This will be my first attempt at reaching the world of media by anything longer than a status update. This blog was created for and is intended to be read by parents of teens. This fact may surprise you given the title. It is my personal goal to reach and impact this generation of teens with the gospel of Jesus and the idea of common sense. I believe that we can say that media is helping to tear down the "family values" but I also believe we are doing a pretty good job of that ourselves. We are called to be examples to those around us but are failing to promote good behavior to those that are in our own homes. We have many options when it comes to media, and often use several of those options on a daily basis. TV's, computers, smart phones, tablets, and ipods, all of which now are capable of displaying everything the internet has to offer; the good, the bad, and the inappropriate. The example they see from us is having the TV on all day, surfing the web constantly, and and trying to check our facebook while having a conversation with our children or spouse. The use of all types of media is not bad, but as with everything else, timing is everything. Use common sense when using these devices and if possible, choose face to face conversation instead of media devices.
Also, what type of safety nets do you have in place on the devices in your home? These devices have parental controls that can be set with a password to ensure that your children, or yourself, do not take in too many views. xxxchurch.com aso has introduced an app for your smartphones and ipods to keep their users accountable. X3 Watch is designed to record questionable websites that you visit and reports them to your accountability partners that you have chosen. Check it out at http://www.x3watch.com/.
First off welcome to the world of blogging my brother from the same mother and father :) . Now on to serious bizness. Media has been put down by the church for ages but as always they come around to using it when they realize what it can do. By that time the garbage far exceeds the good and we as Christians have to work 3 times as hard to overcome evil. Is Media bad? No. Are all these gadgets bad? No. It's how we use them. I am a social junkie and it has put a wall between me and the ones I love. I have learned and am still learning that it all needs to be like you said in good timing but also moderation. So I encourager your readers to moderate themselves. Also good tips on the filters. We will be needing them soon with your nephews.
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