Technology is far from being a new word, or new thing. It is constantly upgrading and has brought much wonderful change to our world. However, I have been wondering if it isn't all this techie stuff that is being the demise of our youth. Oh, I know I am stepping out on a limb addressing this issue, for it hits hard not only to the youth, but to us adults as well. But, please keep your chainsaws in their cases, hear me out, and if afterwards you still want to saw off my branch and make it into mulch, you are free to do so, just let me jump off first. : )
I am extremely thankful for the advances in the medical technology and in other areas as well. The area that I have a red flag waving over is more the technology of entertainment. When I was young, we did not have TV, video, computer nor cell phones. We had no idea what texting meant or what a digital camera was. If we wanted to listen to music, we had records, the radio or a cassette tapeplayer. In our vehicles, we had the radio, 8 track player or cassette players. If you wanted to talk to someone, you picked up the telephone (with a cord attached), dialed the number and had a live conversation. Facebook? Huh? Is that a book on all the different faces in the world? Gotta be! Yes, it sounds quite hickish, doesn't it? How on earth did we survive? Us young folks would spend our weekends playing baseball, volleyball, rook, dutch blitz, eating ice-cream - having fellowship in the physical presence of each other and we somehow managed without the techie gadgets.
It is so different these days and I wonder what it will look like in 10, or even 5 more years. Now when I look around I see people in the presence of other people, but in their own little world. They are holding these little techie gadgets in their hands, either "talking" to someone else, or checking their emails, facebook, the weather or whatever else. You can go to the Farm Show, to a restaurant, to the park, to the store, wherever, and you will find people who are to be in attendance to their family, or friends, but instead feel a need to "be" with someone else in the cyber world. Vehicle accidents have increased, not due to drunk drivers, but due to the driver not having the patience to wait til they arrive at their destination, or to pull over, to respond to a text they receive. And what was the message? "yo, whr r u?" or something like that. And what about the movies that are out there? Are they edifying us? Or are they hardening us to the realities of immorality and senseless, fickle living? The big question is . . . . what effect is all this having on our society? What effect is all this having in the home? In the church? In the schools? Is it too late to lock up the brakes and leave black tire marks down this road that is taking us to . . . . where? What is the destination anyway? Oh, please don't think I am excluding myself in this issue. Although I hate talking on a cell phone, hate texting, hate the horrible video games that are available, I LOVE being on the computer! I LOVE checking facebook! I LOVE watching movies! and I am uncomfortable with those facts! I see how it effects our home and our relationships. What am I doing when the boys need me? Am I checking my cyber world when I should be tucking them into bed? Do they have to get lunch themselves because mom is on the computer? Are my priorities a wee off balance? How can I discourage my children against addictions, when I have them myself? How can I teach my children self discipline, when I lack it myself? How can I teach them to be uncompromising in their faith, when we allow to them to watch and hear things in a movie that we wouldn't allow them to do? I think of all the things I could do with our boys instead of being on the computer . . . . reading books (the kind that you actually hold and flip the pages), pitch baseball, play "pig" with the basketball, go on a hike, sit by the campfire, build a go-cart, and on and on. We could have deep, thought provoking conversations instead of watching movies. What are our children learning by sitting in front of a computer playing mindless games? Or texting useless messages where proper grammar and spelling is unheard of? Or constantly emailing, which are void of tone of voice and emotions? What is being learned by having the latest state of the art cell phone or ipod, or mp3 player? Is our society being improved upon with this technology? Is is promoting our youth to reach out to the boy or girl who is being bullied? or to the elderly neighbor or the fatherless child? Is it teaching self discipline, self denial - selfless living? Or is it teaching discontentment and unrealism? What do we really think about all this and are we willing to be truthful about it? When I am around my amish and mennonite clients (who have not excepted all this technology, although they have been forced to accept a little of it), I am pulled to the simplicity and innocence of their lifestyle. Maybe we have lost more than we realize.
Am I saying that it is all wrong and useless? No. I am so thankful for my friends on fb and have thoroughly enjoyed keeping in touch. We have gained so much knowledge through the computer and the cell phone comes in mighty handy when we are on the road. We use this modern technology, but somewhere there is a line. Trying to find it is the difficult thing. I believe that satan is using all these gadgets as distractions and caution needs to be used.
I guess I have reached the end of my branch and it is bowing quite abit. If you feel a need to rev up that chainsaw, you are now free to do so. I know I have asked alot of questions, questions that I am also seeking the answers for. If anyone has found the answers, please, please share them!
Until next time............
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