As Father’s Day approaches, some are warning that a decline in community involvement is leaving young people vulnerable to bad influences. King Randall, founder of the mentorship organization The X for Boys and The X for Boys Life Preparatory School in Albany, Ga., believes the problem extends beyond fatherlessness, and lies in the movement away from community.

The Importance of Community Involvement

Randall argues that by pulling away from a ‘village’ mentality, social media and technology have been left to fill the void created by absent role models. He believes in the village concept when it comes to fatherhood, where multiple people have a collective part in helping to raise a child.

Randall’s mentorship program takes place in the real world, where he teaches boys and girls practical life skills, such as checking their tires, using a fire extinguisher, and turning off a home’s main water shutoff valve. He emphasizes the importance of real-world scenarios in building confidence and character in young people.

Without in-person role models and with busy parents, children and teens are turning to social media for guidance, according to Randall. He warns that social media personalities, gangs, rappers, and other negative influences have found ways to exploit children’s desire for validation by seeming to offer them a sense of belonging.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.