Loneliness, Stress, Sex...and technology?

What are the some of the main issues facing youth today?

Sean McDowell (no relation as far as I know) says loneliness, stress, and sex.  Those are definitely issues that I have dealt with.  But there are some others that I have been thinking about lately as well...

A Globe and Mail article that said "9.7 per cent of kids in Grade 7 to 12, or about 327,000 students, spend at least seven hours a day in front of a TV or computer."  

Mountain-man...but no Luddite

I am no mountain-man-Luddite, but that seems a little much.  What ever happened to good ole' street hockey?  Reading books?  Enjoying the great outdoors?  Not much time for those things if you are facebook-creeping and tv-watching 7 hours a day.  If 10% of youth are consuming that much tech (and I imagine there are loads of others who are not far behind...), I would say that is an issue.  Media and technology that we consume affects us.  Deeply.






I recently read a book called Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps.  Seems to me his main goal is to get us to recognize that technology affects us.  Not if, but how.  It is easy to say, "what does it matter?"  But the point is, it does matter.  For better or for worse.  If you want to think more about technology, faith, and how we are shaped by the media that we eat, read Flickering Pixels.  Then come out to this event for youth and your parents on Oct 29th, 2010, 7:30pm at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, 110 Doon Rd, Kitchener.  MCEC, MCC Ontario, and Canadian Conference of the Brethren in Christ presents:

Wired:  Building Relationships Technology has an ever-increasing role in our lives. Young people are more connected to each other than ever. How can we utilize these technologies to help us build deeper, stronger relationships? Join Marv Penner to explore how relationships can be nurtured in healthy ways using technology and face-to-face encounters. wired: building relationships is an interactive event that will help parents and youth discover how good face-to-face communication forms the foundation of solid relationships.    Whether it be loneliness, stress, too much skin on your favourite reality tv show, or an addiction to technology, I would be interested to hear what you think...What are the main issues that you face? ~allan