Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family: How to Navigate a Media-Saturated World—and Why We Should

by The Plugged In Staff

How Do Christian Parents Keep Up with Their Children’s Screen Consumption?The expert media staff at Plugged In have compiled a must-read resource to help you understand the media your children consume. Years of researching and analyzing the latest media trends are compiled in Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family.Offering practical advice and strategies to help your children navigate the ever-changing landscape of pop culture, Becoming a Screen Savvy Family includes social media, music, streaming services, video games, movies, and more to help you dialogue with your children about the content that they are exposed to. The effects of technology and media consumption on children are far-reaching, impacting their mental health, sleep patterns, attention spans, and social skills.In Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family, you’ll learnthe effects on your children’s biology, behaviors, and beliefs;traits of engaged parents, creating a game plan, and how to step in when needed;how to screen those screens; andpractical strategies for limiting screen time and thinking critically about media.Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family will quickly become an essential tool to guide your family’s relationship with media and your child’s screen consumption.

Genres: Nonfiction

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2024

Reviews

[Daniella · Rating 1 out of 5]

whoops, i'm too secular for this book.

giving homophobia and lots of yikes

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Becoming a Screen – Savvy Family – How to Navigate a Media-Saturated World and Why We Should by the Plugged in Staff is a new upcoming book. If you are not familiar with Plugged In, they provide reviews on media with content about the positives and negatives, violence, sexual content, language, etc… This is something I have used to help determine if a movie is good to watch with my children. They also do reviews on apps, songs, YouTube… This book covers the pros and cons of the media. It also covers the importance of stories and how to determine what makes a good story.

Lots of examples were provided in this book along with facts to help us parents make wise choices for us and our families. These are things as parents we definitely need to be aware of. Because what we put in, can and does have an effect on us. We live in a world of “electronic heroin”.

I was a child who did not grow up in a world filled with video games, YouTube, cell phones, and unlimited screen entertainment. Many of you reading this probably didn’t either, but we are raising our children in it, and it is something that we don’t have much experience with. However, we parents have a responsibility to be aware of the dangers lurking out there on screens and what our children are consuming. Thankfully, there are organizations and books out there to help us navigate this in a Biblical way.

[Carolyn Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have received a copy via NetGalley. This is my voluntary review.

I was not familiar with "Plugged In" but I think they have a very good grip on the subject. This brief, easy-to-use book discusses family media usage, rules and expectations, influences, how to consider plots and lyrics in the light of Christ, and how different types of media affect in different ways. They even discussed books, which I appreciated. Too many poor quality or even harmful books get let into an otherwise well-guarded home simply by virtue of their being a printed format of entertainment.

I would highly recommend this especially to parents who either grew up in an age before a lot of modern tech (although those parents generally have children beyond the age of supreme parental authority by now) or to parents who converted to Christianity later in life. Those of us who grew up with Christian parents in the late 90s or 2000s probably saw a lot of this modelled.

Good show, folks!

[Katie Koppin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book discussing the need for parents to take an active role in the family’s media consumption. This was very helpful for us adults as well and gave practical advice on how to discipline ourselves in what we consume. Self control is important as we aim to glorify God and renew our minds. The authors make a compelling case for renewing our minds and carefully examining what we let in. Stories are everywhere. Choose better.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC to review for my honest opinion.

[Gretchen Gingerich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed for tips. It has a lot more "why" and a lot less "how"