Screens & Technology – Part 1 

Impact on each member of the Body 

by Jerrold Wynia, Brooklyn EFC Elder 

Intro 1 – Claude, the chatbot developed by Antropic 

- Anthropic is an artificial intelligence company valued at $380 billion 

- Washington Post headline dated April 11, 2026 

“Anthropic Asked Christian Leaders for Advice on Claude’s Moral Future” 

- Subhead 

“Can AI be a Child of God?” 

Intro 2 – visit of grandsons to Dr. Arlt (optometrist) 

- He could tell that they did not have regular screen time 

- Study presented by Dr. Albert Mohler and Clare Morell pointing to long-term impact of dry  eyes brought on by excessive screen time 

Glorifying God by knowing Him and making Him known 

Philippians 3:7-11 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is  more, I consider everything a loss compare the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,  for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gainChrist and be found in  Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in  Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of  His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and  so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. 

“Heads down. Phones out. Fingers scrolling. This is the humanoid posture of our age. We see it  everywhere. Sit in a coffee shop and look around you. All eyes on devices. Wain in line at the post  office or grocery store. All eyes on devices. Sit at a red light and look at the drivers in the cars around  you. Same store. More disturbing still, look at the drivers on the highway going full speed. Even some  of them them have their eyes darting between the windshields and their smartphones. We see it  ourselves too. Sit down to read a physical book with your phone nearby. Observe how long you can go  without scrolling, texting, or checking some notification.” 

Those proclamations are the introduction in the book “Scrolling Ourselves to Death”. I have found that  the authors are godly men and women that present the subject in such a way that lends itself to be a  jumping off point for us as we think about the impact of screens on our lives, our families and our  church. 

• What are the unique challenges we as Christians face with the technology of today?  • How are screens affecting our relationship with Jesus Christ?  

• Do screens help us in our journey to spiritual growth?  

• Do screens keep us in perpetual infancy? 

• Do screens help us seek out truth? 

In 1932 Aldous Huxley published the book Brave New World. In 1949 George Orwell published 1984.  These are both dystopian novels, and frankly are rather disturbing to read. I found myself struggling to  see how anything in them could possibly be relevant or predictive of where we are today.

How many of you have read one or both of these books? What were your thoughts on them? 

Both books are set in a future where there are those that are in total control of every aspect of life.  There is no free will. Your life is pretty well laid out for you. These books reach that level of control in  vastly different ways. In Brave New World people are conditioned from birth and are stimulated with  pleasure. Whereas in 1984 people are controlled by inflicting pain. 

Which of these two visions of the future more accurately describe life in 2026? • Granted, Brave New World had people together all the time, and never alone.  • But they were flooded with distractions and diversions that hold them with pleasure induced  compliance. 

• Isn’t that much like what we see today? 

◦ “YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and other always-on pipelines of content, algorithmically  designed to grab our attention and keep us watching and scrolling, eyes glued to screens”  (p5) 

• But Orwell’s novel had the “Ministry of Truth”, which controlled all information and destroyed  what is not deemed “truth” 

◦ Hence the term “memory hole” was born 

Our goal here in this Sunday School class is to look at the screen technology we have by breaking it up  into four parts. I will draw on some of what is presented in the book Scrolling Ourselves to Death. But  I want to keep us focused on the Word, and how it MUST be the light for our path, not a screen. I know some of you are going through Scrolling in a book club, which is great. What inspired me to bring it to  

you here is the realization that our scrolling world has a definitive impact on our relationship with  Christ and ultimately on our mission to reach the world for Christ. In order to confront it we have to  understand it and see its impact in each of us. 

Are we going to lead someone to Christ using our brilliant postings on X with 140 characters or less?  Or through our YouTube channel? alongside thousands of others competing with us for eyeballs? Now,  there may be some aspects of those methods that have value, but ultimately I believe we need to reach  people through personal interaction. And then we grow through undivided focus, through undistracted  time with God and His Word. 

So, here is how we are going to go about this... 

Part 1: Our journey to this point, touching lightly on the impact to us as individual believers. Part 2: Practical challenges facing pastors, teachers apologists, evangelists, and laypeople (us). 

Part 3: How can we as a church present the truth of God as a radical, life-changing and life-giving  alternative to the unhealthy habits of the scrolling and tapping world. 

Part 4. The Tech Exit. In this last week we will explore how we can take practical steps to gain freedom. The primary focus will be on parents and how they can free their kids and teens from smartphones. But  this cannot be fully achieved without the commitment of all of us, especially grandparents, teachers,  mentors, Elders, Deacons. Everyone in the church body.

Our journey to where we are now. 

What are the benefits of today’s technology? 

What are the costs? 

Is technology neutral? Or does it have inherent biases that can unintentionally shape our perceptions  and values? 

Do screens bring about spiritual growth, maturity? 

It changes how we think. 

• In the past we heard sermons, discussed them, read and studied our Bible, read books that help  us in our study of the Bible, discuss in small groups. 

◦ If we had any questions we would discuss with our family or another church member, or the Pastor 

• Today we continue to hear sermons like in the past, but… 

◦ we can pull up hundreds of other expositors (knowing virtually nothing about them) ◦ our searches will be stored in a database in the cloud that then drive other similar expositors  to the top of our list. 

◦ Alternate viewpoints begin to sow seeds of doubt. 

◦ And then an occasional peek at something funny or interesting, like a police traffic stop that  involves a sovereign citizen, or short videos of failures, or wife-carrying races… and  suddenly you have wasted 30 minutes or an hour…. And then these are at the top the next  time… 

What does this lead to? 

• Distraction 

• Digital Adrenaline or Dopamine 

◦ Dopamine is a release to our brain of pleasure 

▪ Food 

▪ substances 

▪ experiences that bring “happiness” 

• Boredom 

◦ Think of how the super-rich lived in past centuries 

▪ they were often bored and always looking for a means of amusement, which in turn led  to drug and sexual abuse 

▪ Now we are flooded with an abundance of amusement and pleasure, without the nasty  physical side effects 

▪ The majority of people lived with a balance of pleasure and pain 

◦ Today, we have an abundance that we are unable to stop. 

▪ Each time we require more 

◦ The flood of pleasure keeps pushing the pain down 

▪ this in turn requires more pleasure, resulting in a vicious cycle 

▪ How is this different than that of a gambling addict? 

• Quote from The Count of Monte Cristo 

◦ During the imprisonment of Edmond Dantes, he meets up with another prisoner, the Abbe

◦ The Abbe shares with Edmond how he has used his ten plus years of confinement to sharpen and enhance his knowledge… 

▪ Edmond Dantes: “I was reflecting upon the enormous degree of intelligence and ability  you must have employed to reach the high perfection to which you have attained. What  would you not have if you had been free?” 

▪ Abbe reply: “Possibly nothing at all; the overflow of my brain would probably, in a state of freedom, have evaporated in a thousand follies; misfortune is needed to bring to light  the treasures… Captivity has brought my mental faculties into focus.” 

• A Test 

◦ What do you do if you are bored? 

▪ Do you check your phone? 

▪ If so, you are in the cycle 

◦ How is this any different from the addiction of a drug addict? 

▪ Or that of an ordinary person addicted to pain medication? 

So, what do you all think? Are these addictive? Can you recognize the signs in yourself? Do you think technology is a net gain or net loss for us as believers and a church? Let’s take a quick look at what has changed from the era of TV to today. 

Knowing this, can we develop maturity through 30 or 60 second shorts on YouTube? 

Hebrews 5:13-6:1 

• V13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about  righteousness. 

◦ So if I am indulging in repeated shorts, or clicking on what the algorithms bring up, I am  only taking in the same thing. 

• V14 But solid food is is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to  distinguish good from evil. 

◦ Does the screen foster and encourage discipline and focus? I think not!

• V1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not  laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death.  

◦ On Easter Sunday morning I click on a video shared by a relative showing a neat inspiring  clip of someone’s kid that I have no idea who it is; and… what? I get a warm fuzzy feeling,  and then what? I probably forget it instantly when I click on another one that pops up that is  of the same genre…. And on and on it goes...30 minutes later I realize I might be late for  church... 

Does technology encourage doubt? 

When we are here, in a church, we are hearing from Pastor John. We have come to know him and his  family quite well over the years. He has built up trust by his openness. You know Nancy, his wife. You  know where he lives. You know his children, many of you have been a part of their lives for nearly 30  years. And he knows you, by name. He greets you with a handshake, asks how your kids are doing (he  has probably been on a canoe trip or in a cardboard and duct-tape war). He asks about that illness  you’ve been going through. And, we know the foundation of his teachings is the Bible. • Mind and Body 

But now we have easy access biblical materials, unlimited numbers of teachers, and communities.  Bible apps, religious podcasts, online sermons – it is possible to engage in faith-based content  anywhere and anytime. 

However, think about what we have lost… 

• Hearing in person 

• Knowing the family 

• Knowing you and your family by name 

• Active and physical interaction (can’t shake hands) 

• Only Mind 

What does this technology encourage? 

• Deconstruction – all of our beliefs can be questioned with no opportunity to challenges • Perspectives antagonistic to Christianity 

◦ flow is one way, from presenter to you (no debate) 

• Encourages doubt 

◦ Easy for youth or those in doubt to seek out online sources rather than Pastors and Elders Does Technology reveal Truth? 

Truth is... 

• Found only in God, revealed in 3 persons, through His Word 

• God created all things 

• God’s wisdom is the source of all truth 

• God’s truth is, therefore, absolute 

God created in us a desire for truth. So where should we ultimately seek this truth? • God’s Word – the Bible 

• Psalm 119:105 Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path

What happens when we seek truth without Scripture? 

• 1 John 1:6 If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not  practice the truth 

• Colossians 2:2-4 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the  mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 

Where are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden, and found? 

• In Christ 

Where do screens tell us truth me be found? 

• Self 

• Does the world even believe that there is truth? 

How do we as Christians seek truth while navigating a world intent on telling us there is no truth? • With each other as part of the church body – Eph 4:25 Therefore each of you must put off  falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. • Be an active part of a healthy church community – 1 Cor 15:33 Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. 

◦ This quotation that Paul uses is believed to be from the Greek comedy Thais written by the  Greek poet Menander. The Corinthians would have known them. It is certainly applicable to our digital world today that is flooded with every belief imaginable. 

• Feed regularly on the Word of God – Matt 4:4 It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone,  but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ 

• As a supplement to the Word, read from trusted teachers of the past. 

◦ New, or the latest, tend to take us down a path of what we want to hear.  

◦ With screens, the algorithms can take us on that path without us even realizing it. • Slow down 

◦ Proverbs 2:3-5 Indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the  fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 

◦ Finding treasure requires time and patience and dedication and work! 

◦ How? 

▪ Ask questions 

▪ Investigate sources 

▪ Do research

Week 2 - Challenges facing Pastors and the churches they serve

The Principle of Subsidiarity

According to the Bible…

In contrast what do social media platforms foster? Like Facebook?

What does Matthew 28:18-20 say?

How can we bring today’s technology under Christ’s lordship?

Impact on Pastors

1999 – Y2K Panic

2026

Nothing can compete with the information revolution unleashed by the internet toward the end of the 20th century.

25 years ago preachers held a knowledge advantage over most church members.

For Christians in the pew, it required an immense amount of time and an investment in theological works to reach the level of knowledge that pastors held.

Today there is no editor or publisher.

We all need to be honest. Are we seeking a church that conforms to the written Word? Or are we seeking one that conforms to a belief system that was crafted and molded out of online activity?

Comparison – Printing press and Reformation vs. TV vs. Today

Early adopters

When pastors and churches eagerly adopt all this new technology, they fail to recognize what it takes away.

Technology gives and takes away.

The world can’t do without the local church. And the world can’t do without preachers who exposit God’s Word for people they know and love by name.

Think Small

If we at Brooklyn were to package up Pastor’s recent sermon series that he has done on the book of John and then released onto our YouTube channel and found a way to promote it…

But what if we at Brooklyn were to continue to purpose to affirm and bless our Pastor that knows our name and can name our pains?

Itching Ears

2 Timothy 4:1-2 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with complete patience and instruction.”

2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

2 Timothy 4:5: “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Apologetics in a Post-Logic World

Technology changes how we think

Our scrolling-shaped minds

Evangelism to a scrolling-shaped mind

How do we tell the truth about Jesus in an age of incoherence?

We have gone from the age of faith, to the age of reason, to the age of science, to the age of...incoherence?

Relativization

John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

A Barna poll from 2019 – almost half of practicing Christian Millennials say “it is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith.”

Trivialization

Think about what you may see when scrolling down what comes up on YouTube for you to click on…

This is an overabundance of content.

Should our church go along by producing our own shorts?

Disinformation

We have come to distrust most everything presented as news today. So do we want to present the gospel truth on the same medium as we see every unsubstantiated, sensationalism, and conspiracy?

In 1 Timothy 6:20-21 Paul is cautioning to not be carried away by "strange teachings" as they can hinder the truth of the gospel.

Disintegration

We believe in a grand story of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. In the midst of a world where everything is presented in short spurts, with no continuity, no grand narrative, but rather just the same thing over and over again...it is our duty to tell THE story.

Spiritual _________

Spiritual Dementia

“Even more than TV, the internet keeps viewers hooked on the present, their eyes glued to the momentary distractions passing across their screens or feeds.”

“the Net seizes our attention only to scatter it.”

“The Web is a technology of forgetfulness.”

Spiritual Remembrance

The life of the believer is one of remembering and recounting

Ps. 77:11 – “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.”

Deut. 6:4-9 – “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your hose, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be a frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Spiritual Traditions

Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy in Matthew 22:36-38.

Paul refers to traditions he handed down to the early church…

Spiritual Truth

Peter also reminded us of truths

Remembering our history

So how do we compete against the never-ending temptation to forget the past?

Week 3 – How the Church can be Life

When television came on the scene, it became a tool that was unlike that of print. Print, in the form of books, newspapers and magazines primarily delivered information. Granted, there was also an element of entertainment, but that tended to be fleeting. Books were collected and formed libraries in homes of those that were wealthy and educated. In order to help educate the public, over 2,500 libraries in local communities were funded by Andrew Carnegie, all in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were established to promote education and provide free access to books to the public. There were 25 right here in South Dakota. Across the river in Iowa there were over 100! My hometown of Sibley had one, as did Rhonda’s of Sanborn. The one in Sibley is still standing and in use as a library!

But television? That was when the shift from information to entertainment took place. That shift has reshaped our minds and society. 

And now here we are fully into another shift. What media or technology development has most changed the landscape? We still have libraries, but consider how even they have shifted. There are still books in bound physical format, but also e-books, accessed through your Libby app. There is no need to go physically into the library. And alongside that Libby app is TikTok, YouTube and a host of other platforms delivering video.

Online video

Are some mediums of communication better?

How can we mount a defense against the lure and risk?

Reconnecting Information and Action

Today, we have access to news from around the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It never stops. Open up a news site and the headlines change by the hour, sometimes even faster. Click on one and you get at most a couple of short paragraphs, pictures, and video of someone saying what you just read and with video of what you just saw in the pictures.

Has “awareness” or “informed” become an end unto itself?

What are the side-effects of being over-informed?

A letter written by C.S. Lewis to a friend in 1946 contained the following”

Are we neglecting our neighbors?

How can we as individuals bring balance to the information-action ratio?

What can we do as a Church?

There is nothing more beautiful than a church that is vibrant and active, seeking ways to serve. Be thinking of how we can build on what we currently have. Bring your ideas to the Elders or the Deacons. This is how we build each other up spiritually and become an oasis in the midst of a chaotic world.

Brooklyn EFC in the Digital Age

What did the Covid pandemic teach us?

The church has to be a person-to-person experience.

Clash of Parenting and Social Media in a Digital Age

Week 4 - What about the kids and teens in our church?

Proverbs 22:6 - “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

That is a proverb aimed at parents, grandparents and the church.

Introduction

We have spent the last 3 weeks looking at the impact of today’s technology, primarily smartphones and the predominant content that is accessed on them by each of us. We looked at how it impacts our relationship with Christ, our relationship with each other, our ability to read the Word, our time of worship. At the core was the impact of our desire to know Christ, and to make Him known. If we look truthfully and with complete honesty, what is the answer to the question:

I believe the only honest answer, has to be a resounding YES! We then discussed ways that we can confront this part of our lives both personally and within the church.

But we have now come to a very critical juncture. What about our families? Specifically, I am speaking about our kids and teens. They are growing up in this age where smartphones are considered just an expected part of life and we just need to accept it and get on with it. My goodness, we cannot be technophobes or Luddites, can we? How could our kids possibly survive and thrive without all that these amazing devices have to offer?

I would like to establish a baseline here. The technology we have today is amazing and in many cases it is life-saving. Look at the medical field and what imaging has brought about? Heather showed us the images they took of Beren’s skull before and after the procedure. Without this, and the ability to perform such a surgery as he had, he would have potentially had eye problems and other issues when his brain did not have space to develop fully. Our son Matthew majored in the field of animation. Did you know that that field plays a key part in all the medical imaging technology that has been developed?

During my career I was heavily vested in introducing technology into the company I worked for. Around 27 years ago I wrote the code that allowed our salesreps to access all the information pertaining to their customers through a live and interactive website. We no longer had to print and mail out reams of paper. Just a couple years later my team developed a fully functional website for the business customers that is still in use today, and handling thousands of orders a day. My team rolled out devices (Palm Pilots) to the warehouse for the purposes of putting away parts and picking orders, still in use today. Since the days that the Blackberry ruled I carried a smartphone provided by the company so that I could be reached 24/7. For nearly a decade I even carried two smartphones since I could not use my company phone for personal activities.

And then we get into some of the incredible innovation that our ag industry has seen with GPS systems and autosteer and even autonomous tractors. And the ability to monitor harvest production down to the acre, and thereby be able to apply fertilizer the next Spring to just where it is needed. And then there is the ability to use cameras and smart sensors and spray herbicide only on the weeds. This is amazing technology that was improved the farmer’s ability to feed the world.

However, like everything else, this technology can be used in detrimental and harmful ways. It can be packaged slickly and made to appear that it is solving this and that problem, but in the end it is gradually introducing far greater harm. We are sinful by nature, hence our sinful selves are susceptible to technology that can begin eroding our souls. Companies are formed that seek to make money, and when they do not have any checks and balances in place, there soon has evolved an industry that is all powerful and mighty, and addictive.

We have talked about its impact on us the last few weeks, but we have only touched lightly on the impact on our kids and teens. Today we are going to begin doing that. The last few weeks I used the book “Scrolling Ourselves to Death” as a framework, and leaning on God’s Word as the final authority. Today I am going to be referring to the book “The Tech Exit – A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones”. Last week I gave a number of them out, and I do have a couple more, and can get more if I run out. This book can be an incredible resource for parents, grandparents and youth leaders, friends, extended families. The author is a Christian, which is evident in how she presents the data and the solutions. Yet she does it in such a way that this book can be picked up by anyone. One thing that I also plan on doing when we get into the steps that parents can take is to compile a handout that will provide a handy checklist to follow, alternatives to smartphones, and a bunch of resources that can help on this journey.

When I was sharing just a few of the benefits that the technology brought about by the internet and smartphone, it was primarily on the medical and business fields. All things that improve our lives in a positive way. There are many other valuable uses. If I just look at the apps on my phone I can…

What about our Kids?

We need to level-set on one thing here, and that is that we are all born in sin. Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” There are evil forces in this world seeking to claim the hearts of our children while there are still most vulnerable, before their brains have fully developed. So the younger they are, the more vulnerable they are to temptations, and all the more reason we as their parents must guard them and train them up so that one day they are able to guard themselves (with the Holy Spirit of course).

Now, looking back at those apps we find so useful and beneficial come apps that go a far different direction. Now we need to look seriously at how this technology is marketed for and being used by kids and teens today? Kids and teens are not using a phone to control their hearing aids or clip coupons. They are using it to to get on?

Let’s be truthful here, is there really anything else? Oh, there may be the ability to know where your teen is at any time and for them to call you when they are in trouble; but does a teen place any importance or value on that? Also, the mapping is kind of nice if you are trying to navigate around Sioux Falls. But is a smartphone truly necessary for those emergency uses that a teen or you as a parent deem important? Are there alternatives to going all in?

As I see it, we have a true mix here at Brooklyn. Some of you have decided that you are not giving a smartphone to your child until they reach a certain age. That age may be college, or when they begin to drive, or when they get to high school. Others may have given their kids a device, but are imposing time limits and are using the parental controls available. And there may be some that have given out the latest smartphone along with a stern warning to “be careful”, like the short video we saw last week. I sincerely hope none of you are in that camp, as we need to have a serious talk if you are.

Last week I gave you homework, and that was to watch the interview by Albert Mohler of Clare Morell, the author of the “Tech Exit” book.

Part of my job in the last years of my employment were to be a part of a team responsible for PCI compliance. In a nutshell we had to make sure our websites were engineered in such a way that they provided the best security possible for accepting and processing credit cards. We contracted with companies to try and hack our site. There were regular penetration tests. There were onsite visits to the data centers where the servers running the websites were hosted. If there was the slightest risk exposed, we had to remedy it within a specific period of time. The efforts to protect the customer and their credit card data was phenomenal. Think to the security measures you have to go through to access your banking data online. I’m sure you all know the term ‘multi-factor authentication’.

But when it comes to protecting our kids? Companies like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and X are in the business of trying to get you and your kids to use their product and to keep coming back. Why? Because that is how they create revenue. It is for money, period. There has been virtually no accountability for damage they are doing. And, frankly, we cannot bank on laws or policy to prevent this. We can press for that, but ultimately it is our responsibility as parents, grandparents, the church body. When I shared about the effort to protect your credit cards I was trying to convey that there was incredible talent and skill and knowledge put together to foist the efforts of hackers to steal your data. But when it comes to social media and your kids? The talent employed in developing those platforms is to keep the kids coming back, and coming back, over and over. That is how they generate revenue. It is all on us, the parents, grandparents, church leaders. We cannot trust these companies or the government, it is on US. 

Proverbs 22:6 - “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Lets take a look at the documented impact on our kids

The Screen as a Platform

Social Media on the platform

Dangers to our youth

Impact on Family Interaction

Access at to screens at schools through iPads and Chromebooks

What can we do?

So, here we are. All of the above is documented. There are states taking action concerning smartphone use in schools. There are individual schools that are taking action. But while that is good, there is still the need for us as parents and grandparents to fulfill our God ordained requirement to impress the love for God on their hearts. In Deut. 6:6-7 says “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Notice that it says to “talk” about them. We cannot let screens take over the time we need to talk with our kids.

Next Week we will look at the options available, the pros and cons of each, talking about what works and what does not, and get into some of the details of each of these:

Week 5 – What are our Options?

Proverbs 22:6 - “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Deut. 6:6-7 says “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

What is the common theme in this verse?

What are the options?

A couple of introductory comments concerning use of this technology in our education, whether in the local public school or through home schooling. Both face this technology on two fronts: 1) personal devices that kids bring to school, and 2) devices that the schools provide:

In regards to personal devices...

Our local schools that I looked at all have limited policies that I believe are no better than just allowing full access. Beresford Middle and High School policy states that devices cannot be taken into the classrooms, but can be used between classes and during lunch. Teachers may allow them to be used in a classroom if they so choose. Elementary students are required to turn off electronic devices and leave them in their lockers for the full school day. Alcester-Hudson has nearly the same policy concerning cell phone use as Beresford.

In regards to devices that the schools provide...

Beresford provides an iPad for every student. While the policy states clearly that only approved apps can be installed, and is something they can partially control when on the school network. However, these iPads can be taken home, even for the full summer. In that environment there is no monitoring or control.

Alcester-Hudson has opted to provide laptops to students with much the same controls and restrictions as does Beresford. Monitoring of actual usage is, like Beresford, nearly non-existent.

So, here is a question, or concern, that is presented when we talk about technology in schools. Their goal was to provide a level playing field, no matter your socio-economic status. In the handbooks that are provided with them is the statement that they are intended to help the student be ready for college and the workplace and that it promotes active student engagement. Does it really happen? The following is an excerpt from the Beresford School District iPad Handbook stating their aims:

The claims also were that educational outcomes would improve. However, the studies (all of which are provided in the Tech Exit book) point to no improvement or a decline. In all the cases the reading skills decreased.

Why would reading skills decrease? Per research done by a UCLA director and author “screens threaten children’s ability to develop “full literacy”.

How about research from Columbia University (yes, there is valuable research from some of these liberal institutions, it just does not get the attention it deserves)

Did you know that many employees of Silicon Valley sent their kids to schools that highly restrict all tech in elementary or middle school?

What about limiting screen time?

So what we just talked about was the use of technology in education. But what about we as parents giving our kids these devices? If we are fully honest, this is not about education, but about peer pressure. All the other kids have them. So how about a compromise of limiting screen time? We give in to the pressure but with strings attached.

Dr. Haidt, author of the book The Anxious Generation, lays out compelling evidence of how social media is causing a mental health crisis. He shows studies that confirm that social media is a cause of the increase in depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts among teens. He found also that it has a pernicious network effect that time limits do nothing to mitigate.

According to Clare Morell, digital technologies are like fentanyl

2023 study by U of NC researchers found that 6th and 7th grade students who checked social media platforms multiple times through the day demonstrated divergent brain development over time.

It undermines self-control.

Psycologist Nicholas Kardaras describes how screens create a need for an ever-increasing level of stimulation to achieve the same dopamine rush.

How much is Too Much?

The consensus among parents that have tried this method is that screen limits just do not work very well. When kids are not interacting on the apps, they are thinking about them. Teens crave social acceptance and peer approval. That is a normal part of their adolescent development that helps them bond with their peers. But social media takes what used to be face-to-face in person and hijacks it. It is an environment built for children and teens to hold themselves out the world for review and judgment. Feedback and gratification are instant, there is constant comparison. Is it any wonder kids become anxious and need to check their phones constantly.

What about Parental Controls?

One item of note here, is that following the screen time chapter in the “Tech Exit” book is one titled “Parental Controls Are a Myth”. It is very explicit and deals with adult content that I will not bring up in this setting. However, all of you adults need to read it! It is of utmost importance that you truly understand the risks that you are taking on if you think that parental controls can work. Those controls do not work, period. The evidence that they do not work is overwhelming. A challenge presented in the book is for you to download Snapchat, and sign up as your 11 year-old child, and then use it as you think that 11 year-old would use it for a week.

Here is the heart of the matter: “Without real parental control over smartphones and social media, children are thrust into a virtual adult world without any adults to guide them or look out for them there. And they don’t know how to handle it. How could they? They’re children.”

Giving this technology into the hands of children is like placing them in a car with no seat belts, no air bags, and no brakes, and no adult in the seat next to them, and telling them to drive the beltway around Sioux Falls during rush hour.

Social Media gives predators incredible access

App settings are more like suggestions

External controls are limited

Porn filters fall short

Controls can’t filter out the dangerous environment

Would it work to lock down phone to prevent social media apps?

We are thrusting our kids into an adult world without adults.

Educational Benefit Claim

This is a repeat of the claim that kids and teens need to have this technology when they are young in order to prepare them for college and to be successful in their careers. There are major problems with such a belief:

What can we do?

I am here to tell you that the best way, that we as Christians should approach this, is to EXIT it. As adults, we have looked at our own usage and how it has hindered our relationship with Jesus Christ and our spiritual growth. We recognize there are valuable benefits that this technology has brought to us. But that was to us as adults. But for our kids? There may be exceptions, but we need to focus now on the spiritual health and well-being of the children God has entrusted to us. Screen time limits and parental controls are half measures that do not work. Yet it is so easy to feel forced into settling for this approach because it is the least worst option.

Deut. 6:6-7 says “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

That verse provides the exit path we should seek out for our children.

Next Week - FEAST