A HIGHER HOPE | TRUTH. OR IS IT?
Bright, sunny afternoons are for playing outside, in the backyard, down the street, outside with friends. Getting outside and hanging out in the sun, sometimes riding bikes around, or just hanging out with playmates and friends. That’s where the good times are. Bumps, scratches, bruises are a normal part of playing, aren’t they? Laughing together, playing loudly together are all part of growing up, learning how to handle situations and communicate with each other.
Those days seem to be just memories because sadly, those days seem to be gone for today’s children.
Now the fun is said to be with your on-line friends, having on-line chats, playing on-line games. In the past, they were face to face conversations, discussions, debates, celebrations, all in person. Now it is predominantly on-line, on a smart phone, laptop or PC, PS5 et cetera.
How have our children been impacted? In Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation”, he shares his concerns, from a significant body of research, that our children are experiencing an epidemic of mental illness. He suggests they are depressed and anxious because of two major changes in the way they are growing up – “the well-intentioned and disastrous shift toward overprotecting children and restricting their autonomy in the real world”(p. 7) and the availability of an alternative universe (in their pockets) which is exciting, addictive, unstable and unsuitable, especially during puberty. Haidt’s byline, ‘how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness’, summarises well how childhood has changed and how severe the impact is.
Going from a play-based (healthy risk-taking) to a phone-based (internet-based activity) childhood has left many damaging ‘holes’ in a child’s ability to thrive. Not experiencing small situational challenges and difficulties makes it harder for children to learn how to handle bigger challenges and situations as they grow into adulthood. Not having live face to face conversations, also denies children the learning and practicing of the art of face-to-face communication in relationships.
With the overwhelming evidence that Haidt presents, we realise that children will be having difficulty finding foundational truths to base their opinions/beliefs on. As social platforms continually tell them that Christianity is not good for them, the algorithms take them away from our faith-based communities, suggesting they will be more accepted if they go along with today’s secular ideologies.
With such a bleak picture of the future for today’s children and adolescents, what can be done? As parents, teachers, and support people, what can we do to turn the tide back towards the only genuine source of truth and meaning – Jesus? Haidt suggests there are changes we can all support that will protect children and help them thrive.
- No smartphones before high school
- No social media before 16
- Phone free schools
- Much more unsupervised play and childhood independence.
By implementing these suggestions our children will have a greater chance of getting through their most vulnerable time of brain development before they are given access to “a firehose of social comparison and algorithmically chosen influencers.”(p. 15) By implementing these changes, more opportunities will arise for our children and young people to investigate Christianity and encounter Jesus in a much less biased arena. What is truth? And how will our children recognise it? Can we collectively support Haidt’s suggestions at the same time as seeking God’s wisdom to speak up as opportunities arise?
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable His judgements, and His paths beyond tracing out! To Him be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans 11:33, 36
May we use these special opportunities and challenges as Christians in Christian communities to guide, share and invite our children and students to meet Jesus and grow in their life-long relationship with Him, the source of all truth.
References
Haidt, J. (2024) The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Penguin
Peterson, E.H.(1985) Earth & Altar: The Community of Prayer in a Self-Bound Society. Intervarsity