Ryan Burge, the noted demographer who surveys and reviews their meaning, has found that nearly three quarters of high school seniors date once a month or less. To put that in context, only ten years ago it was 50% and ten years or so before that it was in the 30s. It is no wonder that marriage rates are declining if the age old rites of courtship are also in decline. But is there a reason?
Covid is responsible for many things but cannot be blamed for this. It was already in process before the nasty virus appeared. The traditional values of marriage, family, work, home ownership, and public service have also been in decline. There could be, according to Burge, another reason for this. The religiosity of those high school students has also declined along with everything else. It turns out that nasty old prudish religion cannot be blamed for the downturn but neither does it have a great affect on the numbers. Another question in the survey asks how often 12th graders go out for fun or recreation in a typical week. Turns out that has also declined by more than half since 1995. Again, the numbers of that same group have doubled in another category -- those not working (paid or volunteer). In 1995, just 3.5% of those sampled did not socialize or work but now that stands at nearly 16%.
So the average high school senior is a great deal less social in 2022 (more anti-social?) compared to his or her counterpart in the 1990s. Kids are not hanging out, talking to each others, or dating. Now, while some indicators of religious affiliation do not seem to affect this statistic, the 12th graders who never attend any religious services are also those who are the least social. The most social (while not a double digit improvement) are also the ones who attend religious services on a monthly or more frequent basis. Church does promote social interaction, it would seem, and does not hurt.
Of course, the problem is that our teens are increasingly distant from social interactions and this surely contributes to the tensions, violence, and overall lack of empathy in our culture. Every teen's ability to be social, engage in conversation, build strong friendships, and start healthy romantic relationships is absolutely essential for them to lead a productive, fulfilling life. You can breast feed, choose the right preschool, give them the best screens, and helicopter to fight all their battles for them but you may be unable as a parent to equip them with these basic skills for social interaction. In this, religion can help even though that is not the primary function of religion. By the way, is your teen headed to a date or gathering of peers tonight? Are you taking them to church tomorrow?
1 comment:
Good observation indeed. Young people seem be more isolated today than prior generations. Why? Probably because most of them are tethered to their devices, living in a digital world of reality measured in quickly passing images, brief tweets, and social media posts. Actually, the old folks I observe in the waiting rooms of medical centers today are often comfortably tethered to their own devices as well, glancing up to smile at something on Tik Tok or looking up briefly to see if they will be summoned to the second waiting room. Young people live in a different setting than earlier times. If they date at all, it is often somebody they meet online, or if they can manage to get away from their devices for a moment, might actually speak to a potential date in real time. Now that this technology is embedded in the culture, there is no turning back. But if one is a Christian, young or old, we also need to gauge the amount of time we spend with our devices, as opposed to talking to people in person, and most importantly, spending time with Our Lord. A preacher once complained on the radio many years back: he said “some folks will read the entire Sunday newspaper from cover to cover, but can’t spend ten minutes in the Word.” Spiritual warfare comes in many forms, sometimes the minefields include neglect of God because our priories are misguided. Soli Deo Gloria
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