About 50 years ago when I was in seminary, I had another student share an insight with me. I was probably two or three years older than the average seminary student and he was at least 10 years older than me with two children. I came from a big city, he came from the small town. He was also one of the wisest men I knew at the time.
He shared one time as we were working together that ours was the last generation that had our basic values formed before television. Think about what that means. Your sense of right wrong. Your sense of normal. Your sense of beauty. Your accent. Your vocabulary. So much was molded by your source of information and your entertainment.
Today we face a similar challenge. We have generations which were formed without social media. Many of them have adapted and use it. Many of them have been perverted by it. But I would suggest that perhaps it’s not as strong in the pre-social media generation as it is and those who are raised with it.
That can be good or bad. So many technologies have their beneficial side and their destructive side. When I was a kid, we got our first TV and were introduced to cigarette commercials, murder, and violence. We also had access to programs about science and about history. And then there were Zorro and Maverick. Think of the VCR. It had both the positive and the negative influence possible. Then you have the Internet.
Ultimately, the direction that things influence us is going to be based on the decisions we make and the priorities we establish. I remember early on I realized that the things I clicked on the Internet would come back to haunt me. Fortunately, I realized that soon enough I really didn’t need to go much deeper than one or two clicks into my curiosity about Russian brides. I was spared a lot of pornography because of that. I made decisions. I may not have been aware of the long-term effects of those decisions, but the basis of my decision was the right thing and I benefited from it.
Work on making the right decision decisions. Work on having the right motives. It will pay off in the long run.
homo unius libri
Friday, December 26, 2025
Opus 2025-603: Different Generation, Same Issue
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.