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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The Myth of the Internet Generation (part 3)

This week I've been looking at an article found at Spiegel Online that discusses a study of the "internet generation." (catch up here and here)

One thing that is true of the internet generation is that they are connected most of the time. They are able to text, check facebook, and listen to music (and maybe watch TV) all at the same time. Though studies show they aren't actually multi-tasking, they are adept at switching between tasks very rapidly.

"I go online when I have nothing better to do," Jetlir says. "Unfortunately that's often when I should already be sleeping." Thanks to cell phones and MP3 players, young people can also fill gaps in their busy schedules even when they're away from static media sources like TVs, computers and music systems. Media use can therefore increase steadily while still leaving plenty of time for other activities.

Asking a young person to reduce their media consumption to one channel at a time for an extended period is going to be difficult. They are often forced to do so in school, but if we do the same thing in church, we're basically forcing them to go to school for another day.

How can sermons and preaching encourage and sanctify the constant connection of the internet generation?

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