Can you remember the first time you saw a mobile phone? Can you remember the first time you saw a television? Can you remember the first time you saw your mother? These are some of the questions that Dr Bruce Fell from Charles Sturt University Bathurst Australia challenged us with recently. For those of you reading this article you probably do remember the first time' you saw these things except for your mother of course.
Dr Fell pointed out that for most of his students, they have no first memory of the mobile phone and many other items of technology. This level of technology has always been with them.
And recently I met the father of a two year old. The father woke up thinking that a stranger had entered his house and was talking to his son. When he went to investigate he found that the two year old had already mastered his latest piece of technology. The two year old had turned on his father's iphone, then found one of his favourite stories and tapped on the icon to have the story read to him as he turned the pages! This from a two year old. What on earth will he be like as a twenty year old!
It is as though there is another planet that many young people are living on and it is the virtual world. A world where people do not go' online they are living' online; they are being' online.
It was also interesting when Dr Fell recounted an assignment he gave his students where they had to go outside into nature and observe. For many students this was their first' time in nature. Scary isn't it?
This is one of the main reasons why the work done by organisations like Rahamim Ecological Learning Community is so important. It offers a space in Bathurst where people committed to living the spiritual values of mercy and justice might find kindred spirits. It also provides a gathering place where people can explore what it means to be good planetary citizens in the third millennium.
To lead healthy lives,people need the space and programs nourish their spirit. IA time and space where they can be connected to otherpeople, the planet and their spirit. This in turn leads to a greater sense of well-being and purpose.
We need to acknowledge the place of consumerism and technology and then find a balance with real human values.