I love my cell phone, my video iPod, my laptop, my Internet connection and all the technology that makes them work. I love that I’m constantly in contact with friends, family and colleagues, that I can take my work with me wherever I go, and I never lack for entertainment.
Still, there are times when I crave the solitude of being out of touch so I can be lost in my own thoughts for an hour or two.
Spending too much time online can exact a price from our emotional well being. Though we’re communicating more, we’re spending less time with others. Some social scientists say a lack of human contact contributes to a rise in obesity, depression, even suicide, particularly among teenagers who’ve grown up in the Information Age and are spending increasing amounts of time online.
My two teenaged daughters are perfect examples. They do the same things I did back in high school: talk about boys and sports, share pictures, listen to music, watch videos, and elicit approval of new hairstyles and outfits. However rather than hanging out together, they use instant messenger, webcams, MySpace and YouTube while physically alone, and not feeling the least bit lonely.
Applications for Community
About the time I thought I might have to hide the wireless gateway to get them out of the house, my kids and their friends embraced something new: Web, video and MP3-enabled cell phones. With their favorite applications in their hip pockets, my girls and their friends are spending less time tethered to their computers and more time at each others’ homes, at the mall and, much to my relief as a mother and youth group leader, at church.
In the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with Internet and cell phone applications that encourage and enhance, rather than compete with, our groups’ face-to-face interactions. I’ve tried a number of things, and while not all of them have worked for us, here are a few that have:
• We created a presence for the group on a social network. The site functions as a sort of centralized “information hub” about the activities we pursue offline. We use the site for announcements, calendars, permission forms, and share images, audio and video clips from our meetings and events.
• We use Twitter to send and receive quick updates to each other throughout the day via text or instant messages or email. I hear about breakups, bad grades, new clothes and college acceptances almost immediately and can respond quickly and appropriately to the trivial and the pivotal.
• We added a feature to our group’s online profile allowing us to send and instantly post photos from our cell phones. This is one of a number of cool applications that can be added to most Web sites for free. Just search for “Web site widgets” and see what you find.
Leveraging Tools’ Power
The challenge for youth leaders is to leverage the powerful community-building tools technology affords as support structures for creative offline encounters, and never settle into a level of comfort with what works “right now.”
In the rapidly changing realm of technology, the “next big thing” is right around the corner. As leaders, we must embrace the new, not compete with it, so technology can become a valuable tool in our quest to make faith relevant to the “plugged-in” teens in our spiritual care.
