Sky Mall and the Human Condition. . . .
So I was continuing my journey through Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together:Why We Expect More From Technology and Less from Each Other on some flights the last couple of days. Fascinating stuff. Turkle is a brilliant thinker and expert in robotics.…
Read More
Parental Diligence Needed Here. . . .
The other day my post asked whether or not the mix of teens and technology is good, bad, or ugly. I think it’s got the potential to be all three. . . powerful potential. Certainly one of the “bad” and…
Read More
Snake Eyes: A Look at Teen Gambling
– by Doug West © 2003, The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding Today’s teenager lives in a world sandwiched between childhood and adulthood. Bombarding teens on all sides are adult “forbidden fruit” temptations that are legally out of reach in terms…
Read More
Facebook. . . Friends, Loneliness, And The Liquid Avatar Known as “Me”. . . .
Incredibly connected. Incredibly alone. We’ve been watching that reality unfold for years. We’ve been talking about this great irony as well. Technology has given us an amazing and unprecedented ability to be connected all the time to a greater and…
Read More
Brand New From CPYU! . . . .
Technology is amazing. The older I get, the more amazing it is. Technology can also be really, really good. I find it to be good when it improves our lives and gives us deeper tastes of what it means to…
Read More
Jesus Stole My Daddy. . . .
My dad would often tell a story that not only involved me, but served me as a constant reminder of what’s really important in life. The story goes like this: I was four or five years old and the son…
Read More
Be Careful Little Heart. . . Valentine’s Day and Social Media. . .
This is a day to be happy and in love, isn’t it? At least that’s what we’re told by the good folks at Hallmark Cards and Whitman Chocolates. . . and the local florist. I was wondering though, how many…
Read More
Make Me Over. . . . Please . . . .
Last night I asked our waitress if she was a student. She used to be. She just graduated after majoring in art and photography. Not sure about the job prospects in those fields, but she’s waitressing for now. When asked…
Read More
I’m Too Sexy For An . . . iPad?
Thanks to a very generous friend of CPYU, now I’ve got a dilemma. While making a point about the speed of technological advances, I mentioned publicly during a seminar that the iPad 2 is out and I don’t even have…
Read More
Using Social Media in Youth Ministry. . . Some Guidelines. . .
Yesterday I promised to follow-up some personal social media use guidelines for youth workers with some parameters for use of social media and technology in youth ministry. Here’s the deal. . . in our Digital Kids Initiative we are not…
Read More
Youthworkers and Social Media. . . Some Guidelines. . .
So we were asked a great question by our friend Kevin Vinay, a youth worker here in Pennsylvania. Kevin realizes that social media is here and here to stay. Knowing full well that anything in life can be abused or…
Read More
Dear Gareth. . . Thoughts On Your Thoughts About My Thoughts On Steve Jobs. . .
If there’s one thing I realized yesterday after posting on the reaction to Steve Jobs’ death, it’s that Steve Jobs was a lot more important to people than I ever knew or imagined. This morning Gareth commented on my blog…
Read More