“Papa, are zombies real??” That’s the question my seven-year-old grandson asked me after seeing a TV commercial for a movie about these mythological undead corpses Hollywood and the comic book creators tell us walk the earth. “No Nolan. Zombies are not real.” Or, are they?

New research from OnePoll reports that seven in ten American parents surveyed worried that their children are, in fact, turning into “Internet Zombies” as a result of the growing amount of time they are spending online. Two in three parents also believe their child’s overall behavior has changed as a result of spending increased time online.

Just how much time are our kids spending online? According to their most recent Media Use By Tweens and Teens survey, the folks at Common Sense Media report that media use has grown faster in these age groups since the start of the pandemic than it has over the four years prior to the pandemic. From 2015 to 2019, media use for tweens (ages 8-12) grew only 3%, and 11% for teens (ages 13-18). But from 2019 to 2021 alone, media use grew by 17% for our tweens and teens! Think for a minute about just how staggering the statistics are regarding our kids’ average daily entertainment screen use. Our tweens have their eyes on their screens for an average of five hours and 33 minutes a day. For our teenagers, it’s a whopping eight hours and 39 minutes a day. And just to remind you, this is entertainment screen time only. It does not include time spent with screens for educational purposes, either in school or at home.

Our kids are growing up as “digital natives” in a world where they will never be without screens and technology. Because Jesus is the Lord of all of life, doesn’t it make sense that we make a continued effort to disciple our kids into using technology in ways that advance the Kingdom of God, that bring glory to God, and which facilitate human flourishing? In other words, the process of raising our kids should include making an effort to engage them in “digital discipleship.” What does that look like? Here are three suggestions to launch you on that task.

First, don’t put a smartphone in the hands of a child before they are ready. How do we know when they are ready? We will have taken the time to not only warn our kids about technology’s danger areas, but we will have seen evidence of their ability to demonstrate responsibility and trustworthiness in other areas of their lives. I’ve heard smartphones likened to both heroin and loaded guns. The former reminds us that smartphones have great potential to become addictive. The latter reminds us that when placed in the hands of those who are impulsive and irresponsible, there is potential for great danger and harm. While our kids don’t want to hear this, a growing chorus of experts are telling parents that smartphones with full capabilities shouldn’t be given to a child until they are 16, and even then, with caution.

Second, set clear time and place limits. None of us, regardless of age, benefits from spending as much time as we want on our devices. Smartphones will become distracting time-wasters if we aren’t careful. The virtual dimension that sits behind the glass of our screens will become a bottomless pit into which we will find ourselves falling if we aren’t careful. Every minute spent swiping left, right, up, or down is one less minute spent using our time in constructive and redemptive ways. In addition, phones should be put away when we find ourselves in situations where others are present so that we might focus on fostering the growth of our flesh-and-blood relationships. Frankly, we should be ashamed of ourselves if we are allowing our kids to live up to the latest screen time averages.

Finally, we encourage you to engage in “P.O.S. parenting.” That’s the acronym kids use when they want to let others know that “my parent is looking over my shoulder.” We need to monitor where they are going when they are online, what they are posting online, and what they are learning from their time online.

The apostle Paul says that “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31). Parents, if we heed this command, we will avoid raising any zombies in our homes!