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Sunday, March 29, 2009
MYTHS AND TRUTHS OF MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK
Introduction:
Hi, I am Jake. The Worship leader and Media Directior for
UTURN. Also, I am a veteran myspace and facebook user, many of your
youth are my friends on these networks.
Through this short semminar, I am not trying to persuade you for or
against social networking. I am simply trying to provide you with
knoledge and tools on a subject that may be forign to you.
Social Networking: A modern Definition
A way for users to connect and communicate in a virtual enviornment through the internet.
In Use
Make a profile:
Customize this with what you love, hate, music, video, pictures, etc...
make you you!
Find and add friends
Adding people as friends gives them special permission, to view thier
page write on thier page, see thier photos and talk about their photos
etc...
Examples
My Facebook
My Myspace
Social Networking Facts
85 million MySpace users and free accounts being opened at the blistering pace of more than 250,000 a day.
the two most popular sites are myspace, and facebook.
Over 40% of American teens have a myspace profile
Myspace vs. Facebook
Facebook tends to be cleaner, simpler and more focused on the people
Myspace tends to focused towards media, especially video and music. it is more targeted at youth, and a lot more busy.
Cons of myspace and facebook
Profile Photos
I want to make it clear, both sites ban nudity, and In all my use I
have never come across a naked picture on myspace or face book, however
things do get a little raunchy.
Addvertisments
Myspace is deffinatly the culprit in this category, they seem to let advertisers just run wild.
Gossip
This is a huge problem. Serously. It doesn't feel real,kids feel like
it's just a game. if you think high school banter is bad,
Fantasy
Often times these profiles are well, unrealistic, they allow these kids
to live exaggerated or fantasized lives. that some would not even live
in the real world.
Pros of myspace and facebook
It is by far the most effiennt way to comminicae and keep in touch with friends.
they can "hang out" with friends without you haveing to give them a ride, or worry about them coming home after curfew.
You can easily see what firends your kids have, and what Music, Movies,
and TV they are watching, and more. It is a powerful window into todays
culture's mind and hearts.
Controlling Social Networking
There are scores of software out there to monitor, regulate and log, myspace and facebook usage.
Your kids know how to use the computer better than you. 99% this is the
truth. Honestly, a lot of kids can get past it, without much
difficulty. It may stop some kids.
Does my child have a profile?
Over 40% of American teens have a myspace profile, so most likely, yes.
A lot of you may not even know it, not to mention what's on it or who
their friends are. Your kids may be "hanging" out with a crowd that you
don't really want them with.
It is easy to find out
Find out if your youth has a myspace
Simply use the search field given on the right of the page given in the
link above. I recommend searching by email because many people do not
use their real names on myspace.
Find out if your youth has a facebook
Simply use the search field given in the link above, facebook users
almost always use thier real names so that makes it a little less
tricky to find someone than myspace.
A good way to monitor their world is to be in it.
by far the simplest and most foolproof way to monitor your kids myspace
and facebook usage is to create a profile yourself, and add them as a
friend.
be careful how far you take this, you wouldn't listen in on every phone
call your kids make, commenting every time they say something.
Creating your own profile
It's really easy. If you are comfortable buying something online, you
are probably ready to set up a profile. If you struggle to check your
email, you may want to go a different route.
Tips for safely using social networking.
Don't add people you don't personally know and trust.
Set your profile to "private"
When your profile is "private" only the people you pick as friends can view your page.
If you want to have a public profile...
don't post personal information, such as your real last name, what school you go to, phone numbers, addresses etc...
Good things to Google
If you just click these links they will open up a google search automaticaly, no typing!
"tips for myspace safety"
"tips for facebook safety"
"Parents and social networking"
"How to set up a myspace profile"
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The New Sunday Morning Look of UTURN
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Many of you have head me say that the focus of UTURN on Wednesday night is
evangelism; with our group growing to almost its max capacity on Wednesday
night we believe we are accomplishing our goal of evangelizing our valley's
youth. You may have also heard me say the the focus of UTURN on Sunday
mornings is discipleship. In the past it has been bible study, prayer and
occasional breakout groups. We have recently changed the way we do Sunday
mornings to what we believe will better accomplish our goal of discipleship for
your teens. About a month ago we started doing small groups on Sunday mornings.
Each student is assigned to and are a part of a gender specific, grade-grouped
small group with one UTURN leader. The group sizes range between 5 and 13
students. Each student stays with this group until they graduate in to
the next grade category (they are 7th & 8th, 9th & 10th, and 11th &
12th). This semester we are going through a series called "Live Life
on Purpose" each month we focus on a different aspect of our lives with
God. I teach for 30 minutes, students break out into their small groups for
more intimate discussion and prayer for 30 minutes, and then we all come back
together for worship (with the entire UTURN worship band) for the last 30
minutes. If your student is not apart of this awesome opportunity to know other
girls/guys that are her/his age and to know one of the godly UTURN leaders in a
closer more intimate way, its not too late. Even if your student has been to
UTURN before and felt disconnected, this is the perfect platform to jump into
that connection in a real and authentic way. I and the UTURN volunteer staff
are excited for this change and are already seeing changes in our youth group.
Please be praying for this new season and opportunity for serious growth in our
teens relationships with God, friendships with other believers and discipleship
from a UTURN leader who loves Christ and your teen.
love,
_pastor tim
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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Shaping Good Character Challenges
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We see it all over. Posters, a short blip in movie, on a TV show, a commercial…images that contradict what you and I want for out teens’ character. As our eloquent pastor often says, that “little bit of poop in the brownie” is big problem when our teen’s are eating brownies all day long.
Ok, let me back up a bit. From TV, to internet, phone, video games, movies and music our teens are exposed to way more media than you would guess in a day. According to a study the American Heart Assoc. published, (http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=363) most teenagers (60 percent) spend on average 20 hours per week in front of television and computer screens, a third spend closer to 40 hours per week, and about 7 percent are exposed to more than 50 hours of ‘screen-time’ per week… for most teens that is close to a full-time job! So, what seems to most people as a short blip of inappropriate content in some kind of show, when our teens are exposed to media that often for that long, they are getting a lot of poop, because they are eating a LOT of brownie! Ron Luce, in his book Re-Create, suggests that if you witness this kind of “blip” with your teen, to talk about each one; our silence can be read as acceptance. Though talking to our teens feels like it can be the harder than rocket science, not talking can and does have a deadly effect.
Though our teens want to be treated as adults, sometimes look like adults and even talk like adults, their minds and character are still critically developing, it is so important to not let media shape their character for them.
Please her my heart, I see way too many broken teens as a direct or indirect result of how media has accosted them; let’s take back this generation by talking about character, one “blip” at a time.
You are loved,
_pastor tim
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Shaping Good Character Challenges
|
We see it all over. Posters, a short blip in movie, on a TV show, a commercial…images that contradict what you and I want for out teens’ character. As our eloquent pastor often says, that “little bit of poop in the brownie” is big problem when our teen’s are eating brownies all day long.
Ok, let me back up a bit. From TV, to internet, phone, video games, movies and music our teens are exposed to way more media than you would guess in a day. According to a study the American Heart Assoc. published, (http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=363) most teenagers (60 percent) spend on average 20 hours per week in front of television and computer screens, a third spend closer to 40 hours per week, and about 7 percent are exposed to more than 50 hours of ‘screen-time’ per week… for most teens that is close to a full-time job! So, what seems to most people as a short blip of inappropriate content in some kind of show, when our teens are exposed to media that often for that long, they are getting a lot of poop, because they are eating a LOT of brownie! Ron Luce, in his book Re-Create, suggests that if you witness this kind of “blip” with your teen, to talk about each one; our silence can be read as acceptance. Though talking to our teens feels like it can be the harder than rocket science, not talking can and does have a deadly effect.
Though our teens want to be treated as adults, sometimes look like adults and even talk like adults, their minds and character are still critically developing, it is so important to not let media shape their character for them.
Please her my heart, I see way too many broken teens as a direct or indirect result of how media has accosted them; let’s take back this generation by talking about character, one “blip” at a time.
You are loved,
_pastor tim
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