 Have you heard that Kim Kardashian has written a book? Perhaps written is not the best word. Though she's the author of the current best-selling celebrity photography book on Amazon, the book is not one of words. It's of pictures. Hundreds of selfies the celebrity has taken of herself through the years.
The title of the book is Selfish, which seems pretty fitting. Questions about what makes people want to take photos of themselves constantly aside, Kardashian has certainly made a career out of her physical appearance and look-at-me lifestyle. It's a choice and a direction that I daily seek to guard against. As a parent, one of my ultimate measures of success will be the selflessness my children show. Will they put others before themselves? Will they seek the greater good for their families, their communities, their churches? Will they be servant leaders, as Jesus calls his followers to be. I pray they will. But it will not be easy. Kids today have more technology in their pockets than my parents had in the entire household when I was 13. Some of it is great, but most of it is really frightening. And I say frightening because it has power. It has the power to control our minds. We check the phone frequently for new texts, Facebook posts or tweets. It has the power to control our free time. Instead of reaching for book or magazine, the smartphone is what we pick up when we have an unoccupied moment. And it has the power to control our hearts. Social media especially can make us question our likes, our dislikes, our wants and our needs like nothing else has ever done. So when I recently wrote about social media and its dangers for The Alabama Baptist, I had a lot of questions. Certainly we didn't cover everything, but there's some great advice for parents and caregivers on how to guard yourself and your family from the dangers of social media. I also recommend a book by Alabama youth minister Tommy McGregor. Selfie: A Parent's Guide to Social Media (also available on Amazon) provides an excellent overview of how parents can help their kids successfully navigate the digital world they live in. It also helps parents recognize the boundaries that we must have for ourselves and our children. Check out Tommy's book, and these articles at The Alabama Baptist. Faith and Family: How social media is hurting families — Parents must talk about social media safe practices early, often as it is an ever-changing technology I would love to hear how you're navigating the waters of the social media ocean as well. I know we're pressing on together, so my prayers are with you all in the journey. |
