I’m sure many of us use Facebook & Twitter to stay connected, reach out, engage, inform and maybe even “spy” on what are students are up to outside of church. Even so, it’s equally important to learn and understand the culture our students are engaging in–e.g., music, movies, etc. It’s sometimes not enough to check the Top Ten on iTunes and most of us, especially volunteers don’t have the time to rent every movie and download every Top Ten song. What if there was a way that you could find what specific songs and specific movies really connect with specific student? Good news, you can!

My observations have been that most students (I’m speaking specifically about High School & Middle School) don’t use Facebook or Twitter in the same way those of us in our 20′s, 30′s and older. We tend to play games like Farmville, share photos and videos, share web links we find interesting or in some cases stalk our old school friends–ok, maybe not a good idea. Students tend to use Facebook to express themselves through influences of music and movies just like we did when we were younger–except we used different outlets.

I’ve found that many students simply quote songs and movies lines in their status updates, which I’ll admit, I don’t even know what some of the songs are from just reading the lyrics or movies quotes. All I know is that it’s a random status update in the form of a lyric. Students will also post lyrics and quotes on their friends profiles almost like having a conversation. Have you experienced this? It’s very easy to see where the lyric came from by copying the status update and pasting it into Google search. Instantly you can see who the artist or movie is they are quoting. Most students don’t give the artist credit, partly I think, because it’s unimportant to them who sang it but what the students meaning behind the lyric. It’s a great window into what’s popular out there among your specific students as well as get a better understanding of some of the issues they might be expressing through lyrics via their status updates. Here’s some examples I’ve found from students in the past week:

“Do you think I’m special? Do you think I’m nice? Am I bright enough to shine in your spaces? Between the noise you hear And the sound you like Are we just sinking in an ocean of faces?” -One Republic

“Some moments bring us together and some moments tear us apart. Some moments change us forever” – Remember Me

“There’s a field near the dream I watched it grow with brightest eyes I watched us all reach out and leave For the strength as we touched the sky” – Angels and Airwaves

What have been your experiences?

Kevin Cooper is a youth worker and media junkie from Dublin, Ohio. He mini-blogs and Twitters right here.