A couple weeks ago my 15-year-old granddaughter suggested I
read Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation. I was stunned. Over my lifetime I have experienced several
technological revolutions that have transformed the way we live: color TV, the
personal computer, internet, email, mobile
phones, smart phones. In every case I
was an early adopter. But I missed the rapid and ubiquitous spread of social
media.
According to Haidt, a recognized social psychologist, Gen Z,
those born between 1995 – 2010, is the first “phone-based” generation to
experience a “rewiring” of the brain through social media. A professor of psychology at NYU’s Stern
School of Business, he says, “I have seen the rising levels of anxiety and
device addiction as my students have changed from millennials using flip phones
to Gen Z using smartphones.” Access to social media coupled with adolescent
mental, social and psychological development has been devastating.
Haidt writes, “Children born in the late 1990’s were the
first generation in history who went through puberty in the virtual world. It’s as though we sent Gen Z to grow up on
Mars when we gave them smartphones in the early 2010’s.” Since the introduction
of smartphones and social media, Haidt documents a 145% rise in depression among
teenage girls since 2010, and a 161% increase among boys. Along with this,
Emergency Room visits related to self-harm increased 188% among girls and 48%
among boys since 2010. This is recent and rapid.
Interestingly, Haidt, who claims to be atheist, finds promising
solutions in spiritual terms. He draws on a book by David Steno, a social
psychologist, published in 2021, How God Works: The Science Behind the
Benefits of Religion. He names six
practices that can help all of us in our age of anxiety and fragmentation:
shared sacredness, embodiment (rituals), stillness-silence and focus
(meditation), transcending the self (inspiration), being slow to anger and
quick to forgive, and experiencing awe. He leaves out faith however, the key
element that makes all of these work.
These healthy elements are found in the life and teachings
of Jesus. He emphasized the importance of community. “Where two are three are gathered together in
my name, there I am, in the midst of them.” He established the Lord’s Supper when He
shared bread and wine with his disciples the night before His death saying, “this
do in remembrance of me.” He taught us to transcend self, “If anyone desires to
be first he shall be last of all and servant of all,” (Matthew 9:35). Regarding anger and forgiveness, He said, “You
have heard it said, ‘You shall not murder,’ but I say to you he who is angry
with his brother without cause is in danger of the judgement.” “If you do not forgive men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses,” (Matthew 6:15). As to awe, John
wrote, “We beheld His glory, as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth,” John 1:14).
I am encouraged by reports that many in Gen Z are turning to
faith. The magazine Relevant describes
it: “This isn’t the next wave of megachurch Christianity or the rebranded youth
group hype of the early 2000s. There are no flashy social media campaigns, no
celebrity pastors, no big marketing push. What’s happening is quieter, rawer
and—to the surprise of many—far more compelling. Gen Z isn’t leaving faith
behind. They’re leading a revolution.” We can pray that the entire world may be
revolutionized by faith that is found in Jesus Christ.
Bill Tinsley's Sermon on the Mount Devotional Book is FREE as an eBook on Amazon June 2-4.
