You do not have to be an expert in teenage culture to notice that there seems to be more apathy in what I like to call the emotionless generation (today’s youth).  In fact, apathy is Americas leading cause of ‘whatever’.
Does this apply to everyone? No, not everyone…but for many, this is a truth.
My question is why?  Why is this generation impassive about life, music, God, food, AIR…the list continues. Is it the steroids in the chicken we eat? Is it parenting? Is it cultural? Maybe, Yes and Yes…at least these are my views.
I am not an expert in human methodologies, I simply present to you my thoughts, assumptions and perhaps a few solutions.  Take it for what it’s worth.
The Problem:
Gone are the days when students go to summer camp, have a few spiritual moments and come home changed for more than a week?  It seems with each passing year the effects of summer camp are lessened with the chime of each new incoming text message (reminding these same students of their responsibilities to the secular world).  No sooner are these same students claiming Christ as king then some facebook/twitter/tumbler update comes in to distract them.  It’s as if they can’t savor spiritual moments with God for longer than a day at best.  Satan is crafty! Studies show that the average American consumes over 12 hours of data a day (reading, music, movies, and assorted data) (Source). All I have to say is if you want to find a clue to a problem, look to the front and see who is leading the way. I’m not going to bash parents, but I have to wonder how much time we actually spend with our kids. Do we just come home and let a device (meant for entertainment) become their teacher? Do we check out because of our stressful day? I wonder if we as parents are overworked, too committed to ‘stuff’ and essentially tapped out of energy to complete the most important task God has given us (that being parents). Sure parenting is part of the problem but there is something even more sinister here.
I can’t just throw the old blame game threat of ‘it’s Satan’ at this problem. Sure he is ultimately at hand, but I want to look at the why…the how. That my friends, will be the next post.  I want us to explore this topic over the next few days.
Hey Mike, yeah I would say it’s even more problematic. As we know these children already have a tendency to blame themselves at some level for the family spit. It starts that introspective process a bit early and eventually leads to apathy. It’s almost as if they are saying why try…or what I do doesn’t matter…and eventually they say everything doesn’t matter so why care. I pray for you and others educators who are on the front lines.