Video Killed the Radio Star
On August 1, 1981, just after midnight, MTV (Music Television) debuted the first “music video.” It was set to the song Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles. MTV went on to set the standard for visual content and propel artists into virtual superstardom. Ask any child of the 80’s, and they will tell you that MTV was the thing. I, however, had religious killjoys for parents (said sarcastically), so I was relegated to catching glimpses of MTV at friend’s houses.
Today, MTV is a has-been network replete with lame shows about teen pregnancy and stupid human pranks. Nobody talks much about MTV, the network that changed the game and shaped a generation. So, why am I?
I’m convinced we wouldn’t have YouTube, Twitter (X), TikTok, Vimeo, or Snapchat without an MTV.
One could argue that Streaming Social Media Killed the Video Show. Better yet, today, you don’t have a star without social media. MTV’s shaping of a generation is dwarfed by what Haidt calls “the great rewiring of childhood” of social media and internet usage.
This brings me back to the Buggles and their 1980s album The Age of Plastic. All of the tracks on this album deal with the impact of modern technology. The theme of the first single, Video Killed the Radio Star, is nostalgia, remembering the technological changes of the 1960s and how the current generation wouldn’t appreciate the past. The song expresses concerns about 20th-century inventions that affect media arts such as photography, cinema, radio, television, and music recordings, all set to 132 beats per minute.
The song’s most potent and revealing lyric comes in the chorus: “Video killed the radio star, in my mind and in my car, we can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far.”
Have we gone too far? Jonathan Haidt, in The Anxious Generation, does NOT believe so. He says we must be kind and rewind—now.
Children have replaced their play-based childhood with a phone-based childhood. Look around you, and you will see that this is an accurate assessment. Haidt’s facts, figures, stats, and survey results give us quantifiable proof of this reality. As a result of this global shift, mental health risk has increased substantially (ie, depression, hospitalization, suicidal ideation, and death). The age of plastic (with a nod to the Buggles) is now the age of plasticity, in which brain change and vulnerability during puberty are being stunted due to increased screen time and social media exposure. Haidt gives attention to four “harms” of a phone-based childhood: social deprivation (decline in face-to-face interactions), sleep deprivation (ease of access to mobile gaming, video streaming, and doom-scrolling), attention fragmentation (constant notifications and alerts), and addiction (desires are being hacked, and actions manipulated).
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to observe each of these harms in this generation. Just look at the bent neck, scrolling thumb, and glazed-over stares. You’ll see them at any bus stop, living room, street corner, or school playground. It’s like an episode of The Walking Dead.
Lest I/we point fingers at “those dang kids,” watch for it too in the parents, grandparents, and older generations. Screens are no respecter of persons, yet, make no mistake, it/they are targeting the young. Perhaps social media is the new smoking. Maybe the endless, scrolling loop of likes and thumbs up is the new Joe Camel.
So, have we gone too far? Can we rewind? I don’t think we can, and I am naturally an optimist. The proverbial cat is out of the bag. The train has left the station. Name your idiom. But we can tame the beast better. That’s what I appreciate about The Anxious Generation. It doesn’t just give us the problem. It presents potential solutions that could actually work. Here they are:
- No smartphones before high school.
- No social media before 16.
- No devices (phones, tablets, watches) in schools.
- Far more unsupervised play and childhood independence.
These are great recommendations! Will they garner 100% participation? Absolutely not. But they are worth a shot and could be vital in turning around an epidemic of mental illness. If my wife and I were starting a family right now, I would immediately integrate these recommendations into our lifestyle and child(‘s) upbringing. In small ways, I have already been integrating a variation of some of them into my own personal life. I charge my devices away from my bedside and use an analog alarm clock to wake up. I have established “15 minutes-per-day of social media” restrictions, and an out-of-state friend has the screen-time codes. I try (key word ‘try’) to have “Tech-Free Mondays,” and my smartphone is set to never issue notifications, dings, or visual alerts. I check it when I want, not when it tells me to. I am my smartphone’s “Master,” it is not mine.
I really believe The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt will be considered the most important book of 2024. And, if not, then it ought to be. This is a pivotal book, yet unfortunately, those who need to pick it up probably will not because their hands and hearts are already occupied with their devices. However, my prayer is that Haidt’s simple yet powerful recommendations find their way into the global zeitgeist, bringing about significant change and a reversal of the epidemic of mental illness that The Anxious Generation exposes.
Let it be so, Lord.
About the Author
John Fehlen
John Fehlen is currently the Lead Pastor of West Salem Foursquare Church. Prior to that he served at churches in Washington and California. A graduate of Life Pacific University in San Dimas, CA in Pastoral Ministry, and Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, CA with a Masters in Leadership and Spirituality. He and his wife Denise have four grown children and four grandchildren. John is the author of "Don't Give Up: Encouragement for Weary Souls in Challenging Times," a book for pastoral leaders, a children's book called "The Way I See You," and the forthcoming "Leave A Mark: The Jouney of Intentional Parenting." You can connect with John on Instagram (@johnfehlen) as well as at johnfehlen.substack.com.9 responses to “Video Killed the Radio Star”
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I love how you drew a connection between MTV’s cultural impact and the current generation’s relationship with social media. Your thoughtful integration of The Anxious Generation offers both a nostalgic reflection and an urgent call to action. The personal examples of how you’ve implemented changes in your own life make the message practical and relatable. Great read!
Thanks Mathieu. It’s a reminder that there is literally nothing new under the sun. I’m pretty sure the Bible told us that. Every generation, though they may feel completely unique, is rebranding and replaying the sins of their forefathers.
Hi John,
You are my role model.
I loved reading your self restrictions.
Also be kind, rewind…classic.
Thanks for diving deeper.
My three children are of this generation and I have to say, that I may have failed in so many ways in setting up guard rails at the start.
We did LEARN about parental controls, but perhaps too late!
Still sports and play were a big part of my kids lives so perhaps not all is lost.
Sigh…what is a daddy to do.
PRAY HARD.
Shalom
Russell,
Having just spokenen on parenting with my wife at a denominational conference, I can tell you that “pray hard” is actually a very good and important aspect to all this.
Far too many parents simply don’t pray enough for their children, and against the cultural forces of darkness.
Prayer is vital.
Hi John,
You wrote, “Screens are no respecter of persons, yet, make no mistake, it/they are targeting the young.” Isn’t that the truth! And this statement should be point number 5, “I am my smartphone’s “Master,” it is not mine.”
I recently got a new iphone and computer and somehow have not gotten all my notifications turned off. Thank you for the reminder! Also, I appreciate your realism that not all Haidt’s suggestions will be heeded but that is no excuse to not do our part in our sphere’s of influence. It begins with us.
Thank you for another great and entertaining post. Though I must admit I too have never gotten more than a passing glimpse of MTV and as far as I know neither did my kids. There were a few perks to living in third world countries! Though thanks to the smartphone and internet, today social media and all the distractions that go along with it are alive and well around the globe.
Jenny.
I think each wave of media is intentionally designed, like PacMan, to swallow up the previous. That’s called “progress.” Ha! Yet, we all know that progress is not always better.
I think of the analog movement, of which I am a small part. I enjoy buying and listening to Vinyl Records. Now, of course, I have digital music playing all the time, but it’s beautiful to sit down with a cup of tea and a scratchy record. Or, paper books over e-Books. There are so many examples of how culture reverts back to analog, especially as we feel the overwhelming rush of distraction, perversion, and loss of our soul.
Great post, John. I think you tackle this book critically well while presenting some healthy solutions.
My post was quite emotive this week, but I came to some of the same conclusions. I think we will find that screens and cigarettes have more in common than we think in terms of long term toxic impact.
As we speak into younger leader’s lives over the next 20 years, it would behoove us to make sure we are healthy in this area personally so we “teach with authority.”
Of course, you and I have had long conversations about all this, and you are the one that I mentioned is many miles away, and has the codes that lock down my devices.
I honestly don’t know how people do “this” without accountability and help.
It saddens me to think of all the people, young and old, that are alone and in secret, struggling with their devices.
My dad used to un-program MTV from the remote lineup..as if I couldn’t type in the numbers. MTV was my favorite channel growing up, and really started the “reality shows”. I can’t tell you the last time I watched it, but I love how you mentioned the video killing the radio star, and then social media killed the video star. Around and around we go. I wonder if a big part of this is naming it, and being real with the good the bad and the ugly. Sounds like the beginning of “The Real World” on MTV. Great post John.