It’s our job to disciple these young hearts by keeping them accountable.Īsk the teens and young adults in your life to affirm their priorities. I know from my encounters that many teens deeply love the Lord and have a strong desire to grow closer to Him. Ask teens to affirm their priorities and challenge them to stay accountable. Minutes add up and small moments matter in creating or destroying momentum.Ĥ. A subtle, daily distraction like mindless phone browsing can be just as effective over time ( Colossians 3). Remember, Satan doesn’t need a full-blown addiction to pull us away from God. When we turn to our phones, we aren’t turning away from God, we are telling Him we’ll get to Him later. What if we taught them how to sit in silent prayer, meditate, or journal and just wait on the Lord instead of constantly checking their phones? ( Psalms 1:1-2) What if instead of looking down, they looked up and took a look at the world around them and interacted with those in it? ( Philippians 4:8) What if instead of browsing, they learned to sit and embrace silence? But how much of that time is actually productive? Right now, when a teen is bored, they’re programmed to pull out their phones and start browsing or skimming. It may sound crazy, but our teens may need to learn how to embrace boredom once in a while. Smart phones make it possible for them to always have something to do. One of the things that troubles me most about screen addiction is that teens are never bored. Inspire teens to embrace silence as part of their momentum. Let teens answer that question by examining the fruit of their phone habits for themselves ( Galatians 6:7, Luke 6:45).ģ. Does constant screen exposure encourage patience or foster anxiety, depression, and impatience? Patience, however, is a spiritual fruit that needs time to grow ( Galatians 5:22-25). Screen addiction is only a symptom of a much larger issue. We live in a have-it-your-way and have-it-now society. What blessings must we wait for, and why is waiting worth it? ( Isaiah 30:18) How does God patiently sow and prune your life to bear fruit over time? ( John 15:1-8) What does it look like to wait on the Lord? ( Psalms 40:1) Part of what we need to be encouraging and developing in our teens, however, is delayed gratification, which comes through patience. They provide a certain sense of empowerment our teens may not get anywhere else, and that feels good. Smart phones can offer access to information, entertainment, and social connection that teens don’t have to work for or even wait for. Teens crave instant gratification because they are constantly being told what they cannot have in life. Screen addiction develops from the instant gratification smart phones provide. It feeds the individual’s desire for connection, and that momentary high and those that follow is what can eventually lead to addiction if not managed properly. New research has revealed that the ping of a new text message or buzz of an incoming call can trigger a dopamine drip in the brain similar to what happens when someone gets a hit from a drug. Studies have shown that many teens can become addicted to their phones and the satisfaction they get from using them.īut why? Why is screen addiction such an epidemic among our teens? Encourage teens to sow seeds for the fruits of patience. I would highly recommend consulting with your senior pastor to find and partner with resources for helping teens address their underlying addictions when these concerns arise.Ģ. Know always that there is freedom in Christ to overcome all addiction, hurts, and hang-ups ( Galatians 5:8). The problem may be much deeper than that. Removing or restricting the phone may not be enough. If so, that addiction needs to be identified and addressed with care. It’s quite possible that your teen is spending far too much time on their phone because they are using it to feed another addiction. These are addictions that can be amplified by the instant accessibility provided by smart phones, but the phone itself may not be the addiction. But what exactly are our teens addicted to? Many teens, like adults, suffer from addictions that go beyond their phones. But it’s when the individual begins to disconnect from others, becomes unable to abstain, and experiences impairment of behavioral control that we have a problem. Excessive usage is a warning sign for sure. We must first understand that not every teen is or will become addicted to their phone.
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