Digital versus Development

By Hally Franz –

Each year around this time, there is a request issued to us parents by my children’s school principal. It’s time to collect the year’s photos for the upcoming awards and graduation program, and the yearbook to be compiled over the summer. Soon, I am ordering 499 prints for a processing total of $90.06

I have a digital camera, and I love it. I am not really a photographer, but anyone can come up with some nice photographic memories in this modern age. I take pictures regularly, but I fail to develop them very often. So, when the annual summons for pictures comes, I clear my “chips” or “disks” for the first time since last year’s picture call.

This round of pictures included two family trips, several 4-H activities, a couple class parties, several school field trips, a Christmas program, my niece’s birthday party and more. Why snap sparingly when you aren’t paying for film?

There are several great things about digital photography. First, we can take as many shots as needed to get the photo just right. If the photograph is out of focus, delete the bad shot and try again. There is no cost or consequence in making the correction and eradicating inferior pictures. It’s simple, and there is no evidence left behind of poorly-centered shots or closed eyes. The process is easy, even more so for young people, who have no fear of technology. Experience isn’t required for relative success.

But life isn’t digital. When we or our children make a mistake, we can’t just delete bad tries and go on. If our focus becomes unclear and distorted, lasting impressions will remain in our memories and the minds of those around us. Sometimes those bad “images” cause us very real problems, possibly costing time and work to repair. Learning to make each shot in life takes maturity and experience. It’s a process of development far more than a process of trial-and-error. And, it isn’t always possible to keep trying until we get it right; sometimes, we have only one shot.

We must teach our young people to be cautious in their actions and prudent about their choices, seeking advice of their parents, family and church members, and Heavenly Father. In a digital world, let’s remember to teach our young people that real life isn’t always that way.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help today’s parents impress upon our children the seriousness of the choices they face each day. As we demonstrate patience and understanding toward our young people, help us also to encourage discernment as they approach each day in our digital society.

“Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly” (Proverbs 15:21 NKJV).