Parents today face challenges that their parents or grandparents would never have dreamed of. Let me be clear: the world is not worse than it has ever been, but the challenges of today are certainly different from those 25 years ago.
I never would have dreamed, even though my children were born in the days of the ubiquitous home computer, that school children would walk around with a device that would give them access to virtually everything (good and bad) without their parents’ knowledge. To watch video content, my children had to get permission to put in a VCR tape. To talk to their friends, they had to use the family phone or have Mum drive them to a friend’s house.
No longer are these things true – and many parents are now rightly concerned about how they can cultivate and encourage godliness in their children in the midst of loud, 24/7 social media in an electronic age. There is no denying it: social media in its various forms has taken over our society. Real, physical friendships are cast into the background as ‘virtual’ relationships take centre stage.
Most of the children get their information, opinions, and even values from TikTok and Instagram (yes, Facebook and X are for old fuddy-duddies like me). Viral videos, memes, and pictures shape the way that children view the world.
