Recently I did a talk at TedX Malibu. You can watch it here.
In that talk I touched on something that I think is vitally important and also incredibly lacking in our culture … connection. I’ve said this before but I believe it to be so true; we live in the most connected age ever yet we are probably the most disconnected group of people ever. You see, things like social media and even porn fill a void that most people have. They provide a sense of connection that in real life is often absent and very difficult to maintain. Whether it’s the porn star on the camera who’s performing “for you,” the legion of Twitter followers that you like to think hang on your every word, or the Facebook friends who show you their love through post likes, it’s all a substitute for the same thing … real connection.
This is one of the reasons I’m so big on accountability. Accountability builds real connection (Tweet This). It breeds authentic relationships because true accountability means you are letting people get to know you for who you really are.
The big thing I’m worried about is that our kids are even more susceptible to fall for these cheap substitutes for connection because that’s all they know. Kids rather connect on their smartphone or laptop than in person. They rather play team death match online with people they don’t even know on their Xbox than hang out on the baseball field with their real flesh and blood friends. This is unfortunate but it’s also reality.
This is why I believe it’s so important that parents know what their kids are up to and understand what they have access to, especially online. I know it’s difficult to keep up with this stuff but you just have to if you want to have an influence on how your kids live and on the decisions they make.
We just officially launched iParent.TV last month. This new resource is something I’m so stoked about because it gives parents an edge. iParent.TV is a website that fills parents, like you, in on all the latest tech trends and fads. Whether it be great video reviews or blogs from experts, iParent.TV will help keep you informed on what your kids are into, why they are into it, and if you should be concerned. You can learn more about iParent.TV by visiting the site or watching this video.
iParent.TV provides a value that you will be hard pressed to find elsewhere. Stay on top of all things technology like gaming systems, mobile devices, social media apps, and the like, so you will have a better idea of what your kids are doing to fill their need for real connection.
Are You Really Connected? by XXXchurch.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.