Running around, singing “This is Halloween, this is Halloween” as I clean and pack. [Fri]“What did you do to your face?” It’s a piercing Mr. Greeter Man. Thanks for welcoming me to church on Christmas Eve; it’s nice to see you too! [Sat]Opening gifts at my grandparent’s - I just unwrapped a bottle of flea shampoo. Hmm, either I’m getting a puppy or ... [Sun]When asked where they’d like to go for lunch, my sisters responded. “Can we get salad? We never have fresh vegetables.” =/ [Mon]I think I just ate a battered fried moth. Oh, and my failed attempt to make churros saved others from consuming my new delicacy. [Tues]
This week I have been doing a bit of a social media fast. Instead of tweeting or updating my status, I took note of what I would have shared.
Did reading those positively impact your life in any way? Did they cause you to ponder an important question? Did they inspire you to be a better person? Did they share any interesting knowledge?
No. What I share online mostly provides relatively useless information about my life.. and, perhaps, some intrinsic satisfaction as I amuse myself and marvel at my ability to construct sentences.
Funnily enough, I also fought the urge to share this video. It may enrich your life a little more than discovering I consumed a moth yesterday.
I’m currently reading a book by Tim Challies called The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion. Concerning the sharing phenomenon, he writes:
“Before social media, we didn’t think to keep a moment-by-moment breakdown of our days and to broadcast this to the world. Before social media, we would not have cared to read it. Yet today many of us update our Facebook status and Twitter streams with near-religious fervor, almost as if we have not actually experienced anything until we’ve told others about it … what we haven’t shared with the world seems like it has hardly been experienced at all” (pp. 70-71)
While I finish this book and continue evaluating my heart toward social media, I'll leave you with that quote and a few questions to ponder with me. I’m asking myself: “Why am I on Twitter and Facebook? What am I sharing online? What are my motives for sharing it? Is social media an idol in my life? How do my posts glorify God? How can I use my presence online to further advance His Kingdom?”
Later this week, I’ll share some of my conclusions and my plans regarding social media in the upcoming year. In the meanwhile, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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