Can humanity survive the digital age? The answer — according to an Institute for Human Ecology panel convened Sept. 17 at The Catholic University of America in Washington — is basically this: It depends. There are “two big questions that hang over human life in digital reality right now,” announced Ross Douthat, a media fellow Read more
A programme in 2021 that attempts to instruct children that puberty is a gift from God and “sexual love” is best expressed within the sacrament of marriage might reflect the church’s best hopes for our youth. In reality, it’s about as much use as telling kids they could try using crossed fingers as contraception. It Read more
A campaign by Sanitarium Weet-Bix has been designed to encourage New Zealanders to celebrate a simpler approach to life. The company’s research shows that along with feeling their children’s lives were becoming too complicated, many parents felt increased pressure to provide for their children and were disappointed about the impact digital devices were having on family Read more
Christians, and other religious communities, have long adapted to changes in media technologies. The emergence of writing, the move from scroll to codex, the printing press, the spread of literacy, the development of electronic media (radio, telephone, film, and television), and the subsequent rise of digital communication (social media, websites, digital publishing) provide obvious examples. Read more
Marist College, a girls’ Catholic secondary school in Mt Albert, endeavours to equip its students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be successful in the digital age. It wants the students to have the confidence to select the areas in which their interests lie; and with the skills required to take their learning further Read more
Not long ago Time magazine ran a cover story about Internet trolling with the alarming but not inaccurate cover blurb “We’re losing the Internet to the culture of hate.” Trolling and other antisocial behaviors are widespread online. They can even be found in devout Catholic circles, though outright trollery and the “culture of hate” are Read more
How do we comfort others in this digital age? Is a text message or emoji enough? When, pray tell, should we actually use the phone to call? Or…talk face-to-face?! A recent NY Times commentary, “The Art of Condolence” by author Bruce Feiler, wades into these choppy waters of shifting cultural expectations. Penned after Feiler’s own mighty Read more
Our daughter turned eight this week. She is a bright, happy and curious little girl with lots of friends. She’s in the bilingual unit at Westmere Primary. Cool principal and gifted teachers. Awesome, engaged whānau. After school, she logs on to Study Ladder. She nails the homework fairly quickly, but it doesn’t take long for Read more
With young adults constantly facing the camera, schools and parents need to find creative ways to instill the value of self-worth to the selfie generation. On a recent Monday morning, Clare Harper’s cousin sent her a picture of herself for “Selfie Monday” via Snapchat, a texting and image-sharing service that deletes pictures soon after they Read more
A marker of 21st century adult life may be the eternal debate about whether to “disconnect” once in a while, but for children the question is a far more serious one. Born into the digital age and exposed to technology and the internet very early, this generation of kids are effectively guinea pigs in the Read more