{"id":40687,"date":"2025-02-17T17:20:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T01:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=40687"},"modified":"2025-02-17T17:30:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T01:30:19","slug":"40687-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/40687-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Decreasing the Anxiety Through Worship and Exploring Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"

In The Anxious Generation <\/em>Jonathan Haidt writes \u201cMy central claim in this book is that two trends\u2014overprotection in the real world and underprotection in the virtual world\u2014are the major reasons why children born after 1995 became the anxious generation.\u201d[1]<\/strong><\/a> <\/em>Reflecting upon Haidt\u2019s statements I realize that my wife and I are not perfect parents, but we could have done worse in raising our four Gen Z children.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul in his first letter to Timothy gives qualifications for being an overseer in the church.\u00a0 He writes \u201cHe must manage his own family well and that that his children obey him with proper respect.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 Allow me to focus on some ways I believe I have managed my family well through spiritual practices, instilling in them some protective factors against the world’s anxiety I will then briefly discuss my underparenting and then finish by discussing some progress that is being made with Haidt\u2019s suggested interventions.<\/p>\n

Spiritual Practices<\/strong><\/p>\n

We made spiritual practices a fun part of our family life. Haidt discusses six spiritual practices that people have lost because of their connection to the digital world<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Shared Sacredness,<\/li>\n
  2. Embodiment,<\/li>\n
  3. Stillness, Silence and Focus<\/li>\n
  4. Transcending the Self<\/li>\n
  5. Be Slow to Anger, Quick to Forgive<\/li>\n
  6. Find Awe in Nature. [4]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Being active in a church community we maintain the first two, Shared Sacredness (worshipping together as a community) and Embodiment (engaging our bodies in worship through song and dance). [5]<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0Our kids loved going to church on Sundays and one to two different Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) each summer.\u00a0 VBS and children’s church involved lots of song and dance.\u00a0 Our kids were also able to form multi-generational relationships with our church members. Those relationships include respect along with som\"\"<\/a>e friendly bantering.<\/p>\n

    Because of whom my parents were\/are, I believe we have excelled at the sixth spiritual practice Haidt mentions, \u201cFind Awe in Nature.\u201d[6]<\/a> Haidt discusses the need for more real-world play.\u00a0 He encourages schools and communities to build adventure playgrounds including nature playgrounds.[7]<\/a> Fortunately, my children love the outdoors, love being in nature, and see it as one giant playground.\u00a0 They enjoyed our family\u2019s weeklong primitive camping trips and the hundreds of hiking and biking adventures that we did.\u00a0 In the summer we walked along the road collecting monarch eggs and milkweed caterpillars to raise to adulthood.\u00a0 They loved looking for and picking up\/holding snakes, salamanders, frogs, and turtles and did not mind the musk or urine deposited upon their hands. My kids look at nature and stand in awe of who God is.<\/p>\n

    Always Room for Improvement<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I could continue to brag<\/em> about my great parenting, but I will take a moment to be honest and say that we are guilty of underparenting in the virtual world.\u00a0 While none of my kids had a cell phone prior to age 16, once they had them, we were lax on monitoring what they accessed and the amount of time they spent on them.\u00a0 They all have commented over the years that they feel they spend too much time on their phones. Hopefully, when\/if they have kids, they can take Haidt\u2019s suggestions and do better than I did.\u00a0 Reading Haidt\u2019s suggestions for giving kids some real-world experiences, I would suggest that we are also guilty of being overprotective, especially my daughters.\u00a0 I could write a whole post about my overprotectiveness and other parenting mistakes.\u00a0 I often tell my kids that I hope that my wife and I did not damage them too much with our parenting.<\/p>\n

    INTERVENTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

    While Haidt paints a somewhat depressing picture of Gen Z and how technology has impacted them, he does give suggestions for government, schools, and parents.\u00a0 He offers what he would call four foundational reforms.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \u201cNo smartphones before high school. Parents should delay children\u2019s entry into round-the-clock internet access by giving them only basic phones before ninth grade.<\/li>\n
    2. No social media before 16.<\/li>\n
    3. Phone free schools<\/li>\n
    4. Far more unsupervised play and childhood independence.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      I want to finish by discussing the progress that is being made in two of them.<\/p>\n

      Cell Phone Policy for schools <\/strong><\/p>\n

      In 2024 Ohio legislators passed a law stating that by July 1, 2025, all school districts in the state must have a policy in place regarding student cell phone usage during the school day.[9]<\/a>\u00a0 The Associated Press reports that seven other states have similar laws.[10]<\/a> The State of Ohio reports that \u201cSchools that have successfully implemented policies prohibiting the use of cell phones report that students are talking, interacting, laughing, and enjoying themselves.\u201d[11]<\/a> Wow! Students are engaging in real world interactions and actually having fun.<\/p>\n

      Limited Access to some sites based on age.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) states that in 2024 \u201cnearly half of U.S. states passed laws imposing age verification requirements on online platforms.\u201d[12]<\/a>\u00a0 These laws involved limiting access to sexual material, social media, or anything deemed harmful to a minor.\u00a0 The EFF opposes these bills suggesting that not only do they violate free speech but put the child\u2019s privacy at risk.\u00a0 Regarding access specifically to pornography websites, as of January 1st<\/sup>, the pornography website PornHub was blocked in 17 states that now have age verification laws[1<\/a>\"\"<\/a>3].\u00a0 The Supreme Court began to hear oral arguments on January 15th<\/sup> about whether this is a violation of free speech.[14]<\/a><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      It is my hope that the Supreme Court, state and federal legislators will see and understand what unlimited access to smartphones is doing to our children and take steps to improve their real-world interaction and decrease their virtual world interactions.\u00a0 In closing, let me ask, when was the last time you sat on a playground swing or went down a slide?\u00a0 If we want our kids, or grandkids to play and have fun, maybe we also need to put down our own phones and show them how it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      [1]<\/a> Haidt, 9.<\/p>\n

      [2]<\/a> Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, (New York, NY: Penguin Press, 2024). <\/em><\/p>\n

      [3]<\/a> I Timothy 3:4 (NIV).<\/p>\n

      [4]<\/a> Haidt, 202-215.<\/p>\n

      [5]<\/a> Haidt, 202, 204.<\/p>\n

      [6]<\/a> Haidt, 212.<\/p>\n

      [7]<\/a> Haidt, 258-260.<\/p>\n

      [8]<\/a> Haidt, 15.<\/p>\n

      [9]<\/a> Ohio Department of Education & Workforce, \u201cCell Phone in Ohio Schools,\u201d\u00a0 Accessed January 23, 2025, Chttps:\/\/education.ohio.gov\/Topics\/Student-Supports\/School-Wellness\/Cell-Phones-in-Ohio-Schools<\/a><\/p>\n

      [10]<\/a> ANDREW DeMILLO, \u201cBanning cellphones in schools gains popularity in red and blue states,\u201d\u00a0 Associated Press, January 16, 2025, https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/politics\/government\/banning-cellphones-in-schools-gains-popularity-in-red-and-blue-states\/ar-AA1xi04s?ocid=BingNewsSerp<\/a><\/p>\n

      [11]<\/a> Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.<\/p>\n

      [12]<\/a> Molly Buckley, \u201cFighting Online ID Mandates: 2024 In Review,\u201d Electronic Frontier Foundation, December 31, 2024.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.eff.org\/deeplinks\/2024\/12\/effs-2024-battle-against-online-age-verification-defending-youth-privacy-and-free<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      [13]<\/a> C.A. Bridges, \u201cPornhub, other adult sites block Florida access as age verification law takes effect. What is a VPN?,\u201d USA Today, January 2, 2025.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.desmoinesregister.com\/story\/news\/2025\/01\/01\/pornhub-adult-sites-block-florida-age-verification-law-vpn\/77379650007\/<\/a><\/p>\n

      [14]<\/a> Devin Dwyer, \u201cSupreme Court hears porn sites’ bid to strike down online age-verification laws,\u201d ABC News, January 15, 2025, https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/supreme-court-hears-porn-sites-bid-strike-online\/story?id=117439757<\/a>.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      In The Anxious Generation Jonathan Haidt writes \u201cMy central claim in this book is that two trends\u2014overprotection in the real world and underprotection in the virtual world\u2014are the major reasons why children born after 1995 became the anxious generation.\u201d[1] Reflecting upon Haidt\u2019s statements I realize that my wife and I are not perfect parents, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":200,"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":[3407],"class_list":["post-40687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-haidt-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40687","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\/200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40687"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40692,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40687\/revisions\/40692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}