Preparing Students through Movies, Music, Social Media, and Current Events
Chapter 8
Love Engages
Preparing Students through Movies, Music, Social Media, and Current Events
In high school, my parents took me (Sean), my older sister, and my girlfriend to see the Holocaust movie Schindler’s List. You might be thinking, That’s crazy. Why would your parents take you to see an R-rated movie with sexuality and graphic violence? The answer is because my parents saw it as an opportunity to help me think deeply about the historical and philosophical issues raised by the film. When the movie was done, we discussed it for two hours over dinner. To this day, I still remember much of our conversation.
My parents were modeling an important point: love teaches kids to thoughtfully and confidently engage the world around them. When I was in high school in the early ’90s, cultural messages came primarily through movies, television, and music. These mediums are still powerful today, but since Gen Zers are the first truly digital generation, we must also teach them how to thoughtfully engage the world of smartphones and social media.
Technology Is an Opportunity
My (Sean’s) son didn’t get a smartphone until he was fourteen and a half. My (J. Warner’s) daughters didn’t get phones until their junior and senior years in high school. Why so late, by cultural standards? The first reason is that we wanted to protect them from potential dangers to their emotional, relational, and psychological health. As Jean M. Twenge has documented, there is a statistically significant link between smartphone usage and depression, loneliness, and anxiety among Gen Z. Honestly, do kids really need one earlier?
But secondly, and more importantly, we saw it as an opportunity to help them learn certain life lessons about responsibility and delayed gratification before they got a phone. If you give your son or daughter a phone, or access to social media, too early, you miss a critical opportunity to help prepare them for adulthood.
This is how my (Sean’s) parents approached my desire to drive. They never promised I could get my license on my sixteenth birthday. I had to show both maturity and responsibility. Otherwise, they were not going to let me get behind the wheel while living under their roof.
And this is exactly how we see smartphones. If we give our kids a phone too early, or promise them one at a certain age, we lose the ability to motivate them toward responsibility and character. How will they understand the power of a phone if we don’t require them to demonstrate a certain level of maturity before getting one? And if we don’t teach them how to use it properly, how can we expect them not to abuse it?
In order to help young people understand the way media impacts the way we think, we must (1) protect them from negative media messages, and (2) use media as an opportunity to help kids develop a Christian worldview. Both approaches are vital. Let’s start with the first.
Recognize How Modern Media Shapes Worldview
It is no secret that various forms of media shape how young people see the world. As we saw in chapter 4, media messages shape their worldview, which influences their values and, in turn, translates to their behavior. Some argue that media does not affect how people behave. But then why would companies pay millions of dollars for Super Bowl ads? Marketing research shows that what we see translates into how we act.
Yet it is not only the messages themselves that influence young people. In her book The Happiness Effect, Donna Freitas argues that social media creates an incessant comparison game. People share the best of themselves online. Young people see the fun other people are having, and when they consider their own comparatively “inferior” lives, it robs them of their joy. The pressure to appear perfect online is one major contributor to why Gen Zers are increasingly lonely, anxious, and depressed. Media shapes not only how this generation thinks but also how they feel. Media shapes their beliefs, and it also shapes the orientation of their hearts.
Engage Kids Early
In 2012, only half of teens had a cell phone. Today it is around 90 percent. Even if your kids do not have one, your kids’ friends do. It is simply impossible to shield kids from the temptations and pressures of a world in which many children have unregulated access to everything within one click or tap.
The kinds of pressures kids face, the questions they are asking, and the scenarios they have to confront are historically unprecedented. Take, for example, the access young people have to pornography. It’s easily accessible, free to view anonymously, and even socially acceptable. Most parents, youth leaders, and teachers are unsure how to address the world their kids and students view online every day.
Here is a principle we hope you will adopt: start the conversation with your kids before they are confronted with the issues elsewhere. We need to inoculate them with a biblical perspective before they are confronted with unbiblical ideas elsewhere. It is a shame that we have to do this. As parents, it breaks both our hearts. But we must realistically and appropriately guide our kids in a broken culture.
Something Timeless
Model Healthy Technology Use
In Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Moses instructed the Hebrew people in how to pass on their faith to the next generation. But before he described guidelines for engaging the young, he first offered two directives to the leaders: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (6:4–5).
In other words, Moses instructed the Israelites to first make God the Lord of their lives and second to love God with everything. Put another way, they needed to first look at their own lives before they started critiquing the next generation. This is good advice to apply to the proper use of technology. Before we criticize the young, we must take an honest look at our own habits. Ask yourself: Do I constantly check social media? Do I feel the need to respond to every text immediately? Do I have my phone out during meals? Do I post inappropriate material? Parents, do you sleep with (or near) your phone? Do you text while you drive? Can you spend stress-free time away from your phone?
We could ask many more questions. But you get the point: if we want young people to have good social media habits, it begins with us modeling what that behavior should look like.
Set Healthy Boundaries with Kids
Many of us, as parents, don’t want to fight the battles necessary to set healthy boundaries. It is easier to give kids a smartphone, for example, than deal with the complaining and incessant comparisons to other parents. But it misses an opportunity to set healthy boundaries and expectations for our young people.
As kids get older, they should earn more privileges. The goal is to prepare them to make wise decisions when they are no longer under our authority. If kids are given privileges before they have demonstrated sufficient responsibility, they will not value them and may abuse them.
My wife and I (Sean) have allowed our son to get Instagram. But it is only after he has shown that he can handle it (we have his passcode) that we will consider Snapchat. Before getting a phone, our son also read the book The Teen’s Guide to Social Media and Mobile Devices by our friend Jonathan McKee. He had to agree to and sign a phone contract as well. Here’s the bottom line: setting healthy boundaries communicates to kids that we love them enough to protect them and to help guide them to adulthood.
For the first part of this chapter, we have discussed ways to protect our kids. For the second part, we want to discuss active ways to use media as an opportunity to teach kids how to engage the world as Christians.
Worldview as a Narrative
In chapter 4, we defined worldview as a view of the world that answers three critical questions: (1) How did we get here?—Origin; (2) Why is everything so messed up?—Predicament; and (3) How can we fix it?—Resolution. In other words, a worldview is a story about reality with three components: origin, predicament, and resolution.
We also briefly described the Christian worldview in chapter 4. Other worldviews present a story of reality as well. Naturalism says the world is a cosmic accident (origin), humans have messed things up (predicament), and we must solve our own problems (resolution). Naturalism is often portrayed in YouTube videos, memes, songs, and other forms of modern media. In terms of movies, naturalism can be seen in films such as Sherlock Holmes (2009), in which scientific analysis is used to explain away every supernatural phenomenon, including an apparent resurrection.
Pantheism says humans are eternally part of the divine (origin), but that we forgot our godhood (predicament), and need to be reminded so we can become one with the universe (resolution). In terms of film, the pantheistic worldview is portrayed throughout the Star Wars franchise as well as in movies like Moana and Avatar.
Not all movies have a theme that nicely fits into the box of a particular worldview, though. Some promote consumerism. Others emphasize individualism. Some highlight the power of forgiveness. Science fiction films wrestle with questions of human value, free will, and responsibility. Horror movies often raise questions about justice. Comedies often grapple with issues of happiness, the nature of relationships, and the meaning of life. But all movies tell a story about how people should or should not live.
Several years ago, when The Matrix movie hit the big screens, it quickly became one of the most popular (and talked about) movies among seminarians. I (J. Warner) was in seminary at the time, and my conversations with fellow seminarians soon became the foundation for my own work as a youth pastor. It wasn’t long before I was using the movie in my youth group to teach worldview. Why? Because, like other movies, it told a story using the three components of worldview we’ve already described:
Act 1: Origin. This is the introduction to the movie in which we learn about who the characters are and where they are from.
Act 2: Predicament. The story unfolds, and something goes wrong. The problem of the story emerges.
Act 3: Resolution. The problem is overcome, and we learn what consequences follow for the choices.
This same three-act approach is true for television shows, commercials, YouTube videos, social media postings, songs, and even many video games as well. Consider an emblematic commercial. A mom is driving her kids to a sporting event. This origin reveals that she is a “soccer mom” in the typical middle-class American family. Then something happens, such as another car swerves in front and the kids are put in a predicament. Fortunately, they swiftly turn out of the way just in time, because they bought the right tires (resolution). Commercials do not merely contain facts about a product but are stories with emotional appeal about how a product both enhances the lives of users and protects them from harm.
Momentary Sacrificing
Before we offer some practical approaches, let us encourage you to make it a priority to engage with modern media with young people. Have discernment, of course, but be willing to watch YouTube videos, television shows, movies, play video games, and listen to the kinds of music they enjoy. Try to avoid getting overly defensive or critical, and keep the dialogue open. We often let our kids pick the music in the car so we can get a sense of what they want to hear and then talk about it (at times). Choose to sacrifice your music preferences so you can capitalize on the opportunity to know them and their interests.
The Opportunity Mind-Set
Because our world is so media saturated, there are endless opportunities to help young people think biblically. But you will only find these if you intentionally seek them out. Deuteronomy 6:7 says to diligently teach kids when you “sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” In other words, seize opportunities that naturally arise throughout the course of the day to remind your kids of biblical truth. Here are a few opportunities to consider:
Popular Songs
Using popular music allows for a number of ways to teach Christian worldview to young people:
YouTube Videos
YouTube is the search engine of choice for Gen Zers, watching it for information and for entertainment. Given how much they engage with the platform, it is vital we invite them to reflect on how it may influence them and their peers. Here are a few simple steps we can take:
Article or Blog from a Skeptic
One of the best ways to engage students is by reading an article or blog from a skeptic. This may pique their interest because it comes from a hostile perspective. Doing this shows confidence in our Christian position and that we are not afraid of a challenge. Search Google for a relevant article, or simply ask a skeptic you know for an article he or she finds convincing. Then follow the simple three-pronged approach developed by our friend Natasha Crain:
Something Timeworthy
Current Events
Daily news events are a wonderful opportunity to help students understand and get involved with culture. Since there is a Christian perspective on everything, we can engage students on a number of different kinds of stories: politics, sports, ethics, comparative religions, and more. Here are a few things we both regularly do with our own kids, in our speaking, and in the classroom:
Many other means of helping students engage culture are available. Discuss a social media post, analyze a new research study, or talk about an interesting commercial. Regardless of the specifics, the approach is the same: be on the alert for an opportunity, experience it together, and then discuss.
Remember, the point in each of these examples is not to lecture kids about an offensive tweet or sexually explicit YouTube video (although there may be times for that), but instead to engage young people in worldview conversations. Young people can learn to think critically about both the medium of communication and the message behind it. Parents can casually do this in the car, at the dinner table, or any place you’re waiting together. Youth pastors can work these examples into a sermon, or into an informal conversation with students. Christian school teachers can spare a few moments in class to make a connection between their subject and spiritual truth.
You can also teach parents, pastors, and other youth influencers how to find out what is trending on Twitter or BuzzFeed. This helps equip adults to have thoughtful conversations with young people when you are not present.
At times you may be able to have a lengthier discussion with students. Sometimes you may have just a few moments. We suggest not trying to make everything spiritual and avoid forcing an unnatural discussion. On the other hand, don’t underestimate the power of a good exchange with a young person and the doors it may open in the future. I (Sean) will never forget the conversation with my parents in high school over Schindler’s List. We aim to have this kind of dialogue regularly with young people and hope you will too.