Amidst regularly touted warnings about the dangers of the Internet for teenagers, many parents are finding social networking sites — the most common examples being Facebook and MySpace — a valuable tool in penetrating their child’s secretive, sometimes sullen, outer exteriors to see glimpses of their inner souls.
Social networking sites are places where kids can experiment with who they’re becoming. They post their favorite band, and a song they like will play when their page opens up. The song announces, “This is how I feel and what I want you to know about me.” In daily life, teenagers might seem absurdly non-talkative. But online, they’ll reveal their souls, their vulnerabilities. With a click, they also look into other people’s innermost thoughts. Kids say things online they might never say face to face.
Social networking sites pack all the conflicts and contradictions of adolescents who are testing what’s true, where to drive stakes in the ground, and who to be.
Parents are learning the dos and don’ts of interacting with their children online, and, as a result, finding it a new place to understand and relate to their children and a world that seems to be a thousand miles away from the world in which they live.
How can congregations equip parents to use social networking tools online to relate and communicate with their kids? How can parents use this tool while retaining valuable “face to face” contact?
