Cell phone versus the Bible

     

      Recently, on the TV news show, The National, I heard the subject being discussed, "How are computers shaping this generation of kids?" 

     

     Living in a digital world, our today's kids have never known anything but constant change, having been introduced to social media at a young age. 
     It seems experts are beginning to wonder, could it be altering our kids brains?  

     A group of young teens were interviewed and asked if they ever daydreamed, and for how long? The answer was, "maybe thirty seconds a day, but, I'm too busy." 

     Daydreaming was once considered a lazy hobby. Studies now suggest it can boost one's creative and imaginative skills and can act as a tool for goal attainment.  We're told, 87 per cent of teens own a computer or, have access to one, and 67 per cent own a mobile phone. For many, their best friend is a machine. When asked what they would do without their phone or computer, one young lad replied, "I'd go crazy!" 

     Could it be our over-wired kids are missing out on face-to-face human involvement, where empathy and sensitivity is learned? 

     During the interview, the teens were also asked what they valued most — fame was No. 1, money No. 2. In earlier decades, these two choices by teens rated No. 15 and No. 16 on the list. 

     What has changed within our society to cause our youth of today to feel these values are most important to them? 

     It was suggested, that in earlier decades family values and a sense of community and empathy towards others, came through loud and clear. 

     

     Who can forget the warm, neighbourly feelings we felt as we sat in front of the television and watched such family fare as: The Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days, I Love Lucy, or Lavern and Shirley.  The programs now available for our teens are the American Idol or Hanna Montana, emphasizing such values as beauty, fame and riches. A young teen in the interview, shared how she loved taking "selfie" pictures, putting them online, just to see how many "likes" she could garner. After all, who doesn't want to feel pretty and famous? 
     But, fame like beauty and fortune, can be fleeting and you can soon be forgotten by the crowd. 
     An important lesson to be learned by us all. Someone has said, "Only a mature mind can sort out the complexities of life, and fix on things that matter."  

     

     To have instant contact with family and friends is a marvellous Internet invention we are enjoying in this now generation. Wonderful, for sure! But, like everything else... "moderation is the key!"       

     
     Permit me to include the following — food for thought.   

Cell Phone versus the Bible   

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we 
treated our cellphone.  

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?  

What if we flipped through it several times a day?  

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?  

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?  

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?    

Hmm... where is my Bible?

— beulah