Technology & Your Teen: A parent seminar

I'm teaching a seminar on technology tonight. Its a seminar for any and all parents of teenagers in the congregation. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I'm hoping enough parents are concerned about the subject and want to learn more. I've found a lot of good material and really want to get it into some parents' hands.

If you get a chance, pray for it. thanks.

Here's the promo I used for it. (there is no sound)

Why teens enjoy fast food and what youth workers can learn

I found an interesting post on why teenagers enjoy eating fast food. It got me thinking about what we (youth workers) can learn about why teenagers might enjoy being involved in a youth ministry. Look at a few of the reasons noted for why teens like fast food...

The food is affordable.
The place is comfortable and safe to hang out
They can choose what they want.

Affordable = cheap.
Most youth ministries have many, many events that are free or low cost. Do more teens come out to events because they are free or low cost?

Comfortable and safe.
There are not too many ministries out there who are not trying to be a safe place for teens. Does it count as comfortable to have couches and games? Do more teens come to a youth ministry event because the couches are comfortable?

Choose what they want = get their way.
There are options. We have a small group on Wednesday, basketball on Tuesday, outreach on Thursday and a youth service on Friday night. Does that sound like enough choices for a teenager? Is that what draws a teen to a youth ministry event, the fact that they can go to something they want to?

I think if we look at youth ministry the same way the fast food industry looks at itself, we are going to find ourself in trouble.

Yeah, teens will come to events that don't cost much. But if that is all they are coming for or to then you might find yourself with a teen who isn't growing. (with the obvious exception of Bible studies/small groups which don't usually cost much to attend) Maybe the concern shouldn't be on the need to have cheap events, but on having quality events. If you can't do many quality events without charging the students more than you want, then try doing less events - just make the quality. Remember teens will go to more expensive places to eat, just not everyday.

Feeling comfortable is very subjective. The methods you use that make "Timmy" comfortable may make "Tony" very uncomfortable. As a ministry, you cannot expect to do the same thing for every student and achieve the same results. (but isn't that so much easier to do?) Accept the students for who they are. Make sure they know you are concerned about them and want to know about who they are (ie hobbies, sports, interests...). Use their names whenever possible.

Of the three, I think the multiple options is the hardest for a ministry. Unless you are a large youth ministry, it is difficult to have systems in place to "appeal" to a wide range of likes and interests. Maybe the choices aren't always as easy to see. Maybe the teenagers get to help pick out the music you listen to on a trip. Maybe you allow them to pick the place you stop to get gas or pick up food. Maybe you let them help you decide which topics to teach or how long you teach them. Even at a fast food restaurant the choices are limited to a relatively small menu board.

And really, do you want to be like those fast food places and give the teens a "mildly fulfilling" stock product?

In the end, I don't think youth ministries need to try to be like McDonald's or Wendy's and especially not Taco Bell. But who says we can't learn something as we drive-thru.

Poll Results: Most used Social Networking Sites

The latest poll on the site was on Social Network sites. I asked which one you use most. At the beginning of the voting, I was a little surprised that MySpace was leading, but it didn't take long for Facebook to just take over. What I did learn is that most youth workers use whatever networking site their students are using. Most use more than one, but only one can be the "go to" site. According to the poll, here are what youth workers use most:

84% (22 people) use Facebook most
11% (3 people) us Myspace most
3% (1 person) doesn't use them and thinks they are evil
(I don't know where the other 2% went, but hey maybe their still trying to figure out what a social networking site is)

Quote of the Day: Texting

"I hate the talk on the cell phone. I don't like it when I have to call someone instead of texting them. The reason I have the phone is to text."

spoken by a student today during a conversation at lunch. I'm hearing statements like this from a lot of the students I talk to. It doesn't matter if it is a middle schooler or a high schooler - they are all on their phones texting. Are you hearing the same thing from your students?

The Simpsons Movie

The Simpsons Movie

For Simpsons fans, the long wait is finally over. The movie version has been made. And it seemed a little anti-climatic.

There were unexpected hilarious moments throughout the movie. On the other hand, there were a lot of moments that just did not seem to fit. For the longtime fan, the movie has some treats (like the ambulance smashed against the tree by the Springfield Gorge, from the episode Bart, the Daredevil). Not the mention all the characters that make appearances; some getting more airtime than almost the entire run of the show.

The movie is not solely based on having a working knowledge of The Simpsons, though. You do not need to know the episode numbers or the character names to enjoy this movie version. It can stand alone - and I think it does a great job of doing just that. As a minister, I think there are some great discussion starters throughout.

Here are a few of the discussion starters...

- the way the Simpsons stick together, as a family
- Bart's desire for a "better" dad
- Homer and Marge's marriage
- Can you really be completely seperated from the world?
- putting other's first
- "visions"

I would not say The Simpsons Movie is for everyone. But I do know that most of the students in your ministry have probably seen it. I know a lot of students in my ministry have seen it, and I didn't know most of them even watched the show.


Dec. 18 release of the movie on DVD

Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online.

Guy Kawasaki has another great interview on his blog (May 20). This one is with Anastasia Goldstein (who covers Generation Y in her blog YPulse). On her new book: Totally Wired.

Its a good read, especially for anyone who works with teenagers. Here is one question I've talked about with students and others over the last year:

Question: Is banning MySpace and other social networks by schools a smart thing?

Answer: Blocking technology doesn’t teach teens how to use technology safely and ethically or how to think critically about the sites they visit. For many low income teens who still may not have computers or access to the internet at home, a school library, public library or federally funded after school program are often the only places they can participate in Web 2.0 at all. If we block and ban these sites, a whole population will miss out on what their peers have access to at home.

Switchfoot: Awakening video

Switchfoot's new video features some DDR & Guitar Hero.

abstinence

I don't know if you have seen the article or not. Either way here is a link to it. Abstinence students still having sex It comes out of a study ordered by the gov't to see the "effectiveness" of abstinence programs. Its an interesting read.

One that caught my eye was this one:

Officials said one lesson they learned from the study is that the abstinence message should be reinforced in subsequent years to truly affect behavior.

So, I guess that means we should be teaching on sex & purity more than once every 4 years. :) I think they should try the once a month teaching method.

What have you seen in your ministries? Is the ratio of teens involved in sexual relationships affected by your teaching on the subject?

HPV vaccine mandatory?

Have you seen this? I guess in Texas the governer is trying to made it mandatory for all girls to get this vaccine. Here is the CDC page on HPV. From what I can gather it is still fairly new and long term side effects are unknown. I just feel that it should not be mandatory. Having it is great. Now my other struggle is that some women who have HPV did not get it from consensual sex, but from rape. This takes the issue from a "free pass" to have sex to a prevention against something you cannot foresee.

where should the line be?

myspace last year?

I found this article thanks to the YS newsletter. Apparently they are saying that myspace is last year in a teen's world.

I am not so sold on this idea. Yeah, Myspace is probably going to lose its appeal to a certain group of people. My first thought is that those who were overwhelmed with it (ie. spent way too much time on it too often) then the appeal is gone. This group has done "all it can" with the site. The honeymoon period is over for them.

But for the rest of the users (those who don't make it a huge part of their day) I think it will remain a viable way to stay in contact. Its like email, but way cooler to see pictures and music videos. I think this group, the average user, will continue to use it.

Myspace like other networking sites is "cool" and the "hot thing" for awhile and then it fades into just "average" in the world of the net. Just look at classmates.com. It was huge when it first came out and probably doesn't have nearly as much traffic now, but it is still going and probably still getting new additions daily. For people who only want the "hottest" then that will only last a short time.

One thing I did like about the article came at the end. It is mentioned that teens will likely become more willing to have actual social interaction. Wow! what an amazing concept, actually talking to someone in person or on the phone. Now wouldn't that change the world :)