I was reading an article in Lifeways Parenting Teens magazine. It is an excellent resource. If anyone is interested in one let me know. That’s besides the point. With this being February and the store shelves full of valentine’s stuff I thought Lifeway had some good insight Id like to share:
- 15% of 12th graders in 1992 “didn’t date at all”. That number has increased to 49% in 2017.
- In 1976, the percentage of high school seniors who said they go on dates frequently was 33%. In 2017, it had shrunk to 14%.
It was also noted in the article that:
- 1 in 4 teens has gone on to meet someone online in real life.
- Half of teens say that if they’re interested in someone, they’ll let them know on social media, not in real life.
- More than a quarter of teens say they have used social media to track where their “significant other” has been or where they like to hang out.
- 85% of teens say they expect the person they’re dating to check in whit them every day. 11% expect them to check in every hour.
- Almost 1/3 of teens have been dumped via text.
This is wild to read. But I got to thinking. I really met Elise for the first time via Facebook (when you needed a college email to be a part and there was no news feed or games). I can see how those later stats happen. May be teens do not date the way they use to 20 years ago but they are communicating and building all sorts of relationships.
I would suggest, as parents/guardians, a few things:
- Pray for your student. Pray they develop healthy relationships.
- Monitor (know their username and passwords) what social medias your student is a part of:
-Tik Tok -Video Game systems
-Snap Chat -Snap Chat
-Facebook -Instagram
-Twitter -Discord
-House party -Marco Polo
- Encourage them to focus on tangible real-life relationships (not dating but friends, family and so on)
- If they see a friend struggling or celebrating something online encourage your student to follow up in person with them.
As Proverbs 20:11 say, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Praying for you,
Pastor Shawn