Our society is driven today largely due to an infatuation with an online presence. We are connected at our desk, on the road, in the air, at home, at play, at breakfast, lunch and dinner and all points in between. A significant piece of time is spent in online social environments, such as Facebook.
Facebook began in 2004 and according to recent stats has more than 800 million active users.More than 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
Average user has 130 friends
More than 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages)
Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events
On average, more than 250 million photos are uploaded per day
More than 70 languages available on the site
More than 75% of users are outside of the United States
Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application
On average, people on Facebook install apps more than 20 million times every day
Every month, more than 500 million people use an app on Facebook or experience Facebook Platform on other websites
More than 7 million apps and websites are integrated with Facebook. More than 350 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices
As one can quickly see, Facebook is a force to be reckoned with considering its popularity and use by hundreds of millions of people. Staying in touch with family, friends, co-workers and sharing communications (photos, videos, opinions, raves and rants and quite frankly sometimes TMI) is part of our society and culture.
Since Facebook or any other social media tool (Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, blogs, etc.) is neither a right nor wrong concept, then Christians can participate without violating the will of God.
“Like any piece of technology, Facebook is neutral – neither good nor evil. Its moral value will be decided by how we intentionally employ it. So, for Christians, what’s true for our behavior on Facebook is true for all of life: everything we do should be done to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31) (Christian Worldview Journal, May, 2010).
Using media or any other medium however, should not cause or encourage us to abandon our Christianity! Are we not to live after Christ all the time, online and offline, at worship, at home, at work, at the ball field, on vacation?
Christian Principles to Remember
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29). To cut to the chase, it is disappointing to say the least when Christians young and old use foul, obscene language online, in print, forever recorded. On occasion, parents removing it from their children’s posts are too late because many have already read it. “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth” (Colossians 3:8).
“Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:12). Talking trash, posting immodest photos, having friends that post unChristlike comments and statements on our feed is certainly feeding the devils appetite.
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Telling someone “off” or retaliating or humiliating another via unkind posts is not in keeping with what Jesus desires for His followers. Have we forgotten the “golden rule”?
“Bad friends will ruin good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NCV). No one is perfect, but God warns us in His Word to be careful in choosing our friends. Those whom we associate with can help us or hurt us. We may be deceived or led down the wrong path because of the influence of our friends. What do your friends post on Facebook? Do they curse in their posts? Do they write filthy sayings, jokes, or make derogatory statements about others? What kind of pictures are they posting? Drinking alcohol, giving the middle finger, profanity, encouraging a sinful lifestyle, immodest dress (both male & female), obscene music & movie lyrics, daily “woe is me” negativity, boasting and bragging, these are some of the disappointing pitfalls that have been witnessed on pages of Christians.
Facebook envy
The sin of envy has made such an impact that it has its own entry in the Urban Dictionary. “The feeling you get when you come across an old friend on Facebook and realize that their life turned out way better and is more interesting than yours” and “Used to describe people who encounter a social networking profile with more friends and feel upset about it” (UrbanDictionary.com).
Psychologist Dr. David Swanson has stated:
“What you put on display is how great your life is–the cars you drive, the vacations you go on. Nobody’s life is that perfect and so, whenever you start to compare your life to those images, you’re going to be depressed, because you’re going to feel like your life is lacking” (Study shows some suffer from ‘Facebook envy.’ cnet.com).
Another pointed out in the same article that
“Most of us tend to play up the positive aspects of our lives while excluding the negative. The result is that a Facebook profile never tells the whole story. And we end up comparing ourselves to a one-dimensional version of someone else’s life…and Alex Jordan, who led the studies while a Ph.D. student in Stanford’s psychology department, told CBS News, “If we could overcome the need to compare ourselves to other people–to keep up with the Joneses, then maybe these effects described (in the study) wouldn’t be a problem” (‘Facebook envy’. cnet.com).
Envy or jealousy is a negative feeling which causes one to look at another because they have something or are accomplishing something you are not. Coveting is related to envy since it is to desire what another has to the point that you will not only do whatever is necessary to attain it, you will also do whatever is necessary to keep another person from having it. You don’t covet their possessions without desiring that they do not have them either. “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (1 Peter 2:1).
Self-Comparison – The Pitfalls
As we navigate our way through the online social networks another danger we must be aware of is comparing our self to another in a way that is not edifying. One writer commented:
Do you base your happiness on how you stack up against a neighbor, a coworker, a sibling, a friend, or a celebrity? It is easy to think that if you had her body, her house, her knowledge, her husband, her job, her beauty, her intelligence, her personality or her money, that you’d be happy. But, that kind of thinking is a trap! When we compare ourselves with others, we presuppose that there is one right way to “be.” There isn’t. Everyone has great qualities. Everyone has great worth. And, everyone is different.
Another pitfall of this kind of thinking is that it makes comparing self with others a yardstick for self-esteem. If all of our worth is focused outside us, our self-esteem will rise and fall as external circumstances change. If we struggle with illness or aging and someone younger, richer, prettier, or smarter moves in next door, suddenly we feel worthless. And, that’s an unhappy way to live.
The truth is that there will always be someone who is better than we are in almost every area of life, just as there will always be someone who isn’t up to our level. So, we can’t compare ourselves with others without becoming either arrogant or insecure. You started life with a personalized package of gifts and challenges. No one else has lived your life, so, no one else can be compared with you—and visa versa (http://www.divinecaroline.com/22189/41826-rise-comparing-yourself-others).
Focusing on our uniqueness as individuals and how we must stay focused on what we can do with what we have been given will produce satisfaction and true happiness. If we focus ourselves on trying to be someone else we miss the true meaning of our individuality and existence. God created each of us with different talents, abilities, and opportunities. We should use what we have to His glory and not be depressed about what someone else has.
One Facebook user observed the challenge most of us face to keep our minds focused when we are reading about others.
The trouble with Facebook is that people’s lives often can come across as “perfect.” There’s the business contact that jets off to New York to meet with powerful media, the stay-at-home mom who spends hours in creative play with her children, the family that heads to Disney every spring break, the couple packing for a cruise. Everything is so…perfect. And sometimes, somewhere inside of me, attitudes like envy, discontentment, and ungratefulness, begin to creep out (http://www.christian-parent.com/finding-contentment-facebook-world).
Facebook Depression among Youth
The following lengthy quote sheds light on how social media can affect our youth. The American Academy of Pediatrics…issued a new clinical report, “The Impact of Social Media Use on Children, Adolescents and Families,”… detailing both the negative and positive effects of social media use on youth and families. The report points out that the number of preadolescents and adolescents using such sites as Facebook and MySpace has increased dramatically during the last five years.
Gwenn O’Keeffe, MD, FAAP, co-author of the clinical report, says social media, rather than face-to-face interaction, is the primary way some teens and tweens interact socially. “A large part of this generation’s social and emotional development is occurring while on the Internet and on cell phones,” she stated in the report.
“Facebook is where all the teens are hanging out now. It’s their corner store,” O’Keeffe illustrated, according to The Associated Press.
While the benefits of social media participation include staying connected with friends and family, making new friends, community engagement, and enhancement of creativity, the AAP report cautions that using the online sites becomes a risk to youths more often than most adults realize. Among the potential harms are cyber bullying, social anxiety, severe isolation, and now what doctors are identifying as Facebook depression.
“Acceptance by and contact with peers is an important element of adolescent life. The intensity of the online world is thought to be a factor that may trigger depression in some adolescents,” the report points out.
Facebook offers other unique features that could make it particularly tough for kids trying to fit in.
According to O’Keeffe, the number of Facebook friends, status updates and photos of happy people are some of the factors that could contribute to depression. It can be more painful than sitting alone in a school cafeteria, O’Keeffe said, as reported by APP.
For Rhett Smith, a therapist and part-time pastor to youth and families, the latest AAP report confirms what he and many others have been feeling. “One of the glaring paradoxes in my use of technology/social media, is that it has both the ability to make me feel connected and intimate with others, while at the same time feeling isolated, alienated and lonely,” he said in an earlier blog post. “Has all the technology relationally disconnected us in a sense, replacing the processes (befriending, getting to know each other, sharing life, etc.), where instead we just value the end results (number of followers, blog traffic, etc.)?”
The AAP warns that youths who do suffer from Facebook depression could turn to risky Internet sites for help – sites that promote substance abuse, unsafe sexual practices, or aggressive or self-destructive behaviors.
“Parents need to understand these technologies so they can relate to their children’s online world – and comfortably parent in that world,” O’Keeffe advised.
Moreover, parents need to recognize the reality of an increasingly digital world that their children are growing up in. (http://www.christianpost.com/news/facebook-depression-affecting-teens-report-says-49620/).
For further study on the Christian and Depression, see: http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/954-the-christian-and-depression.
Questions to Consider
The following questions serve to motivate us to think about our motives and actions as we interact through the various forms of social media.
To what degree should your parents supervise your social media accounts?
What do your profile and your profile picture say about you?
Why would you put your favorite music, books, and movies on your profile page?
Who are your “friends”? Do they encourage you in your Christian walk?
When you click the “like” button, are you approving of something sinful?
Are you so busy with Facebook that you procrastinate with your responsibilities at home, schoolwork, devotions, and other things?
Are you careful not to post gossip or unkind comments?
Before posting information, do you stop, think, and judge whether it is appropriate?
Are you willing to take a stand against the slander/backbiting of others, or point out to them that what they just did or said was wrong? Facebook or any medium that is public may not be the best avenue to correct a friend.
The book of Proverbs often warns against sloth. Does how much time we spend on Facebook indicate that we are lazy?
Social networking can be habitual and addictive. If you went on vacation and had no access to Facebook for a while, would this bother you? Upon returning home, do you feel you must check Facebook before doing anything else?
Christ-like Example
As we live and relate to others that we follow Jesus Christ, we know it is essential to strive to live the faithful Christian life to please God and influence those around us to follow Him too. “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2). Peter wrote that we are to follow in the steps of our Savior. How would Jesus use social media? “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Young people: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).
Time
How much time in a given day do I spend in social media? For what purpose? Does it pertain to my job? Just for fun? To “kill” some time? Could I budget my time in a more productive way?
R.C. Sproul has written:
I realize that all of my time is God’s time and all of my time is my time by His delegation. God owns me and my time. Yet, He has given me a measure of time over which I am a steward. I can commit that time to work for other people, visit other people, etc. But it is time for which I must give an account (Tabletalk Magazine, September, 1997).
Other considerations need to be evaluated in relation to our time online.
Facebook can also be a time-vampire: its free games and its endless stream of messages – often innocuous, sometimes indecorous – are a temptation to the ever-present procrastinator lurking inside the human breast. Unlike the privacy issues, these problems, however, are easily solved by a little self-discipline and common sense (http://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/columns/worldview/15251-christians-and-facebook).
Using Facebook and Social Media as a Positive Force
Christians have an awesome opportunity to use social media as a tool to encourage and edify other Christians as well as influence those who do not know Jesus. “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). We can share links to online sermons, studies, mission reports, good works and materials to help strengthen the faith of others and our own.
Use the mediums available to us in this generation to share the gospel. ”Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). When Jesus said “Go,” He gave us a generic command regarding the methods that can be employed in teaching the gospel of Christ to the lost. Will we not be held accountable for our use or non-use of the methods within our reach and control? Just as we are called upon to be good stewards of our time (Ephesians 5:16), we must also be cognizant of how we use the tools available in our generation.
Do you share the same philosophy as the Apostle Paul? “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God…just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved” (1 Corinthians 10:31, 33).
Final Thoughts
As Christians, we must stay current with new technologies and keep an open mind to how these new mediums can be used to promote our faith and spread the good news of Jesus Christ and His Gospel! It is a disservice to the church and the cause of Christ to conceive an “anti” attitude to new systems, technologies, services, or modern avenues that is neither right or wrong in and of themselves but determined by how they are employed.
I personally enjoy and am fascinated by the changes that are continually occurring in the way we live and communicate through innovations and technologies. We should embrace social media and other avenues and use them for the productivity they can provide and also the enjoyment they may bring when used for social interaction. As with everything else in our lives, let us remember to not leave our Christianity behind as we venture into the online world.
Steve Miller
