Teens and ChatGPT
Worth Your Time!
Resource Recommendations to Help You Parent and Mentor Most Effectively
This Week’s Recommendation:
Purposeful Connection's core values are "biblically faithful," "relationship-focused," and "culturally aware," and few youth ministry organizations match that as well as The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. The latest issue of their Parent Prompt resource, intended to spur conversations with teens about ChatGPT, is a great example. It's broken down into 3 parts: World (What is happening?), Word (What does God's Word say?), and Walk (conversation starters and questions).
Why It's Worth Your Time
I considered saving this resource for late summer when the new school year approaches, but ChatGPT and similar platforms have many more uses than just school work. With summer approaching, many students may use their free time to explore those uses - both good and bad.
According to the article, "Teenagers use ChatGPT at home to seek relationship and sexual advice, figure out complicated life topics, prepare for job interviews and get resume help, to name a few."
Now is a great time to get informed and engage in conversations with young people in your life about it. The older we get, the more likely we are to expect them to teach us about new technology - but they still need us to help them use these new technologies in healthy, biblical ways!
Let's help them now so they have fewer bad habits to undo later!
How To Use It
CPYU makes it easy - they have conversation starters and questions already prepared!
Just one suggestion for the second conversation starter... Ask the teen about their friends' usage first. In conversations like this, it's generally easier for them to talk about others than about themselves, especially if they've already been using ChatGPT inappropriately. Once you're engaged in conversation (and they realize it's a conversation not a lecture), they'll likely feel safer to speak openly about their own usage.
While you're on the CPYU website, consider signing up for some of their resources. Most are free, and they're always quality!
For more information...