The Power of the Internet on the Younger Generation
Parents beware! The younger generation is rejecting the faith of their fathers and the rise of the internet is making a great impact on them. Today's music, movies, and video games are also making an impact.My goodness. Three masters and yet as stupid as one of today's preteens. But let's see, what valid points does John make here?
The Internet: Oops, no, sorry...John is as wrong as a fish without a fishbowl. Unless you interpret this "great impact" of the net as dumbing down the communication skills of preteens and Jonas Brother fans into texting abbreviations and slang.
Music: Yes, it has changed but not for the better. Today's music is overrun with rap (crap) and when it just couldn't get any worse it does: with the magic of auto-tune! So not only do you have music which is predominantly materalistic in an already overwhelmingly materialistic culture, but you also have that same music transformed into an atrocious noise which sounds like a suppository is being rammed up a robot's ass.
Movies: Today's movies are either all action no plot, all gore but no point, and all the same recycled, redone, remade version of a classical movie which contained the two former.
Video games: No big changes here. Video games are still as violent as before but with better graphical details.
Just yesterday a young friend told me that in a newly released very popular video game players are shocked to find on the last level they must kill the Pope! ;-) Hint: This game! Is that not the hoot? Also, the movie The Invention of Lying contains an atheist message. Robert Price has even argued that the changing morals of the younger generation will be the undoing of evangelicalism, seen here.
And popular films such as The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia have Christian messages to them because they were both written by Christian authors.
And let's just quickly examine recent events concerning the "changing morals of the younger generation":
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/13/florida.teen.burned/index.html
That is to say, if they have really changed (which I'm not saying they haven't).
What other signs have you detected? There are plenty others.
One sign of detection concerning you John is that you have clearly confused correlation with causation.
Once more from the words of George Carlin (3:01)
Good day to you sir.
Posts
Hi TBT,
ReplyDeleteI'm unsure exactly what the effect of the internet has, depends on the user.
I think the internet has emboldened many people to speak their minds. And it provides access to information along a spectrum from scholarly to idiotic. And it connects people.
I'm unsure whether a book advocating atheism, like Dawkins' might have ever become a major bestseller without the aid of the internet, and without freethought and skeptic meetup groups discussing such questions and such books. I'm also unsure whether the rise in campus freethought groups could have occurred without the internet, and in such record time.
The rise of the internet also occurred at a time when the percentage of Protestants in the U.S. dipped below 50% for the first time in the history of recent U.S. poll-taking, perhaps for the first time in the history of the U.S. itself.
It's also true that the rise of the internet has enabled not only professionals but also non-professional Christian apologists to form their own forums and websites, as well as non-Christian websites and forums, and Catholic and Mormon and Deistic ones too, for that matter.
The biggest phenomenon right now on the web is FACEBOOK. Go to "Google trends" and plug in the search terms, God, Sex, Google, Yahoo, and Facebook to see what I'm talking about. Though the trends might have changed since then. *smile*
Personally, I like to read "Biblical Studies Carnival" on the web, and blogs by professors of the Bible (bibliobloggers). I also enjoy web cartoon series like "Jesus and Mo" and "Sinfest," and, "XKCD" (or however that web comic is spelled), and the site eatliver.com There's a freedom of expression on the web and creativity that's pretty amazing. I only mention the above sites as examples. I could mention many more, not related directly to religious questions, or related to general philosophical questions. The web has opened up frontiers of free expression and distribution formerly only possessed by huge media firms.
All for now, congrats on your first semester at college!
I'm unsure whether a book advocating atheism, like Dawkins' might have ever become a major bestseller without the aid of the internet, and without freethought and skeptic meetup groups discussing such questions and such books. I'm also unsure whether the rise in campus freethought groups could have occurred without the internet, and in such record time.
ReplyDeleteIt's more like John is desperately clinging to whatever fad props itself up in the wind with even the slightest hint that Christianity is on the decline. The younger generation, of which I happen to be a part of, is not a stable platform for making or forming arguments or innovative thoughts. It's lazy and overall incompetently reliant and dependent on others. It's a simple observable relationship that with the accumulation of resources less work is needed to keep up with supply. This is because resources = power. Our country is not necessarily the most educated, even if we are the envy of the world in many respects. And it can also be seen that we are losing ground in terms of this envy.
The rise of the internet also occurred at a time when the percentage of Protestants in the U.S. dipped below 50% for the first time in the history of recent U.S. poll-taking, perhaps for the first time in the history of the U.S. itself.
I think that alone is merely coincedental and doesn't prove any logical relationship between the two. It's also a matter of fact that the religious community is using electronic media to retain their numbers and attract former churchgoers.
One example in mind: http://www.catholicscomehome.org
All for now, congrats on your first semester at college!
I appreciate that, thank you.