Beyond the Screen: Youth Ministry for the Connected But Alone Generation

by Andrew Zirschky

It's no secret that teenagers are perpetually connected via social media and mobile devices, but while we've analyzed as a culture how youth are connecting we've done less well at understanding why teenagers are drawn to the glow of the screen. Beyond the Screen explores the reality that teenagers use these technologies in desperate bid for an intimacy and depth of relationship largely absent from face-to-face society and the church.


Employing the latest ethnographic research on youth and digital media in tandem with theological reflection and interviews with teens themselves, author Andrew Zirschky provides a deeper glimpse into the world of teens and social media and gives new direction and directives for ministering to Millennials.

Genres: Theology, Cultural

161 pages, Paperback

Published December 15, 2015

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book to read for anyone who interacts with teens or young adults. Zirschky helps us understand how to interact with the world as Christians in a digital age. He argues that instead of using technology to escape from building connections with others, teens are really using technology in the hope of building meaningful connections with others in their lives. This book will change how you think about and use technology in your church and in your life.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book as a thought-provoking read for parents of teens and ministry leaders, as we try to push beyond an understanding of the medium as the message and into a deeper understanding of how to navigate the relationship between our kids and technology, particularly social media. I appreciate the way Zirschky charts a measured course between prohibition and proliferation, between shame and surrender, as well as how he calls the church to account to counter culture by offering a true community of safety, authenticity, and love. He paints in broad strokes a beautiful picture of a church that models the community of the Trinity: ever inviting, ever expanding, ever imagining a fullness of life that our individuated networks can never provide. That said, I feel anytime we are talking about establishing communities of vulnerability, particularly ones involving children and youth, a conversation about boundary and safeguards is always necessary (I would like my children to be part of communities that allow transparency, but do not demand disclosure) and Zirschky's critique of teenage curation could have made space for exploring the more positive aspects of privacy and discretion in revelation, even if he was completely right to call out the dark underbelly that often motivates this self-selection. However, on the whole this book is a good starting place for thinking about a faithful response to our kids as they search for true connection in a digital age.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zirschky presents the on-screen generation in a bit of a surprising way. While most Youth Ministry authors rail against the dangers of teenage lives conducted online, Zirschky digs a little deeper. He asserts that the reason teenagers scare blankly into the screen is their hunger for real relationships, something in short supply in American society. The implications for youth leaders, then, is neither to integrate flashing screens into Youth groups nor to ban all technology from teenagers lives. Youth leaders need to provide something social media promises and never delivers--authentic relationships.

I wanted Zirschky to give us more specifics: a plan to implement. To be fair, he offers a lot of examples and suggestions but leads us to experimentation as the core solution. Also, Zirschky has a circular style, coming back around to his core points over and over; I found that a little off-putting. But this book is so much worth the read.

[Heatherjoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love most about this book is the recognition that teenagers (and really all of us) are using smartphones because we desire relationships. We get to bring our people with us everywhere. I attended a youth retreat about two years ago that the speaker framed on social media apps with a tone of derision towards them. This book would be an appropriate corrective at understanding the hood and beautiful desires that incentivize using those apps. I also especially appreciated the author’s attention to practical ways of using the ubiquitous cell phones for good in church settings - not as flashy tech but as ways of building meaningful friendships.

I found the primary weakness of the book to be the high ecclesiology. And maybe that’s not so much a weakness of the book as the churches I’ve known, but I just kept thinking “where does he find so many mature adults ready to invest in teenagers in this congregation?” I think the picture of the ideal is good, but it does not match my experience. Too many people are either afraid of teenagers or want to remake them in their own image instead of inviting them to pay attention to who God has made them to be and how God is acting in their lives.

I’ll also offer that while he sets networked individualism as a teenage approach to relationships, I think the descriptor fits most of us who are alive today. It’s a helpful framework; it’s just not unique to the young. We’ve all shifted in the last couple decades.

[Daniel Mok]

The author suggest the teenage use of technology is an expression of their learning for relationships of presence. Social media and instant messaging provided a mean for selection of their social network that they could access easily. However, it also creating stress in order to maintain such network. Christian churches as the body of Christ provide an alternative (and more fulfilling) social network which is equal and accepting to all. It is important for the Church to have genuine fellowship in Christ and express the brotherly love via the new digital means to reach the new generation. The author certainly has a point in here to urge the Christian community to renew their practices (and ritual) according to the demand of the Lord in the internet era.

[Ike Unger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this book earlier. This book helped me to approach the use of technology in a new way. Koinonia is possible in this very social media driven world. This is what everyone wants. To be known and for people to acknowledge their presence.
This is what Jesus did over and over. He noticed and affirmed those others had abandoned.

[JD Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rooted in Trinitarian understandings of the community of the church, Zirschky builds on the latest research regarding adolescent use of social media to constructively reflect on how to creatively love our youth. A great book for anyone involved with ministering to youth in our churches today.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zirschky has written a very helpful book which goes way beyond the standard "kids these days" approach but asks much deeper and more important questions about youth culture.

[Matt Kinsinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're part of the generation that doesn't understand teens and cell phones and devices, this may give you a different perspective behind what drives their usage.

[Dave McNeely · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a very brief amount of space (less than 150 pages of text), Zirschky provides an excellent primer on the intersection between theology (especially ecclesiology) and technology in the lives of contemporary youth ministries. Rather than railing against invasive tech or uncritically adopting its newest incarnations, Zirschky offers a succinct but persuasive case for exploring, examining, and leveraging the motivations behind the tech usage of teens. The brevity of the book brings with it limitations and Zirschky's insights are uneven at times (for instance, the emphasis on epicletic practices is particularly insightful, while the excursus on 1 Corinthians, while sound, seems out of place). Nevertheless, it is precisely the brevity of the book that will make its insights accessible to a wider swath of youth workers (I'll be assigning this to my Intro to Youth Ministry class this year, for starters).

[Thaddaeus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just another book bemoaning social media

I must admit that the title initially caused apprehension as often times authors who tackle this topic can take an overly negative stance on the use of social media. But Zirschky offers a very balanced view that looks beyond the surface down to what is the underlying need that is driving the usage and dominance of social media in not just youth culture, but society overall. He also offers a way for the Church to respond to that relational need that is grounded in the theology and practice of communion. Given that aspect of the book, even though the target audience is youth ministers, I think there is wisdom to be gleaned by anyone interested in building and deepening relationships within the Church not just with youth, but across the spectrum in ways that don't necessarily require you starting an account on every social media platform.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though repetitive, this book is a must-read and easily one of my top youth ministry picks. I can look past the repetition because the points being made are important and worth repeating. You will not find lists of practical application here, but you will find a thorough assessment of the core of ministry, community, and our need/drive for relationships. Youth ministry is always about the whole church, not just an age group. I am thankful for more and more voices sharing this perspective. This is a book for the whole 21st c. church, not just youth ministry.