CONNECT

CONNECT is an educational documentary Fathom Event from Kirk Cameron tackling the growing problem of technology in the lives of today’s children.

Kirk Cameron begins by telling a story of when his wife sprung the idea on Kirk to buy all their children smart phones, and how that filled him with fear. So, Kirk sets out on a mission to find out the risks of being connected to the world through the phone in your hand, and what the Bible says about raising children to love God.

The first person Kirk interviews is Tim Woda, who tells Kirk of the time he found out his son was on Facebook without his knowledge, and that a predatory middle-aged man was reaching out to him. Tim stepped into action and began tracking down the predator who was going after his son, even threatening him. If predators aren’t worrisome enough, young men and women give testimonies of the cyber bullying and addiction to pornography that came from their presence on social media, and the scars that it left on them, including suicide attempts.

Kirk also interviews academics, like neurosurgeon Dr. Ian Armstrong, who explains what’s happening inside the brains of teenagers, and why pornography is addictive. He also talks to Dr. Kathy Koch, who reveals five cultural lies that children believe in this technological age, such as, “I am the center of the universe” and “I am my own authority.”

After addressing all the dangers that comes with children and technology, Kirk explores the solutions to parenting children through this issue and its problems.

CONNECT merely scratches the surface on the complexities, challenges and importance of strong, intentional parenting in a technological age, but that alone is admirable and of the utmost importance. Well shot and edited, CONNECT succeeds at conveying the gravity of the subject matter, and Kirk Cameron as usual exudes charisma and passion for the topic. Though it’s not without a cheesy and lengthy visual aide featuring a bearded Kirk Cameron slaying a demon beast as a metaphor for how he’ll protect his own children, the movie communicates its points in a captivating way.

CONNECT doesn’t take a separatist approach to parenting, telling moms and dads to burn their children phones and retreat to the mountains. Instead, it gets to the heart of the matter and provides parents with simple tools for how to engage with their children relationally and ultimately train them to be discerning individuals who follow God, and can be in the world, but not of it. CONNECT is an introduction to the world of media discernment, and hopefully will move many families from passive parenting to engaged discipleship.

CONNECT deals with some difficult subject matter, such as bullying, pornography and predators, so some caution is warranted for young children, but every parent should be aware of the message in Kirk Cameron’s CONNECT.

Also, please read Dr. Ted Baehr’s book THE CULTURE WISE FAMILY for detailed information on how to teach your children to be media wise and self-disciplined.