7 Days to Dethrone Social Media in Your Children’s LivesSample

Recover Purpose

Students grapple with their purpose in life around the end of their time in high school, but this is only the first of many times they likely will struggle with understanding their purpose in life and how to find their place in the world. This is part of why social media can be so harmful for children and teenagers.

To be exposed to so much of the world when you’re still trying to figure out who you are can be quite traumatizing. Your pre-teen or teenager who uses social media may not even realize it, but they understanding of why they exist is likely being shaped by every tap and scroll throughout their day. What can you do about this as a parent?

1) Remind them of their purpose.

The reason we exist—to glorify God and enjoy Him forever—is as old as humanity itself, or perhaps older depending on how you think about it. Our mission, the Great Commission, the primary charge we have regarding living out our purpose, is roughly two thousand years old. These are old truths that lie at the root of a world obsessed with the new. If we hope to lead our children to stay focused on the truths of old, we cannot and must not presume upon them.

In our sin, it is easy to forget why we are here. The parade of distractions that marches before our eyes and vibrates in our pockets every day doesn’t help either. If we want to cultivate a biblical understanding among the people we lead and love, we must revisit the old truths, reminding people of our purpose and our mission.

2) Create purpose-driven community in your home.

When we create a home shaped by values like mercy, humility, and authenticity, it makes it easier to live on mission together as we consider the purpose for which we have been created. In the same way that it is important for soldiers to have common values as they embark on a mission within the larger context of a war, so is it important for us as Christians and parents to have common values as we embark on the Great Commission in the greater context of glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.