Ninety-five percent of teens either own a smartphone or have access to one, according to the Pew Research Center. Parents may give their kids phones for the sake of safety, but at they same time they open up a constant flow of peer communication and critique.

In this discussion, TGC Council member and ERLC president Russell Moore, pastor Scott Sauls, and author Trevin Wax talk about how they’ve made their own parenting decisions about technology. Wax points out that while parents are right to be concerned about the kind of content kids may access on their phones, they also need to consider the formative influence the phone itself will have on a person. In fact, we need to consider what kind of shaping effect smartphones might be having not just on kids, but on us as adults as well.

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Related

Don’t Be Dumb with Your Smartphone (Tony Reinke)
7 Ways Smartphones Can Enhance Your Spiritual Life (Joe Carter)
Why Our Son Doesn’t Have a Smartphone (Trevin Wax)

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Russell Moore (MDiv, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) public theologian at Christianity Today and director of Christianity Today’s Public Theology Project. He has written many books, including Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel (2015), The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home (2018), and The Courage to Stand: Facing Your Fear Without Losing Your Soul (2020). He and his wife, Maria, are the parents of five sons.

Scott Sauls is the author of several books, including Jesus Outside the Lines and Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen. You can follow him on Twitter.

Trevin Wax is vice president of resources and marketing at the North American Mission Board and a visiting professor at Cedarville University. A former missionary to Romania, Trevin is a regular columnist at The Gospel Coalition and has contributed to The Washington Post, World, and Christianity Today. He has taught courses on mission and ministry at Wheaton College and has lectured several times on Christianity and culture at Wycliffe Hall of Oxford University. He is a founding editor of The Gospel Project, has served as publisher for the Christian Standard Bible, and is currently a fellow for The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. He is the author of multiple books, including The Gospel Way Catechism, The Thrill of Orthodoxy, The Multi-Directional Leader, This Is Our Time, and Gospel Centered Teaching. His podcast is Reconstructing Faith. He and his wife, Corina, have three children. You can follow him on X or Facebook, or receive his columns via email.