MySpace
Wow. I would have to say that the past day or so has been both interesting & enlightening. I've heard talk of myspace & how its a good communication tool & a way to stay in contact, etc... I asked the students to fill out a form with their email address & if they had a myspace page, so I could either send them stuff, keep in contact better, or whatever. I was shocked that out of about 60 people, at least 75% of them had myspace. I was surprised to see that so many are involved in it. I spent some time yesterday looking at myspace & the pages of the youth group & their 200 "closest friends." I was surprised, in a bad way, to what I saw. Pure tripe on most of the sites. Even better, some students have multiple sites, with different information & different content that mommy & daddy don't know about. I'm thinking to myself, where is the disconnect with these kids? These people say that are Christian on their site, then follow it with things you would expect to hear from a pissed off army D.I. I shake my head wondering if parents know, or even care what their kids are involved in. Or, maybe the kids watch how their parents live one way privately & another publically & just follow their example. Myspace can be very good, but from what I've seen, it's naughty. Parents, take a look at your kids myspace page...both of them.
posted by Murdoc @ 9:12 AM
21 comments
21 Comments:
Julian tells me about some things he gets over the internet from his cousins (not Stephen) that really shock him at where they are at. It does seem strange that there is such a disconnect but I don't think it's just your youth group--it's pretty universal. Perhaps this will give you the opportunity to discuss some of these things frankly with your youth group and begin to make them think more concretely about their lifestyles and attitudes as a reflection of their Christianity.
That is true. It's also true that it's not isolated to my youth group, but I'm still a bit shocked by what some of the students write, post, & subscribe to. For some, it really reveals how they view themselves.
You find out who someone really is when you see what they do when they think nobody is watching . . . for better or for worse.
"Parents, take a look at your kids myspace page...both of them."
that's not bad advice, i suppose. the real question becomes . . . then what? the only thing more naive than thinking that myspace is an innocent communication tool is thinking that you can control your teenage child's internet access without locking them in the bathroom for years (though i hear they do that in carson).
i'm not trying to be argumentative, just stating that most parents probably know what their kids are into. the best we can do is discuss with our kids and set boundaries for what happens during the times they are under our direct supervision.
also - i remember a significant disconnect between the me at church when people were watching and the real me. some kids are stubborn and rebellious. i was one of those. it wasn't my parents' fault.
Good blog and observations from the group.
My oldest daughter (25) who now lives with us has myspace and I don't care for it. My wife knows more about it than I do and detests it. But I don't forbid my daughter, I just counsel her.
Am I doing the right thing? I have no idea. Yeah, it's my house. But I like to think I can influence her in the long run through good advice and loving acceptance. Having an adult child living at home produces daily conflicts in the arena of "control" versus "prudence". "Demand" vs "advice". Are we now parent and child or simply adult roommates?
I know this is a different problem than dealing with teenagers, but it still "feels" similar.
Sigh . . . it never ends.
I dont blame parents for what their kids do, however, I would argue the point of just how many parents really know what their kids are doing. I believe that number to be very small. I look at my life growing up, the lives of my friends, the & lives of the students now in the youth group for a start. I would bet David's paycheck that the vast majority of parents really haven't scratched the surface with what their kids do. My parents didnt know, and if they did, it shows they didnt care, which isnt the case. Brint, I also recognize the disconnect that you brought up. Probably one of the bigger problems facing the youth (and probably Christians in general)...is their private lives vs their public lives.
What changed in you that bridged the disconnect between private vs public. And that's open to everybody.
I look at this as an opportunity to let the kids know you can't really hide when you are truly trying to. God can see everything that they do. When a youth sponser leaves a message after being invited by a youth to visit their site and just simply asks, so what are you trying to say with your site here? I think that realization will register with them. The argument that is made is myspace is a naughty place. It's not as bad as 99% of the rest of the internet. I bet murdocs paycheck that the kids that show signs of struggle on myspace aren't just struggling on myspace. But myspace is one way that I can chime in and say hay, is that really good for you man?
You're not allowed to bet my paycheck. I need it. Bet with David's.
What are the odds on that, H? I'll give you the usual -110. The juice starts running as soon as you lose.
i will just say this i have seen real, true,juicy, GOOD fruit from using it. it's not all bad and not all the kids who use it have double lives. some send out scriptures to each other and leave comments of encouragement. i totally agree with senor h and would bet ben and david's paycheck that the kids that struggle there, also struggle outside of myspace and so all the more reason to be a voice of reason or encouragement. for me it has proved already to be a great communication tool. i don't know why they open up more via the internet but they do.
It's obvious that if someone struggles in private, the struggle isn't isolated to the "private sector" of their lives. An arguement can be made that myspace is good & an arguement can be made that it is bad. Maybe it's good & bad, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that 99% of the internet is worse.
sorry 98%...why is it that people who can dish out sarcasm can't really handle it?
I actually have a teenager in my house, and I can control her internet access without locking her in the bathroom. It's naive to think that most parents know what their kids are into. More accurately, most parents think they know what their kids are in to & I'm not just talking myspace.
Animal aggressor? If that's what you're about.
Last night at youth group we talked about purity of our speech/communication (what we say/write/represent). One of the things we talked about was myspace & how we represent ourselves on our pages. It was really good & it was awesome to see some of the looks on their faces when I asked if I could pull up their myspace page on the big screen so we could check it out. Good stuff & I think our discussion inspired some new thoughts with the students that following Jesus means following Him in all aspects of our lives.
It also went well with the middle schoolers. I just pray that they will apply what they learn at youth group. I forgot to say that when I went over the verse "can a grape vine bare a fig?" A good question came up with one of the yutes, "I've seen this one tree that can grow oranges and apples and plums and stuff because it's genetically enhanced, what if we genetically enhance our tongues?" I thought that was a classic middle school question. Sorry to hijack your blog.
Don't hijack my blog. Use your comment to start your own topic on your blog. Im not serious of course. I would just say that the devil created the genetically enhanced tree & I would never eat an apple that came off the same tree as an orange. David would no more about that.
So I like to kick it naked under fruit tress with my woman . . . is that what you're saying? You're way out of line. You need to put your critical spirit in check.
Here's a current article about My Space and predators.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060204/ap_on_hi_te/myspace_assaults
i will have to blog my post response
Sure you do.
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