Technology and Church

I couldn't not share this as I get grief for having my Treo with me at church. And yes I have texted my counselors while in church.

source: http://www.deseretnews.com/cn/view/1,1721,500006410,00.html

Technology defines Internet generation

Cell phones, social networks connect young single adults

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May 24, 2008

By Sarah Jane Weaver
Church News staff writer

One Sunday, Bishop Robert McKinley of the Vista 6th (YSA) Ward determined he needed the help of a ward clerk. He asked another member of the ward to locate a clerk who was available.

Texting from a cell phone is such a popular form of communication for young single adults that many use an abbreviated text language. Photo by Rod Boam

But the ward member didn't move from his seat. The bishop waited and waited. After what seemed like a very long time, he gave the young man a gentle reminder. "Will you find me a ward clerk?"
The young man looked at his bishop. "I sent a text message," he said. "He is on the way."
That is an example of the effectiveness of a techno-savvy generation, said Bishop McKinley, calling technology an opportunity for young single adults to connect and mobilize.
This week, in the last article in a series on young single adults in the Church, the Church News examines the helps and hindrances of technology in the lives of single Latter-day Saints, ages 18 to 30.
Text messaging and social networking have in many ways connected this generation of Latter-day Saints, truly the first Internet generation. But because technology can be used without interpersonal communication, texting and social networking have also made this a "generation of isolation," where young adults meet online instead of in person, said Dan Gray, a licensed clinical social worker and director of the LifeSTAR Network.
Social networking is the mall or local hangout of past generations, said Peter Ferioli, director of Net Nanny Operations for Content Watch Internet Protection. "They meet each other in the virtual world," he said.
Facebook, for example, is a social networking Web site where users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can add friends and send messages, and update a personal profile to notify friends about themselves.
Facebook, said Mr. Ferioli, is the fastest growing social network in the world right now. The technology keeps people connected in such a way that associations can become like extended family. Technology has also created a culture so influential that many users now type an abbreviated Internet language.
The ability of a generation raised with the Internet to use it as a resource is astonishing, said Jack Sunderlage, president of Content Watch Internet Protection, who works with the young single adults in his ward. Research on the Internet cannot be underestimated, he said. Business networking on the Internet is now becoming essential.
"There are 50 billion pages on the surface Internet," he said. "It is a tremendous resource for information. ... The Internet is a great tool, but there is definitely a dark side to it."
The Internet era has radically changed the landscape socially for young adults — who are now the fastest growing consumers of pornography, said Jill C. Manning, a licensed marriage and family therapist who testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on the harms of pornography and is author of the book, What's the Big Deal about Pornography: A Guide for the Internet Generation.
In 1993 — the year pornography went public on the Internet — there was no longer a barrier between the home/work/school environment and pornography. "There was no longer a barrier between that generation and the sex industry," she said.
More disturbing, she said, is an escalation in the graphic and deviant themes in pornography not seen by past generations. It is "far more degrading and distorting and vile than pornography of past generations," she said.
In an informal Church News survey, the vast majority of 80 respondents said they know someone who regularly views pornography. More disturbing is research that says that young adults in the United States are more tolerant of pornography than ever before. A BYU study, for example, found that college women are more accepting of pornography than their fathers.
"Even in the absence of personal use, it seems young women's attitudes are being influenced by the proliferation of pornography," said the study's lead researcher Jason Carroll, an associate professor at BYU who studies the transition to adulthood. "These women are part of a rising generation that is deeming pornography as more acceptable and more mainstream."
The study, conducted with college students and their parents from six schools across the country (BYU was not included) — found actual use of pornography to be more prevalent among male students, with 48 percent of men reporting viewing pornography at least weekly, compared to 3 percent of women. In addition, the study found that one in five young adult men view pornography every day or nearly every day.

Modern technology adapts easily into the active and mobile lifestyle of young single adults, such as Caresa Alexander, who can communicate with friends worldwide from her wireless computer in the comfort of her living room. Photo by Rod Boam

Experts predict that as Internet cell phones become more accessible, that more and more people will have access to pornography. Currently, said Brother Sunderlage, there is no Internet filter for a cell phone.
Sister Manning said the dangers of the Internet are far greater than just pornography, noting that sexual predators, bullying and the rumor mill are prevalent on the Internet. And, unlike rumors sent by word of mouth, cyber rumors are much harder to erase.
In addition, because a person can misrepresent themselves online as something they are not, Sister Manning encourages young single adults to meet people in real life and then utilize the good in technology to nurture those friendships.
Of the 80 young single adults who responded to a Church News survey, 53 listed cell phones or texting as their primary form of communication. The rest listed e-mail, instant messaging or social networking. Some reported sending more than 2,000 text messages a month; however, the majority of respondents said they sent fewer than 500 texts per month.
Laura Padilla-Walker, a BYU family life professor, said being connected is what enables this generation to accomplish so much good. "It is a time when you have some great opportunity to do positive things," she said.
David L. Buckner, president of the New York New York Stake, said technology has enabled young single adults to mobilize — as a result of text messages and social networking — better than any other group in the Church. "In terms of building the kingdom there is so much potential."
A 25-year old Church News survey respondent explained, "We're a well-connected generation through social networks (Facebook), e-mail and texting. When we have to contact someone to give information that's pertaining to our calling, it's common for us to say, 'Facebook me or I'll Facebook you the information.' It's standard to get reminders to ward activities via text or stake activities via e-mail. Because of communication technology, it's easy for my LDS friends and me to keep in touch with other LDS members from different parts of the world."