It is a widely known fact that kids and teenagers who have a strong belief and participate in spiritual and religious programs are less likely to wander off during teenage years. In a society like ours, it might be scary that teenagers believe that life is about acquiring stuffs and having friends and being in touch with the latest technologies and fashion trends, but is this dangerous to the future of the average teenager?
Researcher David Kinnaman suggests the changes in personal spirituality could be due to the new relational dynamics created by web 2.0. technology and “Talking to God may be losing out to Facebook.”
The question is; Is God really losing out to Facebook and other social networking sites? Do teenagers think they can find God (regardless of the religion) on the internet?
I believe the answers to these questions depend on the teenager we are talking about. It is not news that teenagers are less inclined to spiritual matters now than they were before the “breakthrough” of technology about a decade ago.
How then can adults encourage spirituality in these teenagers?
Just because spirituality is shown to be beneficial for young people, doesn’t mean we can just go out a make young people be spiritual. Spiritual belief is a very personal thing. Adults can’t make a young person have faith in God or pursue genuine spiritual discipline, even though some try.
Adults can however have a significant influence on how willing a teenager is to pursue and explore the bigger questions of life.
However there is also objective evidence that spirituality makes a difference to how teens navigate the challenges of adolescence and of course, the impression that parents give their children is far more effective than anything they can experience.
In other words, Parents who ridicule or talk down their child’s religious commitment or quest to find answers to the big questions are a significant discouragement to young people. The opposite also applies. The knowledge of approval creates an aura of safety for this teenager and makes it less likely for him or her to stray in the long run.
