Into the world of Generation @

Internet Protect Your Kids: Keep Your Children Safe from the Dark Side of Technology Stephen Arterburn and Roger Marsh. Thomas Nelson, 2007. 192 pages.

MySpace MyKids: A Parent’s Guide to Protecting Your Kids and Navigating MySpace.com Jason Illian. Harvest House, 2007. 128 pages.

MySpace? IMing? MMOGs? And who is Generation @ anyway? According to the authors of two new books on internet protecting our kids, Generation @ includes anyone growing up in a world with two realities – the real and the virtual. You know, those kids who think email is archaic and who carry on a five-way IMing (instant messaging) session while doing homework and listening to the soundtrack of their lives on an Ipod!

Speaking of homework, Arterburn and Marsh, both parents, have put together a resource book that’s a quick but informative read. It’s short on horror stories and long on encouragement and sound advice, including guidelines for computer rules and tips for dealing with problems like cyberbullying and giving out too much information while blogging.

The appendices contain a sample “Internet Usage Agreement,” safety tips for MySpace, step-by-step suggestions on how to regain control if it has been lost, and a short list of translated instant messaging code, as well as other handy information. Whether talking about SNSs (social networking sites) or MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games), the authors provide insightful explanations of the industries and individuals driving the internet and the reasons kids are so into it. This is a great overview of the internet and kids.

If looking to specifically learn about MySpace, you may consider picking up a copy of Jason Illian’s short book, MySpace MyKids. Unlike Arterburn and Marsh he is long on reminding parents (though not a parent himself) that our kids are our responsibility. However, he comes up with the same bottom line: we need to think of the internet as a real place where good and evil coexist and therefore pray for, protect, and educate our kids accordingly.

Like Arterburn and Marsh, Illian emphasizes that we, and kids especially, should not leave any virtual footprints on the internet, and provides information how to be invisible online. As part of his research, Illian set up phony accounts for two Christian 16-year-olds, Susie Teenager and Johnny Popular, and spent a month in their virtual shoes trying to understand MySpace from a teenager’s perspective. The book is brief and ends with a chapter on MySpace FAQs before he signs off with another thousand or so words about how it all comes down to parenting.

If you’re like this mom, you cannot envision yourself sipping tea with friends in cyberspace or instant messaging while pruning tomatoes. But if the Spirit is urging you to get a grip on the internet from a Generation @ perspective, grab a copy of Arterburn and Marsh and do your homework (soundtrack optional).

Laura Thomas attends Gracepoint Community Fellowship in Surrey, B.C.