Well, Since You Brought It Up . . .
Posted by: Denelle
Over on the "Month in My Life" blog, Alicia and Chauntay are having a very interesting discussion about MySpace and its merits or pitfalls.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of MySpace and even those who've never seen it have heard on the news all of the dangers, detraction/drawbacks to the sight. However, Alicia brings out some good points:
This tool is an easy resource for keeping up with teenagers, who their friends are, their thoughts, fears, activities, etc. This generation of teenagers wants to share their thoughts and feelings; they want to be heard; they do not usually want to talk to adults face to face about any of this.
I couldn't agree more. In a generation where communication is instant, the sharing of feelings and the "dealing" with feelings/emotions rarely happens face to face. We have more communication and less connection. I also have no problem with the several friends that I have who are youth pastors, creating fictitious accounts so that they can anonymously check on their young people and see if there are issues that need to be addressed. It keeps the kids from feeling like they're being stalked but it allows someone who cares to also monitor what is going on outside of the church building.
Why are some people all worked up about this issue? Is it the time management problem? Can’t we always find something to get upset about that wastes our time? Is it the potential dangers? Can’t we address them? Is it the access to porn? . . . to bury our heads in the sand is not going to make the “problem” go away.
For me on a personal level, the reason I have chosen to stay away from MySpace, is because of the absolute level of filth that abounds. All it takes is one "friend" who has questionable activities, links, videos, other friends, etc. on their page and you never know what you're going to find showing up on your computer screen. I also don't have the time to waste staring at profiles all day. It is the kind of thing that really does eat up your life before you can even realize it.
HOWEVER, I have to say that I think it is absurd for pastors and/or youth pastors to hand down a decree banning MySpace among their teens/young adults and think that that will be the end of the matter. That is burying your head in the sand. There must be some explanation as to why we feel there should be limits and a reasonable expectation of what those limits are.
Make sure you click on the link and check out the full debate by clicking on the link.
Over on the "Month in My Life" blog, Alicia and Chauntay are having a very interesting discussion about MySpace and its merits or pitfalls.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of MySpace and even those who've never seen it have heard on the news all of the dangers, detraction/drawbacks to the sight. However, Alicia brings out some good points:
This tool is an easy resource for keeping up with teenagers, who their friends are, their thoughts, fears, activities, etc. This generation of teenagers wants to share their thoughts and feelings; they want to be heard; they do not usually want to talk to adults face to face about any of this.
I couldn't agree more. In a generation where communication is instant, the sharing of feelings and the "dealing" with feelings/emotions rarely happens face to face. We have more communication and less connection. I also have no problem with the several friends that I have who are youth pastors, creating fictitious accounts so that they can anonymously check on their young people and see if there are issues that need to be addressed. It keeps the kids from feeling like they're being stalked but it allows someone who cares to also monitor what is going on outside of the church building.
Why are some people all worked up about this issue? Is it the time management problem? Can’t we always find something to get upset about that wastes our time? Is it the potential dangers? Can’t we address them? Is it the access to porn? . . . to bury our heads in the sand is not going to make the “problem” go away.
For me on a personal level, the reason I have chosen to stay away from MySpace, is because of the absolute level of filth that abounds. All it takes is one "friend" who has questionable activities, links, videos, other friends, etc. on their page and you never know what you're going to find showing up on your computer screen. I also don't have the time to waste staring at profiles all day. It is the kind of thing that really does eat up your life before you can even realize it.
HOWEVER, I have to say that I think it is absurd for pastors and/or youth pastors to hand down a decree banning MySpace among their teens/young adults and think that that will be the end of the matter. That is burying your head in the sand. There must be some explanation as to why we feel there should be limits and a reasonable expectation of what those limits are.
Make sure you click on the link and check out the full debate by clicking on the link.
For me, the oddity of MySpace is its "anonymous community". Essentially you are keeping a private journal that everyone can read! (I suppose blogging is much the same).
Why/how have we gone from "If my little brother ever touches my diary, I'll rip him limb from limb" to "Let me post these indecent pictures of myself where everyone can see them"?
Posted by
Jared |
Mon Jun 18, 10:22:00 PM 2007