148 leadership In spite of all the technological advancements made to expand and improve ways of communication, some found it harder than ever to understand and relate to more technologically savvy groups. Parents and older generations had difficulty when it came to connecting with younger generations who had been saturated with improving technologies and media. In an attempt to help bridge this cultural gap, The Institute of Church and Family and TC Magazine started a program called SYNC/SWIM, which was designed to inform and educate adults about the world that teenagers lived in. The main purpose of the SYNC/SWIM program was to help adults get in tune with teens and in turn help them travel down the right path. Brandon Tittle, assistant director for The Institute of Church and Family and one of the three members that comprised the SYNC/SWIM team, recognized the need for better communication between older and younger generations. “We just know that a lot of parents are disconnecting from their teens, so we try to help them connect,” Tittle said. The SYNC/SWIM group traveled to different churches and conventions to show movie clips, commercials, explain social networking and text messaging to help adults understand the teenage world. Laura Edwards, managing editor of TC Magazine, said that to prepare for each presentation, the group gathered information in advance from students in the area that they would be visiting. This ensured that the information they presented to adults would be relevant to their own kids. “We use interviews and surveys from students and then [incorporate] that information [into the presentations],” Edwards said. On the weekend of Sept. 19-21, the SYNC/SWIM team went to Hiram, Ga., for an international conference. These seminars typically lasted around six hours. “Our weekend seminar with the SYNC/SWIM team was an eye opener for those generations removed from our teenagers,” said Glenn Organ, a Nichols Street church of Christ elder from Bay City, Texas. “Their presentation depicting the world teenagers live in today was factual, revealing and even shocking to those who don’t live in their world. The challenges presented to parents, grandparents, elders and ministers were carefully and well documented.” The SYNC/SWIM group hoped that understanding the type of world that teenagers lived in would give parents and older generations an opportunity to help guide teens. “Youth workers and parents want to build a wall around teens, but we’re trying to help them understand pop culture so that they can help teens navigate it,” Edwards said. SYNC/SWIM sought to provide information for parents and older generations as they struggled to reach out and influence the younger people in their lives. “They can’t help if they’re oblivious,” Edwards said. The feedback that SYNC/SWIM received indicated that they accomplished their mission to enable more effective communication across generations. “Anyone raising teenagers or concerned with their survival in an alien world will profit from SYNC/SWIM,” Organ said. Katie Fittz and Emily Hauptli Connecting
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