Smartphones are undoubtedly the greatest invention of recent decades. And while they have many positive aspects,  it’s also true that what we see on them only tells us part of the story . And a half-truth is essentially a lie.

In a mature adult, deception is dangerous, but in a child or teenager, the damage can be lethal. The website All Pro Dad  lists  seven lies that mobile phones are teaching our children:

Lie 1. “You can know everything”

The phone gives us access to almost all information, but information alone isn’t enough. Information received without context or connection is simply data. We need discernment and wisdom; therein lies our challenge as parents: how do we help our child grow in wisdom?

Lie #2. “You should never be bored”

We’re standing in line at a store or at a traffic light for five seconds—what do most of us instinctively do? We look at our phones. We’ve trained ourselves to entertain ourselves anywhere and everywhere (or our phones have trained us). Yet, we actually need to be bored.

Boredom gives us space for creativity and focus . Boredom allows us to concentrate on what we dislike, to reflect, and to persevere. Without boredom, we are more likely to live unreflective and uncreative lives. Our children need to be bored.

Lie 3. “Entertainment takes precedence over privacy”

“One day I was asking my daughter what she was doing on her phone and she told me she was looking at where her friends were. It turns out they had an app that allowed them to share their location with anyone they were friends with , so they could see what everyone was doing at any given moment. I was incredulous, but she just thought it was fun.”

More and more apps are offering features that allow you to track your location, which is a danger to both children and adults.

Lie 4. “You are the center of the universe”

Everything on a teenager’s phone is carefully curated for them: playlists, videos, contact lists… Everything they want is at their fingertips. And posting videos or pictures that people like only reinforces what they already believe: that the world revolves around them .

He will need boundaries and twice the encouragement to step outside himself and serve others.

Lie 5. “You must always be available”

Your phone makes you always available to anyone who has your number, username, or email address. This leads to that maddening phenomenon of our child being in a room full of people and,  instead of interacting with them, replying to a text message .

This state of constant availability is not only useless for our son, but it also  makes it difficult for him to pay attention to the people he is physically with .

Lie 6. “It’s a small world”

The whole world is in the palm of your hand. Wherever you want to go, whoever you want to learn about… it’s all there. But sometimes,  having it all at your fingertips means your child isn’t fully present where they really are . Many times you’ve found yourself driving through beautiful scenery and telling your teenagers to put down their phones and look around.

We all need to look at a waterfall, gaze in awe out of an airplane window, or contemplate the night sky. We need to feel our own insignificance and appreciate the wonder of the world around us. We need to look up from our phones.

Lie 7. “You are always on the verge of banality”

Just when our child feels comfortable with their current phone, a new one comes out with more interesting features and different accessories. When they feel at ease navigating the best social media platform, it’s eclipsed by a new one.  It’s impossible to keep up with technology, and this can lead to a constant sense of banality.