The problem with the Facebook/Myspace community is that it lives in cheap abundance, not invaluable scarcity. It provides the illusion that by being constantly in touch with a person, you can know them more; that by accepting a “friend request,” you have made a real life, human connection. You haven’t. Facebook allows us to have a broad network of “contacts,” but contacts are not humans (as Francois in My Best Friend comes to understand; as Voldemort in Harry Potter understands but scoffs at). Digital “friends” feel more useful than they do holy. Avatars can never compare to the real, precious physicality of a human being, just as the connections on “Face” book cannot compare to what is possible in actual face-to-face, soul-to-soul communication.Among other things, he notes that the scarcity of true, quality face-to-face time with other human beings is an important part of making those moments of interaction so meaningful. When we're interacting constantly with other people on Facebook or MySpace, we're settling for quantity of interaction over quality.
I think McCracken's onto something. I think that social networking and other internet communication tools are a great thing, but they're best understood as a supplement to real, meaningful human interaction. I bet most of us wouldn't trade a week spent face-to-face with a close friend for a year's worth of Facebook updates. I particularly like McCracken's emphasis on the spiritual aspect of human relationships--something that doesn't quite come across online.
Thoughts? Any MySpace/Facebook users want to take exception to the article?
Login to comment
Alternate Login
Use your social media account to login.
Login with your ReFrame account
Comments (1)
'real friend', cf 'Real Opportunity' to quickly and naturally get the groundwork established from comments and personal professions/confessions, for possible closer attachments in time ( can be risky but so are ALL other contact methods, including (ESPECIALLY including!) face-to-face work.
Trade a week's Face-to-Face for a year on FB? Truth is, you can achieve much of quite a few months' person to person work in much shorter time on FaceBook, and it IS a very natural process. Letter-writing and emailing have the same limitations as FaceBook, but with much less convenience(don't get all spiritual about convenience by the way, we all seek it and all use it, and rightly so.)
'Useful' vs 'holy'?, you surely jest. Usefulness is one of the prime ingredients of holiness. The Father is infinitely holy, needing nothing for anything (except relationship with us?!) so is useful beyond our dreams.
Avatars don't have to be 'compared' with 'face-to-face, soul-to-soul communication', the same as a paper or email letter isn't expected to equal or surpass to face-to-face contact, yet you wouldn't belittle either of those media, surely.
Any and almost all objectionable material can be screened out of a FB page, or 'wall.' Other people can be banished, absolutely and permanently from one's FB world if that is called for. Tiresome content, or 'contenders' cvan be hidden from the everyday pages but checked up on at any time.
One can restrict all or any communications to a very select few if necessary for 'holiness'. One great asset in applications like FaceBook, including the dismissed 'Avatar' is that it allows any desired level of anonymity, so the very meek and timid folk can still interact without fear of being victimised by the bold and brassy in our midst, Christians included.
In my experience, FB has opened the way for real and precious ongoing support and encouragement for us all and as such is becoming a wonderful tool of a Father with the most loving heart ever.
Given all that, watch out! Take control of what you accept as well as what you post, same as the rest of life.
Blessings