Do you know about all the apps students have on their phones?
What if some of those apps are hiding things that students in your ministry think are wiped away once they are gone? What if those images come back years later to haunt that student? We wrote an article a year ago called, “The Secret Apps of Teenagers.” It’s worth checking out.
We live in a digital culture. Everyone has a phone. Students have access to more content that anyone else in the history of the world. Why would we want to be aware of the apps and content that students are accessing.
This infographic called, Temporary and Anonymous Apps: What’s the teen appeal, is worth checking out and passing on to parents in your ministry. Share this article and make yourself look like a hero to parents you are trying to minister alongside to.
Here are some things that stand out from this infographic:
- 70% of teenagers make an effort to conceal their online behaviour. I think it’s pretty obvious to say that people want to have their digital lives private. The problem is that nothing online is private. That is a conversation we need to keep on having with students. I think it’s a reoccurring theme for my ministry every year. I love asking students this question, “who are you becoming?” when talking about relationships and looking at their digital lives. We need to keep having honest conversations about our students digital lives.
- 72% of parents are concerned with child’s online activity. Parents everywhere are worried about their kids. This is a bridge into the community for us as youth pastors. It actually gives us a place and a platform to help families. Last year, I ran a parent course for mom’s. I thought no one was going to come and care about their kids digital lives. It was exciting to see parents engage in the course and wrestle with their kids digital lives. The parents I talked to needed to know basic information about apps and their kids digital devices.
- 58% of teens say parents have biggest influence on their online behaviours. This is the game plan for us. It really is helping parents set up boundaries with their kids digital devices. When I have worked with students who have porn addictions, the students who see the greatest success are the students have actually told their parents and established a plan. If we want to help students with their digital lives, we need to work with parents.
Conclusion
We need to partner with parents in order to help the students in our ministries. One of the most innovative ways for parents to understand and monitor their kids digital lives a device called Circle with Disney. It’s worth checking out and passing on to parents.
One helpful thing you can do this week is share this post with parents in your ministry. They might not have heard about these apps, and are unaware of the apps that their kids have on their phones.
