Barna Group - Greater Expectations: Succeed (and Stay Sane) in an On-Demand, All-Access, Always-On Age

ZONDERVAN

Greater Expectations

Copyright 2013 by Barna Group

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Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

ISBN 978-0-310-43336-1 (softcover)

EPub Edition DECEMBER, 2013: ISBN 978-0-310-43379-8

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Cover design and interior graphics: Amy Duty

Interior design: Kate Mulvaney

Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

BY BARNA GROUP

BY CLAIRE DIAZ-ORTIZ

BY DIANE PADDISON

These days, you probably find yourself with less time than ever.

Everything seems like its moving at a faster pace except your ability to keep up.

Somehow, you are weighed down with more obligations than you have ever had before.

Life feels more complicated. More complex.

If youre like most people, you probably have lots of questions about how to live a life that matters. You feel as though you have more to learn than can possibly be learned. But with smaller chunks of time and more sources of information than ever before, where can you turn for real insight and livable wisdom?

Barna Group has produced this series to examine the complicated issues of life and to help you live more meaningfully. We call it FRAMES like a good set of eyeglasses that help you see the world more clearly... or a work of art perfectly hung that invites you to look more closely... or a buildings skeleton, the part that is most essential to its structure.

The FRAMES Season 1 collection provides thoughtful and concise, data-driven and visually appealing insights for anyone who wants a more faith-driven and fulfilling life. In each FRAME we couple new cultural analysis from our team at Barna with an essay from leading voices in the field, providing information and ideas for you to digest in a more easily consumed number of words.

After all, its a fast-paced world, full of words and images vying for your attention. Most of us have a number of half-read or read someday books on our shelves. But each FRAME aims to give you the essential information and real-life application behind one of todays most crucial trends in less than one-quarter the length of most books. These are big ideas in small books designed so you truly can read less but know more. And the infographics and ideas in this FRAME are intended for share-ability. So read it, then find someone to frame with these ideas, and keep the conversation going (see Share This Frame on page ).

Furthermore, each FRAME brings a distinctly Christian point of view to todays trends. In times of uncertainty, people look for guides. And we believe the Christian community is trying to make sense of the dramatic social changes happening around us.

Over the past thirty years, Barna Group has built a reputation as a trusted analyst of religion and culture. We offer cultural discernment for the Christian community by thoughtful analysts who care enough to tell the truth about whats really happening in todays society.

So sit back, but not for long. With FRAMES we invite you to read less and know more.

DAVID KINNAMAN

FRAMES, executive producer

president / Barna Group

ROXANNE STONE

FRAMES, general editor

vice president / Barna Group

Learn more at www.barnaframes.com.

Did you check your phone for messages while you were still in bed this morning? Did you check it right before going to bed last night? If so, what do you think has shaped your current phone habits?

When was the last time you intentionally took a break several hours, a day, or more from online activity? How did you feel during and after that time away?

When you take a break at work, have to wait in line somewhere, or sit in a waiting room for an appointment, how likely are you to use that time to engage on social media?

How have you noticed your level of connectedness especially if you are always on hindering your productivity rather than helping it?

What off-line activities do you most enjoy? How do you intentionally make time for them?

What are some words you would use to describe the pace of your life right now? Are you satisfied with that pace or hoping to change it?

What types of activities scheduling, intentional breaks, exercise, list-making do you find help you to be the most productive and effective?

AND STRESSED OUT

More than half of adults felt physically or mentally overwhelmed at least once last month. An alarming one-fifth of adults say they felt that way five times or more. This number is particularly high among Millennials and women.

Here are some facts about life in an age of greater expectations:

More people have access to smartphones than toilets.

Three million new blogs come online every month.

The top 100 cat videos generate 1 million views per day on YouTube just cat videos.

Psychiatrists are beginning to identify Internet overuse as a psychological disorder.

If you ever check your smartphone before getting out of bed, log on to email on vacation, compare yourself to friends on Instagram, compulsively update your Twitter feed, or get overwhelmed with every buzz and beep of your digital armory this book is for you.

In our FRAMES survey, we asked people like you about their social media use and their sense of burnout. Heres what we found.