children to be outdoors, exercise, have interaction with others, set guardrails, and to moderate media usage with some simple rules.

A. Supervise your children and set age-appropriate guardrails: Here are suggestions to effectively monitor your children

1. Move: a. Have one computer for your students in a room that everyone shares. Make sure no TV’s, computers or video game consoles are in bedrooms. Have students leave their phone with you when they go to bed.

2. Monitor: a. Keep all devices in a common area of the house where you can monitor what they are doing.

b. Check ratings and preview video games to make sure they are appropriate.

c. Check Facebook, Instagram, twitter, text messages and other social media any time you want. Have their passwords.

3. Limit: a. Consider turning phones and iPods off at night. Kids need 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep per night, and they average 7.5. One recent study showed that one in ten 13-18 year-olds are awakened after they go to bed every night by phone call, text, or email. 28% of this group have their ringers on all night.

b. Create a few house rules for screen time. For example, one hour per day, none on school nights or only after homework is completed. Set limits that work for your family and enforce them consistently.

4. Time: a. Determine clear and established time frames where your students can use their media devices.

b. Use a timer and when it goes off, that’s the end of it. Period!

7 5. Balance: a. Require at least 30 minutes of physical activity for every 30 minutes of media.

6. Decide: a. Avoid channel surfing! Check the listings and decide which shows you want to watch. Turn the TV on only when the show is on.

b. Approve all music that your students download.

7. Restrict: a. Never eat surfing the web, texting, or in front of the TV. Turn it off and enjoy family conversation during meals and even with snacks.

b. Determine clear and established time frames where your students can use media devices.

8. Teach: a. Make sure your children understand internet safety. They may already know more than you think they do or really want, but it’s important they learn how to protect themselves.

9. Educate: a. It is important to be familiar with the media that influences your children. Remember, there are many sites and media that can be beneficial, encourage learning and connection.

b. Frequent the iTunes Top 10 albums, songs, etc to see what is popular.

c. Stay informed about new devices and new media that arises.

d. Continually talk with your children about new avenues of media.

B. Ensure Accountability 1. Computer: a. Covenant Eyes: Internet Accountability and Filtering (www.covenanteyes.com)

b. Be Secure: (www.besecure.com)

2. Android, iPhones, iPads, iPods K9 Web protection a. K9 Web protection: (www1.k9webprotection.com)

b. Safe Eyes Mobile: $14.99 (https://itunes.apple.com/app/safe- eyes- mobile/id298505665?mt=8)

c. Secure Servers, Routers and Firewalls a. OpenDNS (www.openDNS.com) is a great add-on to a service

8 like BeSecure (www.bsecure.com). Bsecure also offers something called "Whole Home Filtering" which does something similar by redirecting your router to their DNS server, but I have had some problems with the reliability of their DNS server and when it goes down, you can't do anything. OpenDNS guarantees 100% uptime and has been very reliable.

C. Read and Pray with your children: 91% OF FAMILIES DON’T READ GOD’S WORD AND PRAY WITH THEIR CHILDREN. It is vital that parents spend time reading and praying with their children.

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