My wife and I went to a Fort Wayne Komets game last night. It is one of her favorite date activities. Our seats were right behind a large row of teenagers.
While most people would probably be perturbed and frustrated that by chance they had to sit behind a raucous group of teenagers, I was not. Whether these students knew it or not I was going to enjoy watching and evaluating their behavior.
Kim and I enjoyed dissecting their behavior and interpreting what type of clique or family background we would place each student. You can learn a lot from a person by sitting right behind them!
One of the greatest advantages of working with teenagers is that you are on the cutting edge of culture and relevancy. Most advertisements are geared toward reaching a younger audience. What teenagers are doing today their parents will be doing tomorrow. For example, Facebook was the rage in college circles when I was in college. As soon as parents started using Facebook younger people went to other social media outlets such as Twitter. Now I am finding that Twitter is starting to be infiltrated by the older generation as I am watching teenagers gravitate toward Instagram and Snapchat.
Instagram and Snapchat is the perfect app for teenagers. In a snapshot and visual world teenagers can communicate by sending pictures back and forth. If you want to learn about the newest social media trends, clothing styles, and music all you have to do is watch a group of teenagers.
Here's my point: Teenager's don't care if you understand and dress in the same style as they do. They prefer you to be authenticate and genuine. What is important is that you are not "out of touch" in understanding the fragmented world in which they live. To reach people you must understand their world!
This is one of the biggest reasons I visit local schools. It keeps me fresh and relevant. This past Wednesday I was unable to visit Goshen High-School and I heard about it from many teenagers at youth group that night. I have promised myself that regardless of age I will always watch, talk to, and interact with teenagers. It will keep my preaching and teaching relevant and understandable.
Let me encourage you when you go to a sporting event, movie, or other event that has teenagers to watch and take notes on a group of teenagers that you are sitting by. You may learn more then you thought! I'd love to hear what you noticed.
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