Drama, intimacy, and vulnerability: the spiritual challenges of digital culture

Abstract

The ever-increasing engagement of children and youth in social media and gaming activities online has created new challenges for scholars and practitioners of children’s spirituality. Bringing psychosocial and media studies research on the phenomena of adolescent ‘drama’ and morality, cyberbullying, and the vulnerable adolescent’s desire for intimacy and community into conversation with ideas about and practices for children’s spiritual nurture is essential work. Questions about the positive and negative influences of digital participation on moral imagination, levels of aggression and prosocial behaviours in social media communication, and the extent to which intimate relationships can be developed online are key concerns to be explored in this article.