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Family, Transparency, and AI Friends: Responding to the Latest Tech Changes with Chris McKenna
Episode 355

Family, Transparency, and AI Friends: Responding to the Latest Tech Changes with Chris McKenna

AI isn’t just doing homework - it’s competing for our kids’ hearts. Chris McKenna (Protect Young Eyes) explains AI companions, why “delay is the way,” how to course-correct with HALT, and the micro-moves that rebuild real-world connection at home and school.

BaseCamp Live · Chris McKenna, Davies Owens

November 4, 202544m 31s

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Show Notes

Technology is changing faster than families can keep up. From social media to smartphones to the latest wave of AI “companions,” new tools are shaping how children think, connect, and even define friendship. In this episode, Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes and a leading voice on digital safety, joins host Davies Owens to unpack what’s really happening and how parents and schools can respond with both truth and grace.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

  • Why AI “friends” appeal so powerfully to teens and what’s really going on in the developing brain
  • How to recognize and respond to the risks of AI companions and mature content online
  • The three kinds of families in the digital age and what each can do today
  • Chris’s HALT framework for course-correcting unhealthy tech habits
  • Why it’s time to “be weird together” as parents and schools who choose community over conformity
  • Simple, real-life “micro moves” families can make to model authentic, human connection

Technology may be accelerating, but parents are not powerless. Listeners will come away with a renewed sense of hope and concrete ways to model healthy technology use, foster real-world connection, and guide students toward wisdom in an increasingly digital world.

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Life Architects Coaching

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at [email protected]

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at [email protected]

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.

Topics

digital safety for parentsprotect young eyeshalt frameworkanalog habitsteen brain and technologyclassical christian schoolscommunity covenantsverify don’t trustparenting and aidelay is the waychris mckennacourse-correct tech habitsai companionsyouth mental health onlineschool phone policy