Wired Kids and Divided Attention

A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation reveals some scary numbers on the daily media usage of 8 to 18 year olds. Thanks to 24-hour media access and readily available media the study found that 8 to 18 year olds spend a little over 7 ½ hours a day using “entertainment media” (texting, watching tv, online gaming, etc.). The study further found that “because they spend so much of that time 'media multitasking' (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.” Since the 2004 version of this study this represents an increase of 2+ hours a day!

This is not casual research either. According to the Kaiser Foundation: Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds is the third in a series of large-scale, nationally representative surveys by the Foundation about young people's media use. It includes data from all three waves of the study (1999, 2004, and 2009), and is among the largest and most comprehensive publicly available sources of information about media use among American youth.

Since the 2004 study media ownership and access has exploded. Among all 8 to 18-year olds:
• 76% own an iPod/MP3 Player compared to 18% just six years ago.
• 66% own a cell phone compared to 39% in 2004.
• 29% own a laptop compared to 12% in 2004.

And the detailed breakdown of their time spent with each media in a typical day?
• 4:29 hours spent on television
• 2:31 listening to music/audio
• 1:29 on computers
• 1:13 on video games
• :38 on print media
• :25 on movies

60% of their “computer time” is spent social networking, playing games and visiting video sites like, You Tube, etc. Of all media usage the lowest form by far is books, magazines and newspapers. Before we tie this to poor academic performance the study found that 65% of light, moderate and heavy media users get good grades!

The majority of those surveyed said their parents have no rules regarding their time spent using television, music, computers and video games. Given the usage statistics I would say that’s obvious. Draw your own conclusions and see the research for yourself at Kaiser Foundation.

This research confirms what I see every day in the culture. I’ll resist the temptation to make several comments and let the research speak for itself. One thought: If students are using media a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes a day (the figure includes multi-tasking), how much time are they spending with their parents and family? Add in 7-8 hours of sleep and there’s not much time left for family conversation. It would be interesting to note the research figures for adult usage of the same media. How much time are Mom and Dad spending on media each day? Add the two together and we probably wouldn’t like what we see. Our attention is clearly divided.

A Heart for Haiti

Today we are all Haitians! We join our brothers and sisters who have been victimized by the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince. Thousands are dead and what little infrastructure that existed before the quake is demolished. Relief agencies and governments around the world are responding. How can you and I help?
We can pray! We can cry out Psalm 61:2 on behalf of the Haitian people:

Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

In addition to the Red Cross International we can give through the following Christian relief agencies (click on links below):
Samaritan's Purse
World Vision
Salvation Army Disaster Relief
NAMB Disaster Relief

We can give blood and plasma at our local blood bank. Blood is life and by donating you help keep the local, state, national and international supply going because international disasters drain the supply globally. For those in our area you can call The Blood Connection which serves Greenville and surrounding communities with multiple locations: (800) 392-6551 ext. 1029

"Holy Father, comfort the Haitian people today. Bring relief, aid and comfort as only You can. May those who grieve know that they do not grieve or mourn alone in their loss. Intercede as the Great Physician for the many who are wounded and injured. Give strength and tireless energy to the medical teams. Empower the relief agencies around the world who are in route and on the scene to provide aid. Prompt those of us far away to remember this disaster in our prayers and to give out of our abundance and safe circumstances. May Your church rise to a level of prayer, aid, help and witness that honors the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Grow the seeds of the gospel that are being sown through people who are being the hands of Christ on the ground. May you be glorified through all of this. In Jesus name we pray, Amen."

Take Off Your Mask!

We're in a new teaching series at our church on our core values. Sunday was on the value of authentic character. We were encouraged to examine the masks we wear when we pretend to be something or someone we're not.

People wear masks at work, in school, around their neighbors, at church, and even in marriage. Often we wear masks because we're afraid we won't be accepted just the way we are. We pretend to be someone we think other people will like, or want us to be. Perhaps one of the most painful experiences is being part of a church where people wear masks and no one is free to be themselves. The emphasis is not on what's inside, but how you look on the outside. It's about the image we portray, or create. Imagine the effort and energy it takes to keep up such a facade!

The church should actually be the last place on earth where we have to pretend to be someone we're not. The Gospel is about being liberated from such strongholds. Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 3:17: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. In Galatians he notes that Christ frees us from our masks: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

In his book, Scandalous Freedom, Steve Brown writes: The church should be a place where we can say anything and know we won’t be kicked out, where we can confess our sins knowing others will help us, where we can disagree and still be friends. It ought to be the one place in the world where we don’t have to wear masks. And, should that happen, the world ----where phoniness is the standard will flock to our doors. Why? Because freedom, genuine freedom, is an attractive commodity.

I am thankful to be part of a faith community that values authenticity. They accept me as I am. I don't have to be someone else. They know I'm imperfect and messed up. However, they don't believe the freedom that comes with authenticity is a license to live without accountability. They know that with freedom comes great responsibility. And that's the reason they pray for me, encourage me and help me to attempt to follow Christ. They understand that Christ accepts me the way I am, but He doesn't want to leave me there. With His help I am being transformed into the person He wants me to be. Mask-wearing churches focus on conformity. Churches that value authenticity emphasize grace that relies on God's ability to transform a life. There's a big difference!

In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about two men who went to the temple to pray. One is a mask-wearer and the other takes off his mask. While it may not always be "pretty" or appear "together", I'm going with the faith community who accepts the second man's prayer:

⁹He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

P.S. Props to former baseball slugger, Mark McGwire for taking off his mask!

Living OTE

I have a few close friends and family members who are living "On the Edge" (OTE). Living OTE can be good and bad. If you are OTE of disaster, depression, job loss, illness, financial ruin, and addiction it can be uncertain and unsettling. However, you can also live OTE of a new job, a wedding, the birth of a child, retirement, opportunities to serve others, dinner with old friends, vacation, visting family, etc. Those are OTE experiences to savor, crave, redeem and anticipate.

My take? Everyone lives OTE of something every day. Now we may not know it, ignore it, or deny it, but all of us are OTE of something. It could be good or bad. It could be profitable or costly. People who worry, control types, uptight and negative people have a lot of trouble living OTE. Optimists (not the club), laid back folks and those with a sense of humor seem to handle OTE experiences better than most.

This time last year, I was OTE of serious health challenges. It would be late February before I knew just how serious. Not long after, we had a graduation and wedding in our family so I was OTE of something good. Living OTE of something good is never fully appreciated unless you have lived OTE of darkness, fear and uncertainty. Perspective is a great teacher indeed. But we have to be willing to learn.

As we begin a new decade, I pray we will exercise peace, wisdom and faithfulness while living OTE of darkness. May it result in a heart of gratitude and deeper appreciation for those moments OTE that bring joy and laughter. Psalm 23 is a great example of someone who has figured out how to live OTE of darkness and goodness. What a great place to begin 2010!