Mobile Ministry Magazine

The Nokia Conversations blog has highlighted an article and its source post speaking about internet etiquette education in [South] Korea. Being that mobile and internet use is very high in terms of use and lifestyle in [South] Korea, its almost appropriate that they would be one of the first to take a whole sale approach to addressing use and ethics for parents, youth, and culture.

This quote speaks to why this matters and why as a Body we need to jump in and learn/apply these same lessons:

...many children including myself go through the phase when they relate their identity to imaginary or fictional characters. i am no expert in this area so i do wonder how future children would discover and exploit the fact that they can be the imaginary character to a certain extent if they want to, aided by other ‘people’ in the digital world, not just by their own imagination while they are going through the blossoming age of developing their social perception and individual identity. it is up to whether the child will be able to master the delicate skill set of constructing and maintaining the perception of a world in a non-physical form...

This is a subject that begs discussion on so many levels, not the least of which is because the technology moves so fast that education can sometimes be seen as a chore and something that holds it back. I disagree with this notion, and therefore discussions and policies like these are needed so that we don't end up with a culture that has a jaded sense of what is real versus what is virtual - or in other words find their identity in more than just the social programs they are engaged in.

Check out the posts at Nokia Conversations and Nokia Design Researcher Younghee Jung, and then the original Korean article (its in Korean) speaking about these policies for more insight and backstory on this.

As leaders and parents, how do you teach ethics, while allowing the technology to be a place where imaginations can form maturely?

Labels: children, church, communication, community, computer, education, parenting, teaching, tech, teens

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a few of the live concerts put on by MixxMaster's Studio Lounge. On Thursday night I went to see JR (who is on the Cross Movement label) and on Saturday there was Edward Long II and a group named M2B (Made to Believe). One of the things I noticed though was that there were a lot of teens and young adults, but not as much focus after the show towards keeping them enaged beyond giving them a MySpace page link.

So, par the course of my normal way of thinking, I started wondering how an event like that, plus the churches that were involved, can utilize mobile devices and services to not just enhance participation, but also make a way to connect with the youth in ways that lead to discipliship.

One idea that came to mind was to simply make available ringtones of those who were performing. To work with MediaComm (the parent company to Steelroots and MixxMaster's) to secure that licensed content where youth can type a text message to a shortcode and then get the ringtone. But instead of stopping there, reply with the ringtone that someone is on the other end to pray for them if they have a prayer request. That other end would be made up of leaders and volunteers from local churches who would pray for those youth.

I also had the idea of sitting down with the youth before the show in small groups asking them about what they listen to and how they respond to what they hear. Give them a place to be open whether they get music legally or not, and then at the end of the talk give them music, electronic bibles, etc. that would enable them to have a healthy view of using mobile devices for those things they enjoy.

These are just ideas though; Saturday night I took advantage to diffuse a situation by speaking to one of the youth leaders. We exchanged informatoin via mobile and I showed up at his church this Sunday. Nothing special, but making connections so that folks in the Body know that whether via mobile tech, or just footwork, we are connected and tilling this ground together.

Labels: communication, community, mobiles, music, outreach, teens

I am nearing 30, but I do not have kids of my own. I do tend to play with them a lot, and mobile technology is very much a part of our time. Especially with teens, mobile tech (phones usually) are seen as independence and personal items. They go as far to color them, add screens/ringtones, and do other things that make the mobile theirs, even when they are not even paying the bill for it.

However, parents have an issue with this. And I totally understand. For many of them, the technology has moved as fast as their kids in terms of growth and its harder to know what they are doing versus just shutting it down completly. Some parents have a handle of being able to use mobile tech in a rewards system, being able to emphasize that mobile tech is a priveledge, not a need.

So I want to open up some discussion, and maybe this can give me (personally) some insight into parenting, and you (parents, pastors, and teachers) some insight as to how to better understand what it is your teens are doing with mobile tech. Becuase we don't want statistics like these becoming more common; we'd rather Godliness speak louder than debauchery ya know.

Labels: communication, community, mobile, parenting, teens, usability