I had a great conversation with a college student recently about social networking. We were talking about the difficulties of Facebook and Twitter. I think the points of our conversation are worth mentioning.
1. Social networking is skewed like a first date. Most people who have a cent of wisdom do not post the nasty horrible things in their lives. What you see on their page about vacation and expensive adventures and toys may not paint the whole picture of their life and success. Remember, Facebook is often a virtual reality, not reality.
2. Some posts are not worth posting. Some people I have observed have actually started posting road rage, anger at their kids, and other frustrations. I often find myself avoiding Facebook because I honestly just don't want to know about a persons most recent horrible decision or disgusting conversation. Sadly, the things that are least virtual on social networking are the most disturbing. Real wounds and hurts can come from virtual actions.
3. Facebook friends may not be real friends. As we talked an instance came up where a Facebook friend proved not to be friendly, even avoiding, in an actual opportunity to say hello in a retail store. How can we be Facebook friends and not friends in real life? That is a little weird.
4. Deleting Facebook friends creates a strange psychological component. In real life, you can't really delete people. You can avoid people who are dangerous or harmful, but the idea of deleting friends is a little morbid when you really think about it. What kind of cultural norms are we creating unintentionally when we delete people?
Now it is time to post my blog entry and link it to Facebook. What an irony! As people who love Jesus, let's redeem technology for good. Make the most of every opportunity, even on line.
Be careful little thumbs what you tweet.
Be careful little fingers what you post.
Be a blessing today.
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