The Conversation We Mustn't Ignore, Youth and Social Media

Social media, many people use it and it has become a prominent part of our lives. It is especially popular
among the young. It is estimated that the average youth spends more time each day on their phone and
computer than they do sleeping. Teenagers spend an average of 9 hours a day online while their
counterparts aged 8-12 spend about 6 hours. It's not only them, their seniors spend a considerable
amount of time on net. Even at work, everyone is looking at what's the latest update when unwinding.
Therefore the ability of social media to cause distractions is evident by now.

Now youth, is a time in our lives that can either make us or break us. It is a time that is supposed to
shape what we are to become in future. A time when we must be tested, but only through
righteousness can our plans be established in the way of the Lord. But alas, this isn't the case, and good
morals prove elusive in our youth. Because of this, everything seems to be going wrong. The future
remains quite uncertain and to someone who truly loves his/her country, this doesn't seem right .
'Crazy' is the order of the day, and people will do anything just to, get by and get 'pay' . That's why you
turn on your TV and unfortunately cannot find anything constructive to watch with your family. It is
somewhat of a mind boggler and we must do whatever it takes to fix this because our youth are the
future of tomorrow.

In this modern age, our youth are facing enormous challenges which inhibit them from reaching their
full potential, the right way. These challenges range from unemployment, to dropping out of school,
early pregnancies, depression , drug addiction, alcoholism etcetera. Some of these, for instance
unemployment, emerge from bigger problems of which their solutions are mostly governmental where
as others, for example depression and drug addiction are concerns that stem from some of the things
we live with and use almost every day, things that we can all very much influence.

Naturally, whatever you consume whether by reading, listening or watching will influence you in one
way or another. The internet has brought along with it countless benefits, but just like every coin has 2
sides, so too does the world wide Web have a flip side. For an adult, it's easier to filter what's important
from what's not, what's right from what's wrong. It's not as easy for a kid of a much less developed
brain. Exposure to violence, insightment, nudism and explicit content could have dire effects on a young
mind.

Recently there has been a rising case of teenage pregnancies. We thank God for all life, but still, this is a
bit of a tricky position to be in. Let's just consider this for a minute, Do we prefer a traditional lifestyle,
so to speak, in favour of a more enlightened and modern life? Can we achieve this enlightened life when
our children, or rather the younger generation has such a lax attitude towards education and school?
Can we achieve such a lifestyle when the youth in particular, are being so negatively influenced by the
internet? And what can we do to reverse this?

The solution is probably quite simple, remember, there is nothing wrong in Kenya that cannot be fixed
by what is right in Kenya. We just have to look more closely. At a time when the country is facing several
moral challenges and everything seems to be going wrong, this, and teaching good morals is of
fundamental importance.

So we want to use these technologies and the internet to our advantage. We want to use these avenues
to create opportunities for spreading the word of God. Now is the time, and more than ever, we need to
rally all the resources at our disposal and use them to preach morality. We all have a part to play in this
because it affects us all in one way or another.But the bigger question is, how do we achieve this, how
do we fix this. It's not possible to build Rome in a day. Bearing in mind the generation in context, with
whom any form of lecture or aggression will seem like a declaration of war against them. An average 60
percent of parents are unable to monitor their teens' social media accounts because of this fear and
others are wrestling their own issues about how much is too much screen time. Most are asking
themselves, how do I provide good guidance of appropriate social media use to my teen. What is the
solution? Let's consider this story.

John, a young man from Kenya is addicted to social media. In the past he was a good boy, very obedient
to his parents, quite hardworking and creative in school and so in turn he was rewarded with respect
and admiration from his peers and the community. However things changed once he started using social
media. Instead of listening to what his parents would tell him to do, he would spend countless hours on
his phone. The parents tried everything they could to talk him out of the habit but this was only met
with a counter resistance. And so slowly, the parents started learning about social media. They asked
John to show them how to use social media, and now, instead of acting as supervisors, they navigated
the social world together. This made it easier for them to have an open conversation with John about
the good use of social media. They could share videos with John embedded with messages of goodness
and righteousness which John couldn't ignore as he was always on his phone. As John influenced them,
so too did they get an opportunity to influence him.

Social media is a place where anything goes, and it's quite easy really for content to gain visibility. The
important thing here is to be tech savvy so that we can be able to capitalise on all these new media
technologies, and use them to tell people about God's goodness, His unfailing love, which really is the
foundation of all our lives. This is especially critical, in highly urbanized areas, where social media use
and influence is rampant, and so maximising impact will require using a variety of social media outlets.
The whole idea is to pass our messages, of goodness and kindness in the subtlest way possible. This
implies the use of pop ups, occassional email notifications, tweets, Facebook messages, WhatsApp
messages, the things which people will take note of without feeling coerced, and here we can push for
anti-corruption campaigns, campaigns for justice, pass on a good word of encouragement. Parents can
have ongoing conversations about good social media use with their teens. This of course implies being
conversant with social media, how it works, how it's used and this should make it easier for them to
connect with their children.

Once again, all this must be done in a manner that's thoughtful and careful not to alienate the people
who we want to bring closer to God. For a Christian, certain principles must come into play because
believers have an even higher standard to meet beyond basic human decency. This standard should be
foremost in engaging with others on social media. We do not want to come across as self-righteous. The
whole idea is to expand our influence, not our image. In any case the Bible calls us to communicate the
gospel in a way that will help other people understand and receive it

For instance, even though people will definitely take notice of your message if you are using visual based
outlets such as Pinterest, Vimeo and Instagram to preach, you run the risk of coming off as outright
publicity or an advertisement. No one no longer pays attention to online ads and that's because they are
imposing. They speak to as opposed to speak with people. It's a one way interaction. People want real
connections, they want to feel like you are speaking with them and not speaking to them. The idea is to
develop closer relationships, promote conversations and to reach out to people who are seeking
answers and meaning in life. This above all is important because it affects everything. It affects our lives,
it affects our happiness, it affects what happens in our lives

1st Corinthians 9:22 I have become all things to all people so that by all means possible, I might save
some.