Your device is loaded to kill.

Growing up in Oklahoma I had more gun safety talks than I can remember. A gun is always loaded I had learned, “it has an intention to kill” one of my many instructors had told me, “it wants to kill you”. The complete destructive power of a gun was ingrained into me. I remember looking at someone’s gun collection one day as a group of men were gathered around. Many military and gun conscious men handled the weapons with care and respect. Then one man from another country, a culture that doesn’t handle weapons so often, picked the gun up and swept it past everyone in the room, he turned the gun around and aimed the barrel at his eye as he looked down the barrel. I watched as everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably. No one intervened because we “knew” the gun was empty and no one wanted to embarrass the man by correcting him. So we threw out all means of safety and the idea that a gun is “always” loaded because it seemed to go with the culture of the room.

The spiritually destructive power of a phone is something we often don’t fully comprehend, but make no mistake, any internet capable device is loaded and wants to spiritually kill you. As gun safety was drilled into me, should my friends ever have produced a gun to look at or play with, it was my parents who were having active and involved conversations with me regularly that safeguarded me. It wasn’t enough to lock up our own guns or ban them from the house because there was so much potential for access in the world. The best safeguard against the destructive power of the internet and internet capable devices is an active and involved parent.
What apps should your child avoid? Are Instagram, Snap Chat, Twitter, Twitch or many other apps fine for your students to be on or have installed on their phone? Go through your child’s phone regularly, install monitoring software, and have open dialogue with your children about their day to day lives. Asking “how was your day” around the dinner table is one of the best ways to gauge what your children are going through, get to know their friends and anyone they have a relationship with.

Beyond being involved with your students, here are a few things to keep in mind for whether an application is high risk:

Is there a search history? Some apps do not have a search history function meaning your students can look at whatever and whoever they want with no digital trail (outside of monitoring software which I cannot recommend enough).

Can the search history be cleared? Many apps have the ability to clear search history and eliminate a digital trail.

Does this app allow the ability to receive photos privately? Many apps have a “DM” function that allows for Direct Messages to be seen by your child. This can be a portal to receive or display sexually explicit content. This also allows students to delete messages, eliminating any evidence of content viewed (outside of monitoring software which, again, I cannot recommend enough).
Bryce’s highly recommended against apps:

• Twitch: Twitch is a live video streaming app that has no search history, direct messages, and the content viewed is live, so once the broadcast is over there is no way to verify what your child has been viewing or who they have been chatting with.
• Snap Chat: Snap Chat was synonymous with sexting and considered a straight up pornography app by many in its early inception. Its widespread fame made it more “socially acceptable” by the general public, it still remains a way to receive private photos from strangers that can only be viewed once and then gone forever. Male students have a habit of asking female students “What’s your snap” which is practically code for asking for explicit photos.
• Social Media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook all have the option to send and receive direct messages. While it can be an innocent way to stay in touch with friends, I highly recommend parents have the passwords to such accounts and check them regularly.
• WORST APP: The App store. The App store allows for anything and everything to be downloaded on the phone, every app is tied to an email account but a student can easily create a free email account a parent does not know about to hide what apps they are installing. Students can download apps that look innocent like a calculator, then inputting a specific equation into the calculator will turn the app into a hidden photo repository where they can hide files from their parents.

In short, if your student has access to the internet then you have a battle on your hands. There is no easy way to solve this problem, it is a constant struggle and one that parents should always make no mistake that they are fighting. Your devices are loaded and they want to destroy you and your children.

A Device worth checking out Circle: https://meetcircle.com/
Monitoring Software Recommendation: https://www.covenanteyes.com/

Raising children and engaging in the war for purity is tough. You're not alone in this and I'm happy to come alongside our parents, serving your youth, and I'm always available for questions so feel free to reach out through email or text any time!
-Bryce