Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, but nearly six in ten (59%) parents say they often text their kids to come downstairs for dinner instead of actually talking to them.<\/p>\n\n
A survey of 2,000 parents of school-age children found the average kid will receive their first smartphone at 10-years-old. 70% of parents say they trust their kids with tech, even though 66% have put parental controls on all their children’s devices for security.<\/p>\n\n
Parents say they decided to give their youngsters a smartphone to use for emergency purposes, to help them gain tech skills for their future work, and because they showed the maturity to own one. The survey also revealed that two-thirds of parents think their kids will have access to tech no matter how strict they are.<\/p>\n\n
Half of those polled have purchased or considered getting their kid a non-smartphone, or basic feature phone, with the goal of helping them to avoid “distraction apps” and to keep basic features like call and text without internet access. Tony Mokry, VP for Cricket Wireless said, “It’s about relying on connectivity for flexibility and security to keep parents and children safe and engaged whenever and wherever.”<\/p>\n\n
The poll also quizzed kids, ages six to eighteen, on their knowledge of older tech devices. When presented with images of old gadgets, almost half were unable to identify a landline. Only 28% percent knew what a floppy disk was and just 26% were able to name and explain how to use an answering machine.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[433],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3383,3569,3682,3726,3759,3808,3960,4112,4245,4272,4320,4444,4596,4792,5012,5013,5129,5130,5134,5302],"tax_ctp_topics":[396,400],"class_list":["post-35823","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-adolescence","tax_ctp_tags-children","tax_ctp_tags-consumerism","tax_ctp_tags-culture","tax_ctp_tags-denominations","tax_ctp_tags-distractions","tax_ctp_tags-family","tax_ctp_tags-habits","tax_ctp_tags-influence","tax_ctp_tags-internet","tax_ctp_tags-kids","tax_ctp_tags-media","tax_ctp_tags-parenting","tax_ctp_tags-relationship","tax_ctp_tags-social-media","tax_ctp_tags-social-trends","tax_ctp_tags-technology","tax_ctp_tags-teens","tax_ctp_tags-temptation","tax_ctp_tags-worldliness"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\n