Sunday March 11th at 7:00pm.  Tickets are only $15.00 and are limited - so first come, first served.  You can buy tickets from Pastor Dave or Nicki, Hanover Bible Book Store, the church office or online at ticketwindow.ca

1. The students we need to reach for Jesus are on Facebook, so as a church, we need to be on Facebook.

2. 250 million users have Facebook on their phones, which means they are instantly accessable at every moment of every day... is this good or bad?

3. Is facebook affecting our self esteem?  Do we need likes to feel liked?  How can you encourage your children to build relationships and not rely on facebook to build their identity?

Here are the results for the teens in your life:

Apple is the CLEAR winner with 25% of the vote for every age group.  It make sense to me cause at my house the people in the 35+ year old range want an iPad as well :)

You can see the full survey and results here: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/us-kids-looking-forward-to-iholiday-2011/

H&M has admitted that the bikini models in its ads are just real models' heads pasted onto a computer-generated "ideal" body. As Jezebel notes, "But man, isn't looking at the four identical bodies with different heads so uncanny?"

The bodies of most of the models H&M features on its website are computer-generated and "completely virtual," the company has admitted. H&M designs a body that can better display clothes made for humans than humans can, then "dresses" it by drawing on its clothes, and digitally pastes on the heads of real women in post-production.

Read the full article here: H&M Puts Real Model Heads On Fake Bodies

We're back with a new school year and a new look.  Enjoy the new website.

A few months ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report, warning parents, teachers, coaches and youth workers about how much we need to guide young people in their use of social media websites, such as Facebook, MySpace, Club Penguin, Sims Blogs and even Twitter and YouTube.

According to the report, three of every four teens have a cell phone, and more than half are up on social media sites multiple times a day. Almost one fourth of them are on these sites ten times a day or more. This is probably not a newsflash. What may be, however, are the psychological “red flags” that fly today due to the increased time kids spend with social media. Let me share three with you.

First, there is a new phenomenon called “Facebook Depression.” Some kids who are at risk for social isolation, anxiety or depression seek connection on-line. If they don’t find it, they may spiral into depression. Author and pediatrician Gwen O’Keefe says, “Their lack of connection in the on-line world amplifies what’s happening in the real world.”

Second, “Cyberbullies.”  More and more students are on-line, and take pleasure in causing angst to others on-line. Cyberbullying is defined as spreading false, embarrassing or hostile information about another person. This is prevalent because kids who may not have the guts to do it in person—may feel they can do it on-line and never get caught.

Third, “Sexting” and exposure to other inappropriate images or information on-line. Sexting is sending or receiving sexually explicit photos or message via cell phone. Parents should know, too, however, that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Porn is everywhere and is often free and easy to access. Both sexting and pornography can have moral, emotional and legal repercussions.

Caring adults need to be guides. The screen cannot be a one-eyed babysitter. As soon as kids go on-line, parents need to begin teaching them about the digital world. In addition, adults need to encourage kids to disconnect and enjoy the unplugged world as well. This is how we grow healthy and mature young adults.

What are your thoughts? Are there other cautions you have in addition to the ones above?  What are they?

Article found at: http://blog.growingleaders.com/parenting/what-to-watch-out-for-with-social-media-sites/