Happy Reformation Day everyone! I recently had an article passed along to me from the Washington Post about the trends of online friendship and communication in American culture. I've been involved in several discussions about this lately from the practical to the absurd, but at the end of the day it is something that must be considered. You can read the entire article here, but there were some helpful insights like this section:Liana Castro, a junior in the literary media department of Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, said having an online social life intesified the drama in her real life. She routinely heard from people who complained they weren't designated as one of her top eight friends. "People would be like, 'why am I not in your top eight?' " With 279 online friends, Castro caught so much grief she changed the site so it only listed four family members. Her profile also landed her in hot water when a boy she didn't like kept asking to be her online friend. "I kept deleting the message," she said. "He got mad."Obviously, this isn't the case for everyone but it does beg the question of who our friends are in a world like this. I know this is a bit of a double standard for dishing out my thoughts here, but understand that this is something I regularly touch on with those I teach every week. I often use instant messenger or my new fav, "Google Talk" to keep up with people I don't see as often as I would like. I have buddy lists, friend walls, and the like, but at the heart of all this is people staying connected. While there are benefits to this new technology, it comes with some growing concerns, many of which this article points out. In some ways, we have watered down the meaning of friendship to what many would call an acquaintance or, "hey I met that person once at a party", "had a class with them", or "have something in common with them." How many people on your friend list do you turn to when things get tough or (if they are believers) how many do you confide in about the inner activity of your heart so they can pray for you?
This also goes beyond definitions of friendship to how we interact with one another. The temptation is to deal with issues such as confrontation online because it is in some ways easier, but this is a temptation we must not fall to because it puts up barriers of meaningful exhange between people, whether that be affirmation or confronting with the truth in love. I believe that a growing love for God will be reflected in meaningful relationships with others as well. Think about Paul's letters in which he would long to see and spend time with those he had shared his life. "But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you— I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy." I Thes. 2:17-20. These feelings from God's messenger wouldn't change if he had text messaging or instant messenger. We should strive for that kind of devotion to God and to others and maybe one sophomore in the article is on to something.
"Over time, people are going to get sick of talking to people on the computer," he said. "I just think people will want to spend more time with each other -- without the wall of technology."To that I say, "amen". Communication online can be helpful, especially if you are in a situation like us or want to keep tabs on some people you know. But don't exchange meaningful and deepening friendships that are more F2F (face to face) for the sake of convenience, you won't be SRY, that is IMHO... G2G, TTYL, TTFN :)
