\n
I grew up in the 70\u2019s and I recall being allowed on the house phone for a certain amount of time. I was not allowed to be on it for too long as I was told I\u2019d be seeing them in person or was already with them earlier that day. It was revolutionary for us when the extra-long telephone cords came out because then we could have private conversations in a nearby room with some privacy. That long phone cord created a new tension for our parents. They were simper times! The local library, the daily newspaper that was delivered fostered healthy offerings of learnings and growth for us. My parents did not have to contend with computers, cell phones, smart phones, phone applications and social media platforms. We had a phone on the wall that we shared, we watched one television show that our family members negotiated to watch together, our parents helped us navigate the entertainment and educational information that was brought into our home. We as a family were the Grandmaster of our intellectual and social influence. In our current reality there is an urgency to assess the long-term implications for the mental and social well-being of ourselves, our loved ones and the greater community. Society at large need to implement reforms to address challenges posed by social media.<\/p>\n
In Smash the Technopoly there is a profound warning in Postman\u2019s question \u201cWho is the master?\u201d he says, \u201cIt is increasingly clear that it ain\u2019t us!\u201d[1]<\/a> That statement is poignant to me and here\u2019s why. I\u2019ve personally been impacted by the deep dive of technology addiction. The last few years my professional responsibility meant I had to respond to crisis in a timely manner, I had many direct reports, the pace was fast, and the stakes were high. The computer and my smart phone were joined at my hip. I was constantly checking my phone, wanting to be on top of everything, in response I suffered from insomnia, so I would scroll on social media until I fell asleep. I woke up responding to emails, checking text messages and I was applauded for my stellar performance, even those close to me felt it was just par for the course. Yet I was vulnerable and emotionally unhealthy. The articles are more personal to many of us than we might even know. I knew I needed intervention, but my overseers, mentors and peers did not have the awareness intervention is needed or how to respond effectively. I felt I was losing my humanity. The Anxious Generation <\/em>says it\u2019s about the changes we need to make to ourselves, intentionally to preserve our humanity.[2]<\/a> The younger generation seem to be more aware of technology and social media\u2019s negative impact seeing that 81% of young learners would choose to erase the smartphone and social media.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n In Technopoly, <\/em>Postman helps us to distinguish between bring a tool-using culture and a technopoly. <\/em>He highlights how some cultures have moral resources<\/em> necessary to constrain and direct the uses for these tools.[4]<\/strong><\/a> <\/em>There is an intrigue to building a healthy tool-using culture. We possess a powerful tool and we can retain this collective control by having a \u201cSamurai Code.\u201d The Samurai retrained the use of the katana sword by having strict regulations. There was a demand of honor required for the use of that sword.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n We see the intentions for the use of social media has changed. Facebooks early mission was \u201cto make the world more open and connected.\u201d [6]<\/a>Unfortunately, the optimism has faded and there are greater harms. Communication is not as interactive, there isn\u2019t the human intimacy of reciprocity. Rather, we have more of a grandstanding of personal opinions, polarity and commentary.[7]<\/a> I do see a hope in this tension. I see the next generation is struggling to find healthier ways of reclaiming that control over their lives. I often see them taking social media fasts, publishing they won\u2019t be on certain platforms due the manipulation, exploiting of emotions, fake personas, echo chambers, cyberbullying and sometimes the addiction and over-engagement. I see that road to reclaiming our humanity.<\/p>\n I felt anxiety reading The Past 10 Years. <\/em>We\u2019ve all experienced the political climate and how polarized it has been. This article affirms all we\u2019ve been navigating with the Political Polarizations and Divisions, Extreme views on the social media platforms, Civil discourse, decline of critical thinking and decline of trust.[8]<\/a> What I found refreshing was the note of hope Haidt says can be fostered by a renewed commitment for truth and civil discourse. I think due to the personal experiences of mental unhealth the collective is seeking to provide a healthier landscape for this.<\/p>\n In conclusion we see that we need to provide solutions, we need to lean in and implement reforms to label AI-generated content, be diligent in identifying misinformation and polarization. The AI is about to make Social Media more toxic shares the solution of urging policy makers and technology company\u2019s to implement reforms.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n As I ponder my NPO \u201cThe Trust and Legacy Initiative, powered by The Collective People,\u201d we need to think about our post-institutional reality. How is social media and technology impacting the health of our future generations of believers. What are we doing to create healthy change for our future leaders and faith-based organizations. Although it seems daunting, we need to embrace the reality there is a decline in childhood, the rise of smartphone use is impacting the humanity of people interacting and building community, our next generation is struggling with mental health due to our social media.[10]<\/a> As leaders we need to lead change yet first we need to be aware of the impact of technology and we need to have clarity of how change can happen through policy interventions, educational reforms and parental involvement. We can bring the Kingdom of God here on earth even in this digital age\u00a0 so that we can help empower the next generation to be the Grand Master of their healthy mental, spiritual and physical life.<\/p>\n \n \n [1]<\/a> Smyth, Nicholas. \u201cSmash the Technopoly!\u201d After Babel, December 19, 2024, https:\/\/www.afterbabel.com\/p\/smash-the-technopoly<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Smyth, Nicholas. \u201cSmash the Technopoly!\u201d After Babel, December 19, 2024, https:\/\/www.afterbabel.com\/p\/smash-the-technopoly<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Jon and Zach\u2019s findings that just about 50% of Gen Z\u2019s report wishing that TikTok and X were never invented<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Smyth, Nicholas. \u201cSmash the Technopoly!\u201d After Babel, December 19, 2024, https:\/\/www.afterbabel.com\/p\/smash-the-technopoly<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Smyth, Nicholas. \u201cSmash the Technopoly!\u201d After Babel, December 19, 2024, https:\/\/www.afterbabel.com\/p\/smash-the-technopoly<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Haidt, Jonathan and Tobias Rose-Stockwell. \u201cThe Dark Psychology of Social Networks: Why it feels like everything is going haywire,\u201d\u00a0The Atlantic,\u00a0<\/em>December 2019, https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2019\/12\/social-media-democracy\/600763\/<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Haidt, Jonathan and Tobias Rose-Stockwell. \u201cThe Dark Psychology of Social Networks: Why it \u00a0feels like everything is going haywire,\u201d\u00a0The Atlantic,\u00a0<\/em>December 2019, https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2019\/12\/social-media-democracy\/600763\/<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Haidt, Johnathan \u201cWhy the Past Ten Years have been Uniquely Stupid\u201d The Atlantic; 2022; 9https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2022\/05\/social-media-democracy-trust-babel\/629369\/<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Haidt, Jonathan, Eric Schmidt \u201cAI Is About to Make Social Media Much More Toxic\u201d The Atlantic (blog), May 5, 2023; https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/technology\/archive\/2023\/05\/generative-ai-social-media-integration-dangers-disinformation-addiction\/673940\/<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Jonathan Haidt, \u201cEnd the Phone-Based Childhood Now,\u201d\u00a0The Atlantic<\/em>\u00a0(blog), March 13, 2024,\u00a0https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/technology\/archive\/2024\/03\/teen-childhood-smartphone-use-mental-health-effects\/677722\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I grew up in the 70\u2019s and I recall being allowed on the house phone for a certain amount of time. I was not allowed to be on it for too long as I was told I\u2019d be seeing them in person or was already with them earlier that day. It was revolutionary for us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","cohort-dlgp04"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40638,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40637\/revisions\/40638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}