Ah, here we go, a conspiracy nut-job! I can understand casting a sidewards glance at someone claiming social media is a 'tool of the devil.' I'm not quite saying that, but please hear me out. One of my observations is that as humans we are sensitive to being distracted. I think there's a deception going on in consumerism to have us seek the product not the source (see last blog.) The Facebook issue is similar but has a subtle difference.
Where consumerism has more to do with commodities, Facebook has to do with how we operate as people. A product may make my life more enjoyable , convenient or pleasurable. Facebook involves value systems and things that metric our identity. More so in young people, adults still get involved in the comings and goings of 'what people think.' But is it more than that?
Even if you are the resilient type like me and 'aren't too bothered' what people think about you, I have a question for myself: Is Jesus the source of my value, worth and identity? To be fair its not just Facebook that attacks these but Facebook is as directly aimed at these things that we think. What are the negative potentials of Facebook?
Our standing as an individual on this earth has to be managed. At the moment Facebook is managing that for a lot of people. Media has always done it: Do I measure up? Am I the right weight? Am I 'in' or 'out' of the current social trends? What sort of person am I? Will I be attractive to someone? All the time value systems go back and forward. As people question these things it leaves a vulnerability in the human psyche. Then people are more open to allowing someone saying the right things to get them on board. That they have defaulted to a human for this assessment is bad enough. Identity and its components are eroded as people engage Facebook... a social media tool that measures, assesses and creates value systems for the user.
Are masses of people training to not have an opinion? Are masses of people being schooled in just opting for that which ticks the boxes of the core self's need to fit? Media has always been calibrated to nudge the sensual aspects... that why we are consumers. But if there's a danger that the way we internally work becomes dependent on a 'product' that affirms our life and existence? The next step is for people (or a person) to come and do that. Do you smell danger?
So what's the answer, stop Facebook? No... it can be useful also! I'm going to post this on Facebook ! The thing to do is to anchor yourself to Jesus Christ. Make another daily effort to find out what he says about you and believe that. Purposely take Jesus' opinions to heart over and above the friends on Facebook. Manage your self, allow God to work in your core being and look after what time you put into potential dangers.
But how is Facebook different than interacting with people? We can make people's opinions central to our core self also. The difference if that with social media you are not engaging human interaction. Human interaction has a dynamic that aids the journey of a person's development. Social media means we can react / respond in any way.
Human interaction means we have to engage another person in real time. Many may prefer the ability to 'hide' behind technology. This may seem a better option but the danger is that the person doesn't learn the skills of communication, negotiation, use of appropriate language and a whole range of skills we acquire through personal interaction. You don't need social skills to type a message into Facebook. Imagine a society that doesn't know how to engage another person. Imagine a society that responds to a call to 'follow me' with ok lol.
Gary Ward
Where consumerism has more to do with commodities, Facebook has to do with how we operate as people. A product may make my life more enjoyable , convenient or pleasurable. Facebook involves value systems and things that metric our identity. More so in young people, adults still get involved in the comings and goings of 'what people think.' But is it more than that?
Even if you are the resilient type like me and 'aren't too bothered' what people think about you, I have a question for myself: Is Jesus the source of my value, worth and identity? To be fair its not just Facebook that attacks these but Facebook is as directly aimed at these things that we think. What are the negative potentials of Facebook?
Our standing as an individual on this earth has to be managed. At the moment Facebook is managing that for a lot of people. Media has always done it: Do I measure up? Am I the right weight? Am I 'in' or 'out' of the current social trends? What sort of person am I? Will I be attractive to someone? All the time value systems go back and forward. As people question these things it leaves a vulnerability in the human psyche. Then people are more open to allowing someone saying the right things to get them on board. That they have defaulted to a human for this assessment is bad enough. Identity and its components are eroded as people engage Facebook... a social media tool that measures, assesses and creates value systems for the user.
Are masses of people training to not have an opinion? Are masses of people being schooled in just opting for that which ticks the boxes of the core self's need to fit? Media has always been calibrated to nudge the sensual aspects... that why we are consumers. But if there's a danger that the way we internally work becomes dependent on a 'product' that affirms our life and existence? The next step is for people (or a person) to come and do that. Do you smell danger?
So what's the answer, stop Facebook? No... it can be useful also! I'm going to post this on Facebook ! The thing to do is to anchor yourself to Jesus Christ. Make another daily effort to find out what he says about you and believe that. Purposely take Jesus' opinions to heart over and above the friends on Facebook. Manage your self, allow God to work in your core being and look after what time you put into potential dangers.
But how is Facebook different than interacting with people? We can make people's opinions central to our core self also. The difference if that with social media you are not engaging human interaction. Human interaction has a dynamic that aids the journey of a person's development. Social media means we can react / respond in any way.
Human interaction means we have to engage another person in real time. Many may prefer the ability to 'hide' behind technology. This may seem a better option but the danger is that the person doesn't learn the skills of communication, negotiation, use of appropriate language and a whole range of skills we acquire through personal interaction. You don't need social skills to type a message into Facebook. Imagine a society that doesn't know how to engage another person. Imagine a society that responds to a call to 'follow me' with ok lol.
Gary Ward
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