‘The internet in the pockets of children’: Former youth pastor’s org aims to protect kids from tech dangers

Any youth pastor from the late 2000s can attest to the enormous impact the advent of smartphones and social media had on middle and high schoolers.

It’s why in 2015, after six years of youth ministry, Chris McKenna started Protect Young Eyes, an organization devoted to safeguarding children from the dangers of technology.

When social media platforms are pushing abortion advice and pornographic content, it becomes all the more crucial for parents to know how to protect their children, he argues.

“If you can imagine the history of technology, when the iPhone came out, for the first time in human history we put the internet in the pockets of children,” McKenna told The Lion, remembering his own experience of the “ease with which horrible content can be found.”

“I then watched us put that in the pockets of children, and that terrified me,” he continued.  

The organization has now grown into a team of presenters who help families, churches and schools make decisions about what is best for their kids when it comes to technology.  

No digital space was designed with children in mind, McKenna says, including Snapchat and YouTube Kids. In fact, these platforms use kids for “unpaid labor” as the large companies make ad revenue, even as the content introduces children to ideas “before they are ready.” 

“We have to remember that every single time our children go online, [they encounter] information that you and I weren’t exposed to until well into our adulthood,” he said. “So many kids are being shown mature themes, adult themes, just innuendo, all kinds of information, way ahead of when they are developmentally ready to receive it.” 

And to those who argue that children need early exposure to technology to be prepared for the future, McKenna has a response: It’s a lie that “we as a society have bought.” He compared it to an underage child taking the keys to practice “driving the car around the block.”  

Instead, he wants families to prepare their children to encounter the right information at the right time.  

“Children’s brains respond stronger when tactile, physically touching the education that they’re doing,” he said. “No child K-5 needs an iPad in their education in order to be prepared for a future job or college.” 

Instead of iPads, children should be reading printed books, and they should also be writing by hand instead of typing, he argues. 

“I believe that every elementary K-5 needs to take a hard look at how they use technology as a part of the educational process,” he said. “And if they look at the research, they will find that very little of it is necessary for educational goals, and we’ve bought the lie that if our kids don’t have it, they will somehow be behind.”  

Instead of using technology, McKenna believes skills, such as problem-solving and working with others, will set students apart in the workforce.  

Some research has even shown a correlation between technology use and lower reading scores. 

A study by the Reboot Foundation found that 4th graders who used tablets in all of their classes scored 14 points lower on reading tests than students who never used iPads as a part of education.  

While tech companies and schools bear some responsibility, ultimately parents must be the ones to make technology decisions for their families, McKenna maintains. 

But that doesn’t mean laws can’t be passed to help. 

Protect Young Eyes has been involved in legislation, such as the Children’s Device Protection Bill, the Kids Online Safety Act, and the Telecommunications Decency Act. McKenna has also testified in Congress, which has led to legislation and discussions over child protection laws.