He was only fifteen--a popular student athlete who, while doing homework on his computer at home, received a friend request from an attractive young girl his age. Direct messages ensued, and the conversation switched over to Google Hangouts. Eventually the young man received some nude pics from this girl and requested he return the favor. She was so persistent that he finally gave in.

In reality, the young man wasn’t dealing with a young girl at all but a predator intent on using the pics he had sent to blackmail him for money. The evil perpetrator threatened to send a video of the young man to every porn site on the world wide web unless he paid up. In a panic, this young, popular, aspiring athlete tragically chose to end his own life.

I’m reminded of the 60’s TV show “Lost in Space,” where the family robot would light up and flail its arms repeating, “danger Will Robinson,” every time there was an impending threat. Consider this my version of that robot because a very real danger threatens your kids. Social media is a primary means of communication, as 70% of 12-13 year-olds in America have a smartphone.

Technology in itself is not evil, but it can certainly be employed by Satan to achieve his evil designs. As a husband and a father, you have a responsibility to protect your family from the digital dangers that lurk on the internet. Most likely, your response to this threat falls into one of three camps:

You may have already experienced some kind of damage to yourself or to your family and have deep regrets about the failure

You may naively think you’re immune to the threat

You are keenly aware of the danger and are doing what you can to protect your loved ones.

Whatever category you fall into, I want to recommend David Tucker’s book, The Digital Parenting Guidebook: Seven Essential Steps for Building the Tech-Savvy Christian Family. David’s background in technology qualifies him to speak authoritatively on this issue. He takes you through the seven steps, which are all based on biblical principles.

The reality is that as a husband and a father, you cannot completely keep your children from harmful things in the digital world. What you can do is educate yourself on the best way to protect them, and this book will aid you in that pursuit. We need to understand that this is a battle to win or lose The young man mentioned above was a casualty of that war. Don’t think it can’t happen to someone you love.