Camp shows teens how to limit social media
Lessons help teens reconnect with world
Have you ever tried to take a cellphone away from a teenager or had to pull them away from Facebook just to eat dinner? If you have, you know how difficult it can be.
Author and teenage mentor Andy Braner recently shared some tips with WPBF 25 News on a variety of issues affecting young adults with a specific focus on teenagers and their relationship with social media.
“Even though you might have 500 friends on Facebook, how many real friends do you have?” asked Braner, the executive officer at Camp Kivu.
Camp Kivu is in Durango, Colo., and every teen who attends the camp is asked that very question.
The teens come from around the world. At Camp Kivu, their smart phones, tablets, and other devices are taken away and locked in a safe for the duration of their two-week stay.
Without that distraction, Braner teaches them to reconnect with the world.
“The illusion of friendship, the illusion of like and all that stuff, that's just a click and it's regulated to a retweet, has replaced what it means to sit down with somebody and look them in the eye and say, 'I care for you deeply,'" Braner said.
Throughout his conversations with thousands of teens, Braner, who is also a father of five children, said they all have one thing in common -- teens actually feel very alone.
"They want to be with each other, but they don't know how," Braner said.
Braner's new book, “Alone: Finding Connection in a Lonely World (Th1nk)," looks at how social media and technology impact present-day teens.
"We have to help our kids see that what's online is not just between them and Google. It's them and the world," Braner said.
Braner wants parents to look at the big picture before handing their child a smartphone or smart device.
"Do you know what your handing your kid at 10 years old? Does that 10-year-old know how to use this thing?" Braner asked. "Do they understand the access they have to the world?"
Braner is also concerned that children growing up in a world with social media, who’ve never known a time without Facebook or Twitter, are basing too much of their self worth on a like or a retweet.
"Just be a parent who cares enough for your kid to teach them how to use it so they don't place their entire self-esteem on 'How many likes did my Instagram get?' or 'How many times did I get retweeted on Twitter?'"
ADDITIONAL VIDEO CONTENT:
+ Teens & Technology: How Teens Converse
+ Teens & Technology: Who’s Going To Be With Me?
+ Teens & Technology: What Teens Post Online
+ Teens & Technology: Taking Technology Away From Teens
+ Teens & Technology: Parenting Teens & Technology
+ Teens & Technology: Dan, How Many Friends Do You Really Have?
+ Teens & Technology: Bullying And Its Warning Signs