Big G and Little g

Reach people where they are Let every worker in the Master's vineyard, study, plan, devise methods, to reach the people where they are. We must do something out of the common course of things. We must arrest the attention. We must be deadly in earnest. We are on the very verge of times of trouble and perplexities that are scarcely dreamed of. --Ev 122, 123

Avoid Being a Spiritual Statistic "Everything is permissible"but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"but not everything is constructive. 1 Cor 10:23

Steps Keep the Correct Focus Spend time in Big G–Mail (the word of God) and not as much in the little gs Unplug and Detoxify for at least an hour a day. Set limits on media consumption Set up a family agreement about computer/media use -- hours, accessing chat lines, revealing personal information/ photographs, etc. Do not rely solely on software to block/filter content Place the computer in a central location in the home, to limit temptation Remember that the devil is playing for keeps and he is using every tool at his disposal to kill us spiritually.

The Influence of Media Kaiser study, 8-18 y/o get an average total media exposure of 8.5 hrs/day. 60% of youths eat with TV on 56 different electronic devices. (48%) home, 20% from school, and 16% from elsewhere. (13%) have a handheld device that is online MySpace has twice the number of views Google 13 million a day. –4,475 views per second. –150,000 new users a day, the vast majority of whom (90%) are claiming to be youth years old.

The Influence of Media Parents think their children are online an average of three hours a week, however, children ages 8-17 admit to spending an average of 7 hours online a week, and nearly a quarter (23%) report doing things online that their parents would not condone (Harris Interactive, "Kids Outsmart Parents When it Comes to the Internet," August 2007). 25% of teens say their parents know "little" or "nothing" about what they do online (Teen Research Unlimited. "Cox Communications Teen Internet safety Survey Wave II," March 2007). 41% of teens report their parents talk to them "a lot" about Internet safety, (Teen Research Unlimited. "Cox Communications Teen Internet safety Survey Wave II," March 2007).

Media Impact Internet is a social, interactive refuge Young females outgoing and emotionally uninhibited Introverted males - social needs After six times of viewing something our brain is convinced that it actually did that action Christian college 75% of males and 25% of females accessed Internet pornography Not an isolated issue Inappropriate sites are just one part of the problem.

Problem when it isolates, substituting for a real social life Online gamers increased social anxiety and depression. 92% young people play online games Internet addiction teens and empty nesters The addictive qualities of being online: –unique neurochemistry/ neuropathology involving 3 particular brain chemistries stimulating the main types of known addictive pathways: arousal, satiation, and fantasy. Similar to cocaine addiction in many physiological ways Media Impact

Spiritual Impact 4% of Gen Y are in church. 96% are unchurched. Pluralistic or diverse spirituality Even Christians can be shaped by popular media Unplug and be still to hear His voice Postmodern culture is E P I C –E xperiential, P articipatory, I mage-driven, and C onnected Young people are not spiritual seekers Young people are happy with a life without God and prefer car sales to church

Spiritual Impact Little sense of sin, fear of death, nor guilt Afraid of growing old. –We are more worried about how look than how we see Life is generally benign-- rises in eating disorders, substance abuse, teenage suicide, bullying, and sexual abuse. Gen Yers belive Actual truth or morals do not matter much What matters is centered around how that person sees and experiences life

Spiritual Impact Little sense of sin, fear of death, nor guilt Afraid of growing old. –We are more worried about how look than how we see Life is generally benign-- rises in eating disorders, substance abuse, teenage suicide, bullying, and sexual abuse. Gen Yers belive Actual truth or morals do not matter much What matters is centered around how that person sees and experiences life

Spiritual Impact 96% of students ages 9 to 17 who have access to the Internet have used social networking technologies (Grunwald Associates, "Creating & Connecting - Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking," July 2007). 71% of students ages 9 to 17 use social networking sites on a weekly basis (Grunwald Associates, "Creating & Connecting - Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking," July 2007). 20% of youth include swear words in their MySpace profiles and 33% of MySpace pages have swear words in the comments sections (Hinduja, S. and Patchin, J.W. "Personal Information of Adolescents on the Internet: a Quantitative analysis of MySpace.com." Journal of Adolescence, 2007).

Spiritual Impact Currently, 53% of youth admitted to downloading music without paying (Harris Interactive for the Business Software Alliance. "Survey Suggests Parental Rules Matter In Encouraging Good Internet Behavior," May 2007). 8% to 17% of youth admitted to downloading movies without paying in 2007 (Harris Interactive for the Business Software Alliance. "Survey Suggests Parental Rules Matter In Encouraging Good Internet Behavior," May 2007). Teens who use both social networking sites and admit to breaking online safety or behavior rules are significantly more likely to earn lower grades in school (Grunwald Associates, "Creating & Connecting - Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking," July 2007).

Living in a Digital World BEHOLD, I SEND YOU FORTH AS SHEEP IN THE MIDST OF WOLVES: BE YE THERFORE WISE AS SERPENTS, AND HARMLESS AS DOVES. MATT; 10:16