The Journey from the Drive-In to Social Media

The old adage, the grass is always greener on the other side of fence, is not lost on teenagers.  The good looking girls and the cooler guys always seem to go to a different school or live in a better neighborhood.  It was the case when I was a teen and still that way today.  To expand our social network my friends and I would hang out at drive-ins along Eight Mile Road in Detroit.  In those days even the McDonalds did not have in-door seating.  You ordered your food through a window and ate your burgers and fries in the parking lot.  They were places to gather with your friends and mingle with the kids from other schools and neighborhoods. It has been quite a journey from the drive-ins of the 60's to the social media of today.  

The desire to expand their network of friends is what drives many of today’s teens to social media.  Through Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook teens seek to meet and network with others who share their interest and passions.  While we sought to meet kids from other schools and neighborhoods, today’s teens want to identify new friends in other cities, states and even countries.  Such is the gift of social media.

Social media is a part of my world.  I use Facebook to stay in touch with my family.  It also allows me to network with friends and peers throughout the country and even the world.  One of the real blessings is to get a glimpse into the lives of former students and members of my youth groups.  We not only share stories, but mourn, grieve and celebrate together.

It does require discipline.  It is real easy to allow social media to control our lives.  We can find ourselves going back again and again to see how many people have “liked” a particular post or “commented” on a picture or story.  Then, there is also the danger of comparing our lives to the lives of the “rich and famous,” or at least that is the image we get online.

In ministering to today’s teens and young adults it is vital that we not only model positive use of social media but help them continue to mature in the manner in which they relate to the world online.  While social media can be a gift from God, used wrongly it can have a negative impact on our lives and the lives of those precious kids around us.  It means seeing it as another tool as we try to pass the torch of faith to the next generation.