Wake Up, Look Up

Hello, everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch. And in today's episode, we're asking the question, are my kids' apps safe? Now here we have in mind the applications you might have on your smartphone or tablet.

And the idea that for most of us, when we're searching in the App Store, Google Play, wherever we're looking for different apps, we are using the parental ratings that when you go on, it'll tell you what age appropriate material you might expect to find in the app. And a lot of us parents are depending on those ratings, whether they're telling us this is safe for everyone or this is more appropriate for teenagers or adults or what have you, the thinking of most parents is that whatever that rating says is based on someone looking into the material in that app and then making an informed declaration to the rest of us. Hey. You don't have to look into this. I've done it for you.

This is okay for children. But a recent Wall Street Journal article makes the point that at least one state, the state of Utah, is taking aim at the fact that the people doing the ratings aren't really trying to get it right. This is tied to one particular story of a 14 year old in Utah who committed suicide. And when the parents investigated what that child had been doing on their smartphone, what they found is that child's TikTok account had been recommending to them based on their algorithm pro suicide content. Now TikTok is rated as safe for children because the thinking is that they have parental settings that parents can set so that the app itself is safe if you have those filters.

But, of course, these Utah parents did have those filters. They had done everything that TikTok had offered, and it still wasn't safe for their child. In fact, The Wall Street Journal has discovered in an investigation of these things that companies like Apple and Google know that apps like TikTok aren't safe. They have internal documents saying, hey. These apps are rated at this level, but actually are not good or positive or even safe for children at that level or older.

In other words, what is being alleged is that these companies are seeking to indicate that apps are as safe as they possibly can be so that you will let your children download them. So when in doubt, these companies are rating these apps as safer than they really are to drive traffic. At least that's what these Utah, parents are alleging in a lawsuit that they have filed against TikTok and against Apple saying this is a deceptive practice. You told us something was safe when it wasn't. I bet you can tell where I'm going with this.

Well, as I tell you time and time again, oh, Wulu, I hope you won't let your kids have social media. This is yet another instance, another story of how it isn't good for them. But let's set that aside for a second because at least in this story, the key issue isn't the use of social media. The key issue is lazy parenting. It's a kind of parenting that says all I need to do is set a a filter on my kid's phone that won't let them download any app above a certain level.

All I need to do is check the parental rating of an app to know if it's safe. I don't need to do the extra research, the extra googling to actually learn about the app myself. But when you do that, don't you see you're outsourcing your parenting? You're letting someone else make the moral judgment on what content is good for your children. But here's the thing, the Bible tells us time and time again, like, for example, in Proverbs twenty two six, that it is your job to train your children.

It is my job to train mine. I don't get to outsource who gets to decide what content is good for them. That's what it means to train my children. I have to get involved in what they eat, what they wear, what they watch, what they listen to. Those are the shaping influences of their lives, and we all know this.

There are a lot of people out there who want to get in my kids' ears and in your kids' ears that don't have their best interest in heart. That's why the Bible tells us time and time again to guard our hearts, to guard our children's hearts, to use Philippians four to make sure that we and they are thinking about whatever is noble, whatever is just, whatever is pure. Listen. I'm not saying app ratings aren't a good idea, and I'm not saying the law and systems can't help us, but what I am saying is that parenting is the key. Look.

I'm busy. You're busy. I'm tired. You're tired. I get the parental drive to just let someone else make the decision to to rest on the resources that are out there.

But the Bible says this in Galatians six, you reap what you sow. Lazy parenting inevitably results in our kids being exposed to content that isn't good for them, that if we had just done a little more work, we would have prevented them from seeing, from engaging. And listen, these apps are just wanting your kids to download them. They're just wanting your money and your kids' money, your kids' attention, and your time. They don't care about your kids.

You have to care about your kids. And that starts by saying, I'm gonna do the work to make sure that only the best things, only the right things, only good things are what's in their minds and on their phones. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Pastor Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!