TYME OUT Blogs!

             As a Gen Xer I have a unique perspective outside of other generations when it comes to technology. I can remember televisions with dials, rabbit ears and only seven stations. Phones had the curly cords that got tangled the more you walked around. Answering machines the size of a small brief case and recorded on a cassette tape. Music came only on vinyl and 8 track was going to change the way we listen to our favorite songs. Winning a VHS on a game show was a major prize. Computers had only a green screen, printers were dot matrix, and the best video games were at the arcade. Over the course of my 30+ years I’ve witnessed all of these applications to our lives transformed into newer versions that can actually be used on one device and can fit in your pocket. My paradigm is that I remember the way it was, understand how to use the new stuff, and can appreciate all of the technology, old and new, for what each item brought or brings to the table.

                New technology has provided us with some great innovations in lifestyle and entertainment. Cell phones and texting make it easier to get in touch with someone especially in an emergency. Mp3 players allow us to carry around our favorite music without all the CDs. We have channels for just about everything we could possibly want to watch on television. We can watch movies with theatre quality sound in our own homes. Computers have connected us to people around the world. In fact, our cell phones have become so advanced that you can watch television or a movie, listen to music, surf the internet, and read and respond to your email besides talking and texting.

It’s always interesting to hear the comparisons of different high school graduating classes and what the newer ones have only known life to be from the Beloit College Mindset List. For example, students who will be graduating in 2013 have never used a card catalog to find a book, salsa has always out sold ketchup and condoms have always been advertised on television. (To see this year’s list: http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2013.php ) Let’s face it, teens are not amazed by the new technology that’s out there, and they have an expectation that technology will get better, easier and more convenient. Having this outlook is not a bad thing; however, these advancements have created some disturbing trends and behaviors that are worth mentioning and for us as society to be aware of.

What I’ve noticed on retreats more this year than ever before is the unwillingness to give up cell phones for a weekend. Cell phones have become an additional appendage for some teens, so much so that after ten minutes of free time they are bored because they can’t call or text somebody. I even had one student who couldn’t sit still, sulked, and was just rude to his small group because his phone was taken away. When he got his phone back, he jumped on it like a starving lion on a piece of raw meat. How is it that so many teens can’t get through a weekend without talking on the phone or unplugging from the world and be present to the community of people around them?

The more disturbing trend, however, is the number of teens that say it is easier to communicate through texting in an intimate relationship than to talk one on one. This also overflows into friends and family relationships as well. The reasons, you ask. The main one is that it’s easier to text what you have to say rather than look someone in the eye and deal with the emotions and possible pain. Others include: you can ignore the person until you are ready to talk to them or that you have time to think about what you want to say.

The point I’m trying to make is that as a society our teens are losing the ability to interact socially in a healthy way and that as our world grows more connected through technology, we as individuals seem to be becoming more isolated from our own communities and families. As it seems to be in all things, balance and moderation seem to be the key to a healthy lifestyle. I believe that holds true for technology as well. As great as electronic advancements can be for ease and entertainment, we can’t lose sight that God created us as social creatures and that we are at our best when we interact with each other and see the face of God in each other’s eyes.

God bless,

Marc Puechner

I personally love fall.  I am not sure if it is because I was always involved in the school year for so much of my life and I absolutely loved school, and in fall we went back to school, or if there is some other reason.  Anyway, fall is a time of change.  The warm days of summer are replaced by the cool evenings, brightly colored leaves, cool breezes and stunningly blue skies.

There are changes taking place at TYME OUT this fall.  Of course, there are always changes taking place at TYME OUT.  Every week there are new retreatants coming our way.  We are constantly updating our retreats to be as relevant as possible for the retreatants.  New staff members arrive and change the dynamic of our staff.  We are attending new seminars to become proficient in an area, like bullying, to respond to the needs of those we serve.  So change is really nothing new for TYME OUT.

I would like to draw your attention to our summer programming page of our website.  We are announcing on that page a change that will begin in the summer of 2010 and go on from there.  (Please, click here to see what I am talking about.)   Our hope is that you will take the time to offer some suggestions to us so that we can continue to be as relevent as we have been for the last 30 years.  Help us out so that we can continue to serve you!

Just a reminder of what won’t ever change, our mission.  TYME OUT Youth Ministry is dedicated to the faith formation and character development of youth, empowering them to reach the fullness of their potential as individuals created in God’s image.   

Peace,

Margie