Thank you for downloading the Focus on the Family Parenting Podcast. You can find more helpful advice at

Focus on the Family.com slash parenting podcast.

I'm sure you've seen this where you've got two or three teens they're in the same

room and they're not talking they're all just staring at the screen they're hunched

over the cell phone is in their hand and they're having three or more independent

conversations. I'm John Fuller along with Danny Huerta who runs our parenting

department here at Focus on the family and I'm sure you've seen that Danny on

one hand I mean technology is so

great on the other hand it really seems to be a barrier to interaction with

those people that are right there in front of you. Well, there's some great things, John.

It offers quick communication, it offers opportunities for friendships across the miles, right?

And other parts of the world, like before yet we really tend to not be able to handle

boredom now we if we're prone to boredom we end up going to our phones many times and it's hard for us to maintain conversations and kids have told me that they've said man what what should I say or what can I say what what can I ask another person and we've lost the art of communication, the art of

conversation, the art of the question, and we are craving wanting to be

known rather than to know someone else.

And what I've noticed is that there are multiple conversations going on

at the same time all day long.

And that tires our minds out.

That tires me, I'm just thinking about it.

Let's go ahead though and listen to a singular conversation

that Jim Daly and I had with Dr. Mike Bechtel,

who talked about ways that you and I can use technology

...