This episode concludes our conversation about the impact social media is having on our kids.  Scott and Tom offer hope and ideas for controlling the screen time our kids have.

The Session: Social Media’s Impact on our Lives

I John 2:16

“For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life - is not from the Father but is from the world."

Because, according to internet safety expert Jesse Weinberger, who surveyed 70,000 students, on average, pornography consumption began when children turned eight, sexting began at age 10 and pornography addiction began around age 11.

Porn’s Impact (AddictionHelp.com)

1.   Isolation, guilt and shame make for distant relationships

2.   Porn leads to aggression and difficulty performing in marriage long term

3.   Porn is devastating on marriage

4.   Porn gives a dis- eased concept of marital sex

5.   Porn creates a devastating impact on arousal

6.   Porn causes self worth and self esteem problems

Cellphones are a Major Contributor to Porn

Weinberger recommends parents make their child sign a contract that clearly outlines the rules of using a smartphone. It should include promises never to take nude selfies and never to try to meet strangers from the internet along with other limits, like no smartphones at the dinner table or in the classroom. If your child breaks the rules, take their phone away.

Screen time directly impacts your child’s mental health

It increases loneliness, depression and anxiety. Children on screens show physical changes in brain structures, impacted brain development, and lower educational outcomes. Children born between 1995 and 2012 are the loneliest people on the planet.

How smartphone use among adolescents may trigger ADHD like symptoms and changes the brain

Screen time is linked to diminished mental health Jessica Weinberger

Qustodio is a free app that lets parents monitor their children’s text messages, disable apps at certain times of day or even shut off a smartphone remotely.

Unhappiness

But the twin rise of the smartphone and social media has caused an earthquake of a magnitude we’ve not seen in a very long time, if ever. There is compelling evidence that the devices we’ve placed in young people’s hands are having profound effects on their lives—and making them seriously unhappy.

Driving Nearly all Boomer high-school students had their driver’s license by the spring of their senior year; more than one in four teens today still lack one at the end of high school. For some, Mom and Dad are such good chauffeurs that there’s no urgent need to drive. “My parents drove me everywhere and never complained, so I always had rides

Teens Working

Teens aren’t working (or managing their own money) as much. In the late 1970s, 77 percent of high-school seniors worked for pay during the school year; by the mid-2010s, only 55 percent did. The number of eighth-graders who work for pay has been cut in half. These declines accelerated during the Great Recession, but teen employment has not bounced back, even though job availability has.