Technology & Relationships

This month the pastors at my church, Westwood Community Church, are focusing the messages on technology based on a book titled “The Digital Invasion: How Technology is Shaping You and Your Relationships” by Dr. Archibald Hart and Dr. Sylvia Hart. Yesterday I was interviewed by Pastor Joel Johnson during the message at each service. We discussed digital footprints, filters, fragmented focus, solitude, digital yawns, parenting high tech kids, and more. I explained how last fall, because my five year old daughter pointed out how much time I spend on my phone, I made changes to limit my own screen time and distraction and shared my tips for dealing with this. The video of this interview is about 15 minutes long.   

You can start the video from the beginning if you'd like to here the entire message from Joel about how technology affects our relationships. He has some great insight about the importance of solitude with a great Henri Nouwen quote and an outline of the five benefits of solitude. Joel also gives a great overview of Sherry Turkle's TED Talk: Connected, but Alone?  If you haven't watched it, do!

Cyber Safety: Catching Up With High Tech Kids On Thursday, April 30, from 7–8:30pm, I have a parent ed class scheduled at Westwood.  If you are in the area and able to attend, please register online (it's free). Invite others, too.

Tablets, Smartphones, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, Minecraft... Technology is a big part of our kids’ world! Keeping up can be challenging, but a positive and well informed approach can have a big impact on your child’s future and habits. Learn how to help your kids develop a balanced and healthy use of technology. Get tips and ideas for maintaining open dialog about technology and understand the significant role you play in helping your child be responsible and safe in today’s high-tech world. Numerous ideas and free resources will be shared.  

Past related posts:

• The Teenage Brain +Dementia of the Preoccupied
• Quick & Easy Cell Phone Web Filtering for Kids (*and limitations)
• Parenting with Purpose in the Digital Age... Managing New Devices Received at the Holidays
• New Year's Resolution: 3 Ways to Cut Back on Digital Distractions
• Crazy Busy: You Are Letting the Screen Strangle Your Soul
• How Long is Stuff Really Out There? My Students' 1995 Digital Footprint
• Parenting in the Digital Age Part 2: How Much Should Parents Snoop?
• Parenting with Purpose in the Digital Age... It's Complicated
• Balancing Choice and Control with a Half Million Apps