Media Alert!
April 2023
BLOG #42
Sue Summers
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12: 2 (The Message)
“The Internet of Things”
“The Internet of Things (IoT) describes physical objects embedded with sensors and actuators that communicate with computing systems via wired or wireless networks—allowing the physical world to be digitally monitored or even controlled.” (www.mckinsey.com)
Is there a smart thermostat, a fitness tracker, a smartwatch, an Alexa, an automated vacuum, a new refrigerator, or a security system in your house? If so, then the Internet of Things, or IoT, is relevant to you. Homes, stores, restaurants, banks, hospitals, and airports require connectivity to the Internet to function. Take that a step farther and the grand total of our everyday devices that interact with the Internet becomes mind-boggling.
For the average consumer, this daily familiarity with the IoT just seems to be a wonderful convenience. But on a larger scale, it is changing nearly everything about the way our world works.
“Over the past few years, IoT has become one of the most important technologies of the 21st century. Now that we can connect everyday objects—kitchen appliances, cars, thermostats, baby monitors—to the internet via embedded devices, seamless communication is possible between people, processes, and things.
By means of low-cost computing, the cloud, big data, analytics, and mobile technologies, physical things can share and collect data with minimal human intervention. In this hyperconnected world, digital systems can record, monitor, and adjust each interaction between connected things. The physical world meets the digital world—and they cooperate…With more than 7 billion connected IoT devices today, experts are expecting this number to grow to 22 billion by 2025.” (www.oracle.com)
Here’s a headline from just a few days ago: “SpaceX launches world’s 1st 5G satellite to bring global connectivity to Internet of Things” (www.space.com). Obviously, our world’s global infrastructure in every sense is now dependent on the IoT.
“Highly connected systems allow shipping companies and airlines to factor in weather and mechanical problems and then optimize fleets for maximum loads and efficiencies. The IoT provides motorists with real-time maps and navigation suggestions that route and reroute them based on current traffic patterns. These systems reduce congestion and pollution and save time and money.” (www.britannica.com)
Wondrous! But what about privacy issues?
“Another concern is the use of surveillance cameras to track the movements of people, for when video data is combined with other types of data generated from sensors, cameras, cellular records, computer logs, and other systems, it is possible to identify where a person has been or what they have done at any given moment. This information can potentially be used or abused by law enforcement, governments, businesses, and others.” (www.britannica.com)
Add drones, 3D printers, surveillance cameras, microbots and nearly invisible nanobots (tiny electronic robots connected in a network), driverless vehicles, insufficient data protection, wiretapping and malware, and other potential issues, and there’s a lot to be concerned about right now.
And beyond that, who knows? And how much interconnectivity for how many people and for how many government and commercial activities can actually happen at the same time? We’ll soon discover the answer.
So how can we help teens become media-savvy about the culture that surrounds them?
The world around us is changing quickly. Decisions need to be made each day to recognize and consider our dependence on technology. It’s time to talk to our teens about this global shift from personal to impersonal. Here are a few discussion starters to initiate conversations with your teens.
• Discuss how technology makes life easier for us today than it was when our grandparents were young.
• With your teen, watch this video on YouTube: “How the Internet of Things Will Change the World”: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhrB5ZZXnjM
• List all devices in your home that are part of “the Internet of Things”.
• Brainstorm together about what future homes might be like.
• Ask, “How would your daily life change without any technology use?”
• Ask, “Is an easier life equal to a better life? Why or why not?”
• Discuss the pros and cons of driverless vehicles.
• Share: “Technology is neither good nor evil. It is how it is used that determines its value to mankind.” Discuss if this is true.
• Read and consider how this scripture is relevant:
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12: 2 (The Message)
Note: Share this blog with your church’s youth pastor as a lesson for youth group gatherings.
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Sue Summers is a Christian media analyst, teacher, author, and speaker.
She is the Director of Media Alert!
Contact Info:
Blogs: MediaSavvyKids.org
Website: MediaAlert.org
Email: Sue@MediaAlert.org
#MediaSavvyKids, #ChristianParenting, #ChurchAndCulture, #YouthPastors, #YouthGroupCurriculum, #HelpForChristianParents, #TeensAndCulture, #AChangingCulture, #CriticalThinkingAndTeens, #IAmNotDefinedByTheCulture, #TechnologyChangesOurLives, #TheInternetOfThings, #DependenceOnTechnology
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© Sue Summers 2023
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