Watching the Making of Beloved Zombies

Sometimes art speaks the truer truth to real life. This is what I see too much in today’s teens.

Scott Erickson, https://scotterickson.substack.com/p/...

Remember I have been working with teens as a youth pastor since 1981. I have lived through many trends. This one concerns me a lot.

I have lived through the copycat suicides trend of the mid-1980s and that got better (really). Also the cutting trend of the 2010s. I’ve seen a lot of Satan’s tricks to take out our teens before they can make an impact for Jesus on this world.

Instead of death Satan is trying to take our teens by making them zombies to their screens.

I read this quote and am shocked/not shocked.

“I’d be willing to give every student in school a joint if I could take away their iPhone.” Dean of Discipline at a local Middle School.” –Mike Woodruff email, April 26, 2024

I have seen the damage marijuana has done to teens over the last 40+ years. I don’t buy any of this crap science how marijuana is now safe for you. I have seen too much destruction of marijuana use on teens and young adults. Another attempt of zombifying our teens. I read this quote and I get it…and am so alarmed.

Here’s some recent numbers of the zombification being allowed to happen to our teens:

97% of 13-year olds have access to a smartphone at home.99% of 13-year-olds report using social media.43% of 13-year-olds agree that they are “addicted” to their phone. (20% agree or disagree to that statement.) This number could be higher. Springtide Research.

Let’s add in AI companions. According to a recent Common Sense Media survey, 72% of teenagers ages 13 to 17 have interacted with an AI companion, and 52% are regular users. Common Sense Media survey.   

We have a thing called bedrotting now. (Thank you, TikTok?) Bedrotting means spending long stretches of time in bed doing nothing “productive”—often scrolling on your phone, watching shows, or just lying there. You know…rotting in your bed.

I know teens who bedrot. I know teens lie to me but they aren’t lying to me about this. Unless the time spent bedrotting is longer than what they are telling me. Teens are also concerned—sometimes—that they are bedrotting.

I have seen this screaming face on 11-year old girls.

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A post shared by Jonathan Haidt (@jonathanhaidt)

To not tell on the teens in my life I’ll share this sad quote:

“’It’s a trap,’ said her sister Edie, 15. ‘Do you know why I still sleep with stuffed cuddly toys? To try to get back to how I used to feel when I felt happy and free. Before all this s— kicked in.’” https://www.afterbabel.com/p/smartphone-free-camp-trip

Here’s a Jon Haidt quote: 

“We note that the first generation to move its social life onto social media platforms immediately became the loneliest generation on record.” https://www.afterbabel.com/p/the-upstream-cause-of-the-youth-mental

Yikes. Help. Let’s talk.

Because I feel helpless with my teens I love also.

Scott Erickson, the artist behind the artwork above wrote this about the artwork:

“’The eye is the lamp of the body.
If your eyes are good,
your whole body will be full of light.’
– JC

“This ancient wisdom is so practical today.

“Billions of dollars are being made to capture your eyes… and implant imagery in your head…. and make us think and do stuff… mostly buy stuff and make strangers enemies.

“Lately I’ve been saying every day…. ‘pick your clicks’….

“because whatever I’m spending time looking at is filling up my head, heart, and soul.”

How can you learn to pick your clicks? How can you teach your children to learn to pick their clicks?

There are so many internet resources for you as parents to learn to do better with your own screen use and how to teach your children to not become zombified. I will leave you with my two favorites:

The Analog Family

For the Sake of the Good

Not many answers for you. Just my red-alarm concerns. I am very concerned. I need parents to become concerned. Between prayer (on it!) and parental intervention I hope I can say that this trend has passed too one day .

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