The Digital Generation Gap

This morning as I write, I am sitting on the balcony of a beachfront condo, looking at the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico and feeling a sense of awe. The waves are crashing onto the beach and in the distance is the storm we drove through last night to get here. Without the obstruction of terrain or vegetation, the bolts of lightning seem to extend from the very hand of God.

Driving down here with the family was an adventure. My brother-in-law, Don, drove. My sister, Pam, sat up front with him. My mother, Tillie, and wife, Linda, sat in the captain's chairs behind them, and I sat in the back with the luggage. Anyone who knows me is probably thinking I was intentionally put in seclusion, but I honestly believe that besides the two up front, I was the only old toot with sufficient dexterity to climb back there. It wasn't bad though. I watched an old movie on my laptop ("My Blue Heaven"), surfed the internet a bit, and worked on a chapter in my book. Occasionally, I was pulled into the conversation of those sitting in First Class.

Crossing into the city limits of Milton, Florida, the conversation turned to digital media. Pam was talking about the need of this "younger generation" (i.e. our kids and younger) to always be digitally connected. She just didn't feel the need to be available to the world while shopping in Target. She did, I observed, seem to enjoy a steady stream of text messages from friends wishing her a happy birthday. Each chime of her phone seemed to brighten her smile just a little more. If I recall, the chimes seemed to stop at about the 9:30 bedtime of all of her old toot friends. The truth is we all enjoy the relational connectivity of digital media.

Some wise person has observed that in most K-12 school settings students are told to "power down" when they come on campus. "Those cell phones are disruptive." "Students will use them to cheat." True and true! These are undeniable possibilities.

But think about what else we are doing. We are telling them to shut off trusted links to their relationships and, in many cases, taking a powerful learning tool out of their hands. Why not embrace the power of digital media? The older generation should not expect students to learn the way we did in our low tech era of chalk boards and leaded pencils. By the way, has anyone investigated the link between cancer and chalk dust? I think I see a class action suit for some aspiring attorney. I digress! Getting back on topic, the baseline of knowledge has grown and our methodology must reflect it.

Maybe we are afraid of the boundless nature of the media. We should be! Our kids need boundaries, and whether or not they would ever admit it, they want them too. Is anyone teaching cell phone etiquette? Maybe we should start. I could certainly benefit from it. How about digital citizenship? Some schools are trying, but it isn't enough. Schools, parents, and churches each have a role to play in guiding our young through the amazing, and sometimes dangerous, digital world.

I've been sitting on this balcony for about an hour now. The humidity has notably lessened and the temperature has even seemed to drop as the storm pushes farther out to sea. It's time for me to put away this opine on the digital world to allow myself to drift into a sense of wonder. I might even find out what that sand feels like between my toes.

God is really good!