Hey remember, when social media was fun!? I remember back when I used to post inane things about my food and fun little things going on in my daily life. It was kinda fun, and I assumed that there were only a few people who really cared and anybody who thought I over-posted could just hide me from their feed.
Just like any gathering of people, social media has turned a bit more divided. My news feed on Facebook looks like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are my only two friends. Political rants laced with anger and fear cozied up next to cute pictures of puppies in a box with bows on their heads.
I am not blogging to try to change any of that. But I am just pointing toward a trend for any form of communication to reveal the heart quickly. Jesus told us that what proceeds from the mouth got its start in the heart. As much as we may try to project a specific image of ourselves through social media, we eventually spill out.
I find it a challenge to keep a balance between serious posting and just frivolous or humorous posting. Even that I can write that previous sentence shows that I am making effort to consider what I do and do not share. And just like any form of communication, we must recognize that everything we write is supposed to be with a mind toward communicating with other people. The anonymity of a screen with a keyboard can lull us into forgetting who we are communicating with.
The social side of social media has expanded our ability to communicate with many people we either lost track of or just didn’t see regularly. It exponentially increased our ability to communicate, but it cannot answer the question, “what is worth communicating?” Even as I blog I am reminded that I am looking at a screen writing, with very little knowledge of who will actually read this.
There is something funny, strange, and very telling about our culture, that we value self-expression enough to put words and picture out there about ourselves, without even being sure if anyone is there listening. But we wait for the likes, we wait for the comments, we wait for affirmation that someone is out there listening.
It seems like less was at stake in the beginning, when we were all posting pictures of our cat playing with a string. But now that everyone seems to be trying to make their water tight case as to why one candidate or the other will destroy the earth, social media is kinda starting to be a chore. Maybe it is time for a break? And in case anybody actually read this, I just shared with you a piece of my heart . . . you’re welcome.
I actually do read your blog mainly because you are my pastor and I want to know what is on your heart and mind regarding our community. I still like “liking” and sometime “commenting” on pictures and frivolous things. But facebook mainly for me is gaining information on things in short snippets. If something is really interesting I will go to the home page of the newsfeed. I think facebook is mostly a waste of time, in fact all of social media is a waste of time. I rather waste my time doing things I really enjoy doing, like playing majong or watching TV.