Shawn Casselberry's Blog
American Idle / 01.25.10, 09:10 PM
The Kaiser Family Foundation just released the results of a study on the media use among 8-18 year olds. Here’s what they found:
Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). And because they spend so much of that time ‘media multitasking’ (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.
Wow, young people are spending so much time these days tuned into entertainment sources and so little time engaged in things that really matter. And with all these gadgets and game systems, we are getting more and more disengaged from reality.
While watching the show American Idol recently, I was blown away to see the number of young people trying out. Literally, tens of thousands of youth flocked the auditions in hopes of making it big. It was actually very depressing to think about the desperation and dissatisfaction many of these youth had with their lives. People with little to no singing ability waited all day for a few minutes to make a fool of themselves on national television.
One girl who was successful on the American idol video game assumed that her video skills translated into actual music talent. That would be like me thinking I could try-out for the Chicago Bears because I kick butt at Madden 09.This girl couldn’t tell fantasy from reality so the judges had to burst her bubble.
Other contestants dressed up in outrageous costumes thinking that their zany outfits would compensate for their lack of singing acumen. Again, the judges were not fooled and certainly not impressed.
But this show tells me a lot about the young generation. They are longing for something bigger and greater than what they are currently experiencing. They are bored and unsatisfied with simply plugging into computers and playing games 7 hours and 38 minutes a day. They want significance and they long for greatness. In desperation they turn to American Idol to find it. Unfortunately, American idol offers a pretty narrow window for them to achieve significance. Only a small group of people, who actually have some singing ability, make it. One guy was so desperate to make it he refused to leave before security guards had to handcuff him and escort him out (of course this was the guy who picked Amazing Grace for his song). In America, we are obsessed with success. America’s idol is fame. Everyone wants to be great.
But I don’t think that the longing for greatness is bad in and of itself. James and John also longed for greatness. They wanted the fame. They wanted to sit on Jesus’ right and left. Jesus doesn’t chastise their desire for greatness, but he does redirect them in their quest. Jesus said if you want to be great, then you should serve. Jesus didn’t come to be famous, he came to serve. Sometimes I think we idolize famous people like Shane Claiborne because he’s famous and influential, not because we see him as a humble servant (I’m not saying he’s not a humble servant, just that his servanthood is not why we like him). For instance, there’s a janitor at a homeless shelter in Chicago named Jimmie that is one of the most humble men of God I know and I don’t see people lined up to meet him or tell me they want to be like him. Martin Luther king Jr. said anyone can be great because anyone can serve.
In our competitive society there are winners and losers. The winners are served, the losers serve. In the kingdom of God, everyone serves and everyone is served. Greatness is achieved through the level of our service toward each other, especially those that society casts on the bottom. That is how we subvert the system. Imagine if all those tens of thousands of teens saw their significance in how they serve instead of how good or bad they can sing. Imagine if instead of trying to imitate rock stars and Christian superstars, we all decided to develop our unique gifts to better serve the needs of those in our communities. Imagine if we spent even half of our 53 hours a week engaged in service to the poor and vulnerable instead of sitting on the couch playing video games and chatting on Facebook. I believe we would find a lot more purpose and joy than we are experiencing now.
Mission Year is challenging young Americans to stop wasting your time and do something significant with your life. You CAN be great. It’s time to stop being idle and serve.
Apply Now: www.missionyear.org
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I wrote a paper in seminary about the theology of karaoke. While different from what you are saying, I think people want to belong in a real human way not just on the computer through facebook or through living through their mii on the Wii. I was a karaoke regular at this one place along with 10-12 others from the seminary. We went every Thursday night. We didn’t plan to have anything but fun, but I learned a lot about belonging there. People who couldn’t sing a bit – but this was church for them – they belonged. We knew if they had missed a week, cheered for them trying a new song, joined together in the old favorites, laughed when we made mistakes, and generally hoped the best for each person. For that karaoke bar it wasn’t about striving for greatness, but instead just learning how to belong. And yet, maybe belonging is how we should strive to be great? Belonging to the things that can lead us there? Mission Year, church, community nights in the neighborhood….belonging could be what matters….thanks for making me think once again, Shawn!
By Krista / Jan 26, 02:43 PM / #
Awesome Shawn…keep on writing, good stuff and challenging as always.
By Ashley / Jan 26, 04:21 PM / #
Shawn…this is an awesome blog. I am planning on applying to mission year for next year and I am eager to serve God and the others around me…keep on writing, keep on serving, and keep on loving Jesus…
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