Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago to name the biggest difference in youth ministry today over five years ago. In my opinion, the biggest difference has been the introduction of online social networking. Sites like MySpace and Facebook have radically changed the social dynamic of youth culture (and culture in general for that matter) by expanding the lines of communication and blurring the definition of “friendship.” Teens are expressing their personalities and sharing about their life experiences in new ways through blogs, online photo albums, etc. With more and more adults joining these sites, however, many teens are decrying this an invasion of privacy by older generations. According to this article, Web 2.0 is experiencing a generation gap, and a technological turf war is about to ensue.
The implications for youth ministry are interesting. These sites can be beneficial in opening lines of communication with students. I admittedly created a MySpace profile a couple of years ago to connect with the students in our congregation, and while it has been a wonderful tool for communication, I’m often bothered by comments and photos posted by some of our “church kids.” I have to walk a fine line in addressing these concerns. I owe it to these students to keep my expectations of them high, but I don’t want them to view me as “Big Brother” either. How have others of you dealt with these types of situations?
(ht to YPulse)
