-Techno Stewardship?

The Barna Group completed a study a few years ago showing something that all of us directly experience- that families are more tech and media dependent that ever before.

They conclude that modern families by and large are negligent in applying concepts of Biblical stewardship to how much of their time is spent online, watching TV, and on various digital devices.

 

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 Also, nearly all of those surveyed say that they have never received any kind of teaching at their church concerning how they can be good stewards of media, entertainment or technology.

The study also shows something you might not expect that parents are nearly as involved with tech as their children and teenagers. Not only that, but by nearly a two-to-one ratio, parents think of technology as actually making their family life better rather than worse.

Barna Group president David Kinnaman draws the following conclusions from their research:

“Technology is shaping family interactions in unprecedented ways, but we seem to lack a strategic commitment to the stewardship of technology. Parents, tweens and teens need more coaching and input in order to face the countless choices they make regarding how technology affects their attention, interests, talents and resources.”

Response: It is interesting that churches have substantially ignored this growing situation among modern families in America. Again, technology seems to be dividing the generations with each doing their own techno thing.

My own family is not that much different. I’m on the computer right now writing this article while my wife is in the same room watching TV. Earlier I was watching TV and she was transferring family pictures on the computer to an online account, checking her Facebook site and playing Farmville. Not to mention that the grandkids were here today playing video games and texting friends while listening to their ipod and watching TV all at the same time.

Nothing like it was in the 50’s when I was a kid growing up/ The entire family gathered together around the TV watching it together.  All the social commentators and preachers at the time said that TV was ruining the American family. At least we were all in the same room together watching the same show. Plus there was even time for short conversations during the commercials.