From the latest version of the SitePoint Tribune email newsletter:
Nielsen Net Ratings reports that kids aged 2-11 years old are leading the growth of Web pages viewed at home. Pageviews made by this group in the last year have increased by 36% on the previous 12 months.
The report also demonstrates the differences between the online viewing habits of boys and girls. The site that attracted the largest growth in pageviews by girls was MSN Messenger (an increase of 381%). For boys, entertainment sites lead the way—DisneyChannel.com page views were up by 230%.
As a parent of a nine-year-old child, I am always reticent when it comes to targeting kids directly without their parents’ permission, even with the gospel, because I think doing so is often counter-productive. On the other hand, I’m sure there are appropriate online evangelistic efforts directed at children. The data cited above would suggest that the church should be thinking seriously about how to use digital means to reach children.
Anyone know of any good examples of digital outreach to kids? Feel free to cite such examples in a comment to this post.
I believe that the internet provides today's church with a historic opportunity .... to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love in ways which could only have been imagined in times past. The objective of this website is to explore the various ways in which today's technology can be used to spread the gospel around the world.
