Do You really know who you are and what you want?

I'm sure you've all had times when it seemed like you were too busy to breathe, let alone update your blog, right?! Life has been crazy. Anyway, enough of my excuses. I do actually have something to write about.

I'm preparing for youth group on Wednesday and I wanted to go deeper into a discussion that we started a couple of weeks ago. Media and marketing and how the message we get from them affects our lives. I watched a documentary that originally aired on PBS a while ago, 2001, I think, called The Merchants of Cool. It was eye-opening to say the least. I think that it would be good for youth workers to watch.

With increasing frequency we see all the ways that companies market directly to teens. This isn't new and it honestly isn't going anywhere any time soon. One of the segments talked about how in an effort to understand teenagers so they can effectively market to them, researchers delve into the world of teenagers to really get to know them. They then create an image they think that the teens should want. They think they are portraying teenagers, but teenagers are really just emulating what they see in the media, so neither is ever really true. It's a feedback loop. This is scary when you think about the long term affect this can have on the younger generation. A generation who no longer thinks for themselves, but lives their life in the embodiment of what they "should" be, and not who they are.

This makes clear the ever increasing difficult Christian teenagers face when trying to life their faith in a world that mocks and scorns them. While unbelievers spout off about how believers don't think for themselves and they are brainwashed, one has to wonder the example being shown to all through the media. Are they not also being programed and shown what to think and feel.

What this really shows us is how important it is for children and teens to have people in their life who they can talk to , those they can trust. We have to teach our children and those under our care, that the world will always try to corrupt us, and separate us from the will of God. Living the truth is not easy, it's about persevering in the faith and trust in God ultimately and throwing the thoughts ans opinions of the media, and advertisers out the window. So how do we teach this to teens who are immersed in media messages that teach them the opposite?

Anyone with any ideas they want to share on counteracting this message?