6 Tips on Social Media for the Christian Parent

As a Christian parent in a world of easily accessible technology, there’s always the hard task of deciding what to allow into your child’s life. You want to raise your child to be “in the world but not of it”, so how do you discern how much of the world your child should be exposed to?

Social media has opened up a door into the media world that we’ve never seen before. We have unlimited access to information all over the world, right at our fingertips.  It’s truly amazing, but with every good comes some bad.

According to TopTenReviews.com: 73% of teens are on at least one social network. And as much as we want to protect our kids from everything out there, it is much better to equip your children to handle networking in a responsible manner.

So, here are 6 tips on social media for the Christian parent:

Choose an appropriate “social media age” (and stick to it!). As a parent, you know your child better than anyone. Choose an appropriate age for your child to join social media platforms that you’ve reviewed. Talk to your child about the platforms they’ll be able to use at this desired age.  This way, they’ll understand why you made an age limit and will have something to look forward to.
Build a relationship with your child. Nurture an open and honest relationship with your child based on trust. With this, it will be easier for your child to happily let you on their Facebook page or any other social platforms. As a child with parents on social media, they are more likely to be careful what they post.
Be open about the dangers. Set boundaries. Sit your children down and tell them why they should act responsibly online. Tell them not to talk to people they don’t know and not to click on links if they aren’t certain where they lead to.
Limit time allowed on social media. Set time limits. Don’t let your children stare at a screen for hours on end.  Remind them that there is a whole world outside with people they can speak to face-to-face. A big problem observed with younger generations is that it’s hard for them to communicate outside of an online context. Encourage your kids to join church groups, youth groups, and healthy social scenes.
Use the privacy/safety tools provided. Did you know most social networks have privacy settings and age restrictions? And for good reason! These should be set up by a parent. Make sure that your children know not to put any personal information on ANY social site – this is very important. As a parent, you can also look up tools to help block ads and popups which often have suggestive content in them.
Throw a “godly” spin on social media. Remind your children how a child of God should act – no matter if it’s at school, home, or on the computer. Encourage them (especially teens) to post appropriate posts, be nice to their peers, post modest pictures (remember, a picture says a 1,000 words), and not be associated with ungodly behavior online.

We may not be of this world but we are certainly stuck in it! Help your children make the most of the advantages of social media while still keeping their godly values and morals at the center of it all.