Dear Church Family,
One thing that I have noticed in student ministry is how unique our place in history is. We live in a season of time where the younger generation and the older generation have virtually distinct experiences of life growing up. The older generation can remember a time when social media consisted of note passing in class. The younger generation thinks that notes is an app on the Iphone. We are in a unique place in time where human interaction and everyday life looks completely
different for one generation than it did for the other. This makes raising children complicated. It is difficult for a person to identify with the issues their child is going through when their life experiences growing up were of a completely different nature than that of their child. But, it is not because the issues are actually different. It is because the issues simply look different and are much more prevalent.
What I mean by this is not that the human heart has changed from one generation to the next. People are still born with a nature and inclination towards sin. But, the ways that sin can be achieved has changed drastically. Such much so that it almost seems like the youth of our time are experiencing life in a completely different way. The way this life is lived is through entertainment. Think about how much time this generation spends being entertained. In fact, I would argue that all the generations currently living are surrounded by and being overcome by a culture dedicated to entertainment. From young to old, who does not have a smart phone with a facebook account and youtube? There are a few, but the vast majority of us are overwhelmed by entertainment.
But why is that bad? Well, entertainment itself is not bad, but what is being communicated through so much media and entertainment is. Consider the access to ungodly things that such high quantities of media grants to anyone with a smart phone or TV. Consider these statistics from BBC, (http://www.bbc.com/news/education-36527681):
The researchers questioned 1,001 children aged 11 to 16 and found 65% of 15- to 16-year-olds reported seeing pornography, as did 28% of 11- to 12-year-olds. They also discovered that it was more likely for the youngsters to find material accidentally (28%), for example via a pop-up advertisement, than to specifically seek it out (19%).
This is not to mention the worldviews that are being expressed and triumphed in almost every popular TV show and youtuber there is. What does this mean? Entertainment is discipling our students. And not in a good way, but rather it is teaching them how to be more and more like the world, and less and less like Christ.
So what does this mean for a parent? Throw away all access to any media? No! Well, not necessarily. Do what it takes to help your student fight against sin. If they need entertainment taken away for the sake of their eternal soul; well I think the decision is obvious, even though it may not be easy. But really what this means for a parent is that you need to know what your student is watching, reading, looking at, and posting. They may not be doing anything unhealthy for them; but if they are, they will need your help to overcome it. If you know how they are being entertained, then you can talk with them about what is Christ honoring and what is not. You may have to restrict some things! But that is just like keeping a toddler from touching a hot stove. Parenting has not ended just because they are older. It just looks more like conversations than the word “no.” Finally, do not assume that your student is not being enculturated by media. From middle school and up, if they spend any time with people their age, then they are certainly being exposed to worldviews and content that is competing with their devotion to Christ. But with this knowledge and with Christ on our side, we can make disciples of this generation who will be well prepared to reach the lost in their own and in the next generation.
In Christ, Brian Van Doren
