Technology's Impact on Anabaptist Society, and More Specifically, Youth

[MikeTheTechGuy]

I'm in the process of gathering information for a topic on which I was asked to share regarding technology, and probably more specifically the internet's, impact today's youth, ESPECIALLY my Anabaptist peers.

Now I myself am somewhat of a tech nerd, in that I've dabbled with computers, networking, and all sorts of technological bits and pieces since I was around 8 years old. I am currently in my early 20's and still work in tech. This to say, I find myself to be a bit biased when it comes to the benefits of tech on today's society (for good reason - it's my job to persuade people they need it )

But on a more serious note, as I tend to mature, I have begun to think more deeply about human sociology and psychology and technology's effect on it, but have found that, due to my Kingdom-based worldview, a lot of resources I'm finding don't quite have what I'm looking for.

So, the TL;DR of this whole dissertation becomes - what have you witnessed in terms of differences in youth interaction in the past decade or so since technology has become extremely accessible? What pressures have you noticed developing due to social media and problems or situations have you witnessed that have been born of those pressures? What differences do you witness in our young people now that have changed, either for the worse (as would typically be expected, as I've picked up on with previous conversations with elders), or the better (is this even worth asking?)? I'm hoping for elders' perspectives as well as young peoples' perspectives (and if that means recruiting young people to join the ranks of MennoNet, by all means, spread the word!)

[RZehr]

I’ve just listened to these four talks by Harry Argo from last fall. Very easy listening. Talks about how we are getting our personal social needs filled via technology at the expense of people.

1st http://www.christianlightfellowship.com ... he-culture

2nd
http://www.christianlightfellowship.com ... culture-ii

3rd
http://www.christianlightfellowship.com ... ulture-iii

4th
http://www.christianlightfellowship.com ... culture-iv

When I was in the youth group, we didn’t have smart phones, and would interact with each other. I now here reports of youth groups being quite bored with each other, and showing up at event only to stand/sit staring at, and messing with their phones instead of interacting with each other.

[Bootstrap]

When I was growing up, the only plain youth I knew were Amish, and they and their parents really had very little understanding of what was going on in the world around them - Vietnam or Watergate, for instance. I visited and went haying with them a few times after their father installed the wood furnace we heated our home with. I have no idea what plain Mennos of various kinds would have been like back then. When I student taught, that was mostly true of the plain Menno church I visited in Flint.

Social media breaks down barriers. That's both good and bad. I think plain Mennos who use social media are much more similar to other people of their age who use social media, more informed about some things, more influenced by some of the negative things like partisan loyalty and the pugilistic approach people take to talking politics these days.

For all of us, figuring out how to use social media for good and not for ill is a big challenge. I love the ability to connect with Christians all over the world. I worry that online culture has dynamics of its own that affect us too. As Christians, I think we need to work on how we can best establish an edifying online counterculture that doesn't mirror the rest of the Internet without reflection.

[Biblical Anabaptist]

As a father and grandfather, I believe the cell phone along with email in the hands of youth and older children, while it has some positives, has undermined the influence and authority of the home and family and has dramatically increased peer pressure.

[MaxPC]

As a father and grandfather, I believe the cell phone along with email in the hands of youth and older children, while it has some positives, has undermined the influence and authority of the home and family and has dramatically increased peer pressure.

I agree. We don't even let our children on the computer until they are 16-18 and then we monitor it closely. Filters are good too.

As to the smart phones, none of our children even had a brick phone or a flip phone until they were adults and out on their own. It didn't harm them. It didn't lose any friends for them. Rather instead they developed some very fine social skills and a caring spirit for those they lived with and interacted with in real time. World events come and go with their politics which is unimportant to those of us focused on the Kingdom of God. There are still a libraries full of good books and the Good Book to help them with their homework.

[Hats Off]

I am also a father and grandfather - we have had the youth in our home many times in the past 38 years. Today when they come, there is almost always a smart phone or two (or more) in use as they sit around. We have had reports of texting in church - texting to a buddy at one of the other churches. I don't have enough experience with the youth since my youngest son is 38 and my oldest grandson just turned 16 to really know to any extend what is going on but reports that we read do indicate the smart phones result in a loss of socialisation.

We recently received notice from our internet committee about the use of WhatsApp and its use among mixed buddy groups. Where this happens, we can be assured that the members of a WhatsApp group are not connecting with the other youth the way they should. We can also be assured that this will result in younger boys and girls hanging around together in ways that are not going to be good for those who have not yet committed to Christ and the church.

[Josh]

When I was growing up, the only plain youth I knew were Amish, and they and their parents really had very little understanding of what was going on in the world around them - Vietnam or Watergate, for instance.

I have a hard time understanding how this is a bad thing. Are we better off knowing every detail of the latest palace intrigue at the White House? Are we better off with (biased) news coverage leading us to support or agitate against various wars?

[Bootstrap]

When I was growing up, the only plain youth I knew were Amish, and they and their parents really had very little understanding of what was going on in the world around them - Vietnam or Watergate, for instance.

I have a hard time understanding how this is a bad thing. Are we better off knowing every detail of the latest palace intrigue at the White House? Are we better off with (biased) news coverage leading us to support or agitate against various wars?

I wasn't saying this was a bad thing, I am not sure why you read it that way. I very much enjoyed my time with them, it's a very fond memory.

I was describing the way it was and contrasting it to the way it is today with social media. I saw that as a good thing, just very different from my own life, very foreign. And they spoke Pennsylvania Dutch.

In fact, I think they were more consistent in their claim to be separate from the world. They seemed more different than me. I am much more concerned about identifying strongly with worldly causes today, and I think I see some of that. Social media seems to be breaking down a lot of barriers, for good and for bad. Geographical distance doesn't mean as much anymore.

[Josh]

In my opinion, social media is creating more barriers than it is tearing down. Fortunately, young people, particularly Gen. Z, are not really adopting social media. My own generation is basically a writeoff.

[lesterb]

In my opinion, social media is creating more barriers than it is tearing down. Fortunately, young people, particularly Gen. Z, are not really adopting social media. My own generation is basically a writeoff.

That does not correlate with my experience at all. Almost all of my children are millennials. They certainly use technology but they are very outgoing socially as well. And Gen z is so used to texting and instant messaging that they have an average attention span of about six minutes. I get irritated when I hear people talk about writing off an entire generation.