I’ve been thinking and writing about technology and how it affects worship for quite a number of years. When I wrote a series about ‘online church’ and the importance of in-person worship during COVID, one of my main concerns was about what this time was doing to the discipleship of young people. (Yes, it always comes back to: “Think of the children!”)
Especially in my post, “Are the Kids Really Fine?”, I tried to express the significance of the ubiquity of social media and online streaming for people born during or after, say, the mid-1990s. This is the most important generational divide, in my opinion. Those who were formed in their Christian faith as children or as adults before the advent of streaming and social media are somewhat able to navigate the newly “technologized” way of connecting with God and with others as just a slightly more convenient and slightly less satisfying version of their old way. For younger people, this is all that they have known.
I used to regularly share posts on this blog that contained four to seven links of other readings/listenings/viewings that I found interesting—kind of a substitute for instant sharing on social media. I still accumulate readings to share with specific people in my Bookmarks, but maybe I’ll start sharing more now that I’m serving as a pastor. Anyway, here are some interesting items inspired by desire to see families navigate the threat that “online” poses to their discipleship.
Liturgy is for Kids: Or, Your Kids Don’t Need Pop Worship
Podcast: Mortification of Spin: Metaverse Church
The Light Phone — An interesting product! (Disclosure: I do not own or endorse this product.)
Podcast: Felicia Wu Song on the Perils of Digital Discipleship
The Medium Is the Menace: Ubiquitous digital media offer potent rewards—but at the price of eroding our sensory and social capacities.
Taking the Postman Pledge: Neil Postman’s message could save children from the worst effects of technology.
think hard, think well 