Laptops, iPhones, iPads, iPods, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Yourspace, IM, Droids, apps, downloads, wireless, 3G, 4G, iTunes, Blackberry, bluetooth, Xbox, Wii…everything about how we engage with and communicate with other people has changed. It can be overwhelming. And perhaps the most dramatic impact of all this “progress” on our teenagers has been the decline of personal relationships.
Texted words, symbols, characters and acronyms have largely replaced verbal conversation for teens today. Kids are spending less time truly interacting and more time “connecting” superficially through digital devices of one kind or another. In fact, I regularly see kids in the same room texting each other, instead of walking over and talking face to face. Now, these devices and other forms of digital entertainment aren’t wrong in and of themselves, but they can become all-consuming to the teen, to the point that nothing else matters.
This generation has never known a world without the Internet, iPods, cell phones and video games. They regard things as normal that we didn’t even dream of when we were teenagers. They are tech-savvy. (Even my five year old granddaughter can scroll through the iPad with skill and speed that puts me to shame!) They know all about communication devices and are highly skilled at instant messaging and social media…but all too often, they know almost nothing about true and meaningful relationships.
A Question of Connections
If you ask a teenager today how many friends they have, they will likely answer you with their Facebook friend count. But all of the increased “digital talking” through social media is not producing the kind of deep friendships and relationships that are so important. It brings to mind the saying “a mile wide and an inch deep.” I’m not saying that using Facebook is wrong or bad, because it is a good way to keep up with people over the miles, but we may need to work with our kids to help them develop real friends and real relationships as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment