The World You Grew Up In is Gone: How Society is Rapidly Changing

In fact, unless you’re under 25, the world into which you’re born doesn’t really exist anymore.

You may have heard of the Beloit College Mindset list. It comes out every year and often makes the news.

The list is designed to get college faculty (and others) into the headspace of the entry class of mostly 18-year-olds. Essentially, it’s a tutorial on how much the world has changed since the people who will be teaching that class were in college.

It’s changed for church leaders, too—radically. So, what happens when church leaders move on, unaware of what’s happening around them?

The world is changing at a pace faster than ever before. Technology, culture, norms, work – almost every aspect of society is rapidly transforming from what it was just a decade or two ago. This can make many feel unsettled, like the world they knew growing up has suddenly vanished.

Accelerating Technological Change

Perhaps the biggest driver of change has been advancements in technology. The internet, mobile devices AI, automation – these have revolutionized how we communicate, shop, work, travel and entertain ourselves. Consider that

Smartphones have only been around since 2007 but are now ubiquitous. Teens today have never known a world without mobile internet access.
Social media took off in the late 2000s and has drastically changed how we interact. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok simply didn’t exist 15 years ago.
Music and film distribution has moved to streaming. Buying CDs or renting DVDs used to be the norm but feels antiquated now.
E-commerce has exploded with Amazon and others. Retail shopping is declining as delivery services bring everything to our doorstep.

The list goes on. New technologies emerge constantly making the world feel unfamiliar and accelerated compared to our youth.

Shifting Cultural Norms and Values

Along with technological change, cultural norms and values have also transformed:

Views on privacy have eroded as personal data is shared online. Surveillance via devices is commonplace.
Gender roles and norms are being redefined. Conceptions of identity have expanded.
Trust in institutions like government, media, and religion has declined. More people describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”
Focus on experiences has grown while material consumption is seen as less important by younger generations. Travel and “instagrammable moments” are prioritized.
Focus on health and wellbeing has increased. Diets, exercise routines, and self-care practices markedly differ from the past.

These are just some examples of how culture and lifestyles have changed. Individuality and self-expression are emphasized more. Again, this can make the world feel foreign to those who grew up differently.

The Nature of Work is Changing

Not only how we live, but how we work has transformed. Consider:

Automation is replacing many routine, manual jobs. Factory and clerical work has declined.
Offices and set working hours are less relevant. Remote work and flexible schedules have grown enormously.
Job switching is far more common than staying with one employer like in the past. Younger generations expect to change careers frequently.
Hustle culture and side gigs are pervasive, especially for younger workers piecing together income. The 9-5 job feels antiquated.
Required skills are evolving as workplace technology changes what humans need to do. Technical and digital literacy are crucial.

The stable, predictable corporate career and workplace has faded. Work is increasingly flexible, precarious, and technology-dependent.

Coping with a Changed World

This vastly changed world can be disorienting. But there are ways to cope:

Embrace learning and curiosity. Don’t resist change – lean into it. Keep educating yourself on new technologies and cultural shifts.
Focus on transferable skills. Adaptability, critical thinking, creativity, communication – these skills apply even as specific jobs transform.
Connect with meaning and community. Find purpose and belonging amidst instability. Seek timeless values and human bonds despite external changes.
Take care of mental health. Change can be stressful. Make self-care, digital boundaries, and healthy relationships a priority.

While we cannot control the pace of change, we can control our responses. The world you grew up in may be gone, but by facing the future with openness, purpose, and care for our wellbeing, we can still thrive.

the world you grew up in is gone

7 Changes You Need to Know About Culture

We seem a lot angrier than we used to be. Not to mention polarized.

Back in 2010, Twitter wasn’t the rant-machine it’s become today. Nope, it was still something you posted your food pictures on and used to connect with friends and share ideas.

But as culture and politics have become more tribal, polarized, and factional, many people have noticed that anger seems to get you noticed. So does positioning yourself against your (horrible) opponents. And what has all this noticing got us? More alienated.

Anger, we’re learning, can get you heard, even if you have nothing to say. Sadly, we’ve also discovered that hate generates more clicks than love.

I outlined five reasons that anger is the new epidemic here.

So what can you do about it? Here’s a radical suggestion: become a healthier leader.

We’re already seeing a big move away from toxic bosses, abusive workplaces, and lower tolerance for aberrant behavior. As divided and divisive as many public leaders are now, that allows huge room in the middle for leaders with solid character and reasonable, rational views that actually still resonate with most people.

Our unhealthy culture is hungry for healthy leaders. Be one of them. Lead with dignity, integrity, trust, and humility. You might be surprised at the response you get over time.

The Show No Longer Captivates

If you’re over 30, you remember the church of your childhood was probably trying to be ‘contemporary’. They just weren’t very good at it.

Church often provided a fairly low level of excellence in terms of singing, production, and sometimes, speaking.

That has changed massively.

With the connection that’s happened online, many preachers and musicians have become so much better at their craft. Production levels have soared at local churches.

And it’s not enough.

I mean, it’s good that we’re doing things well. But reaching people is about more than just doing what you do with excellence.

It used to be that great preaching and great music grew a church.

Now it’s more like the cost of doing business.

Bad preaching and bad music can kill a church, but great preaching and great music don’t automatically generate church growth.

Something more fundamental is shifting. And it’s not all bad. In fact, it could be the rebirth of the church based on God’s movement and activity.

Cool church is dying (here’s why), and something else is connecting with young adults in its place (I wrote about that here).