I am a strong advocate for the responsible use of social media, not only by individuals but also by churches.  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and others give organizations opportunties to connect with its members while at the same time reaching a wider audience.  I have had the opportunity to participate in discussions about the role social media plays within congregations (you can view that conversation here).

Whether parents want to believe it or not their kids are using social media on a daily basis.  

The Fuller Youth Institute offered an article yesterday with ways in which parents can use social media to help strengthen family life and engage their teens in a cyber world where oftentimes teens are comfortable and many parents feel disoriented.

For many of us adults, however, online activity with our kids can be socially disorientating. Those of us who see the relational potential of social media may discover that the reward for our efforts is a loss of parental authority. These new digital interactions are often foreign to our own experiences when we were teens. They also leave us wondering who we are online in relation to our kids, or why something our kids seem to enjoy so much feels like it is tearing our family apart.

Here's a quick sample of some of the tips offered by Fuller.

Ask your teen to show you how to do something online.

If your teens are social gamers, join them online in a game of their choice

Find a recent post by your teen to which you can give a digital thumbs-up.

You can read the entire article here.