Comments on: Internet and Kids http://catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com/2008/03/13/internet-and-kids/ Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:48:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Joe http://catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com/2008/03/13/internet-and-kids/#comment-639 Joe Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:10:52 +0000 http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/03/13/internet-and-kids/#comment-639 Excellent points, Nick. Thanks for sharing. Excellent points, Nick. Thanks for sharing.

]]> By: Nick Wagner http://catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com/2008/03/13/internet-and-kids/#comment-638 Nick Wagner Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:28:37 +0000 http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/03/13/internet-and-kids/#comment-638 It would be interesting to see how the "cast the first stone" parable would have turned out if a million people online had had the opportunity to vote the woman off the island. I think what's different today is not the multi-ness of the tasking. Didn't we listen to the radio or our record albums (anybody remember 8-tracks? LPs?) while we did our homework? In our house, we had to get a 12 foot phone cord so my sister could talk to her friends while she washed dishes or folded the laundry. What's different today is the massiveness of our social interactions, the anonymity and sometimes fictiveness of our social interactions, and the instantaneous speed with which we can interact. I worry that those of us in the second half of life look at those characteristics of social interaction today and conclude that the social networks of young people are therefore weak and shallow. We sometimes discount them because they aren't "real" relationships like we have. For me, paying attention and respecting this difference in creating networks is particularly important in catechumenate ministry. If our goal is initiation into the community, the body of Christ, we need to be skilled at building community the way younger people are accustomed to. Nick Wagner <a href="http://teamrcia.com" rel="nofollow">Team RCIA</a> It would be interesting to see how the “cast the first stone” parable would have turned out if a million people online had had the opportunity to vote the woman off the island.

I think what’s different today is not the multi-ness of the tasking. Didn’t we listen to the radio or our record albums (anybody remember 8-tracks? LPs?) while we did our homework? In our house, we had to get a 12 foot phone cord so my sister could talk to her friends while she washed dishes or folded the laundry.

What’s different today is the massiveness of our social interactions, the anonymity and sometimes fictiveness of our social interactions, and the instantaneous speed with which we can interact.

I worry that those of us in the second half of life look at those characteristics of social interaction today and conclude that the social networks of young people are therefore weak and shallow. We sometimes discount them because they aren’t “real” relationships like we have.

For me, paying attention and respecting this difference in creating networks is particularly important in catechumenate ministry. If our goal is initiation into the community, the body of Christ, we need to be skilled at building community the way younger people are accustomed to.

Nick Wagner
Team RCIA

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