Anti-Social Media

“I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face…”  III John 13-14a

If we were to read this verse as it might be written in today’s vernacular, it might go something like this:  “I had a lot to tell you, but it was too much to put into a text, so I will tell you the next time I see you”(that is, if I can remember what it was!)  Social media has been a phenomenon that has spread like wildfire over the last few years with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, texting, and e-mails being the main means of long and short distance communication.  They have their place in our fast-paced high-tech world, but they have done a disservice to personal fellowship one with another.  That’s why I call it “anti-social media”.

Social media platforms have given folks an excuse for ignoring others.  If the recipient of a text doesn’t want to answer another, he or she just ignores the text or e-mail.  Even phone calls are not answered.  How many times have you seen others pull out their phones when they ring, look at the caller ID, and then not answer the phone or how many times have we done that ourselves?  If it is a scam call or a robocall, it makes sense not to answer it, but when it is someone that we know, it seems rude to not answer.  What if that same person walked up to us in person and asked us a question, and we turned and walked away?  If we are in the middle of a business meeting or some other situation which calls for our attention, it is understandable to not answer, but the call should be returned even if we don’t want to return it.  It could be important or maybe not, but there was a reason why that particular person called us.  What if Jesus ignored our prayers because He didn’t want to listen to us?  That’s quite frightening.

I have never been on Facebook.  I used to post on Twitter, but there was so much hateful rhetoric and things in which I had no interest, I stopped.  I advertised my blog on Twitter but received very few hits from that platform realizing that many who post on Twitter have no interest in spiritual things, particularly God’s word.  I probably had five hits over a two-year period of time from the Twitter sphere.  One other thing about social media is that you never know what is true and what is false, and that is also true about the internet.  I suppose that the devil loves the internet and social media because they both advance his agenda of lies, deceptions, and turmoil among the world’s inhabitants.  We hear of bullying, particularly among young people, that has had some disastrous results.  Social media has also been used to plan attacks and other events which are harmful or even deadly.  We have traded peace, harmony, and personal fellowship for the modern convenience of social media and the internet, not that things were highly peaceful prior to these high-tech methods of communication, but they certainly haven’t made it any better.  Once we hit the apex and began sliding down that slippery slope into the abyss of confusion and disorder (Matthew 10:21; 24:10), there’s likely no going back.  I wish I could write that things were great, all lollipops and puppy dogs, but that is only a pipe dream, an unrealistic view of the world.

Social media also contributes to isolation from family and friends which can lead to a drifting apart from those we love the most.  Also, there is no privacy any longer.  Everyone doesn’t need to know what we are doing at any given point in time.  We feel like we are being watched all the time, and there is some truth to that.  Looking online for a product will cause ads for that product to pop up for weeks.  I realize that social media is here to stay, but perhaps folks will eventually long for face to face, open and honest communication with one another and display care, comfort, and compassion in a personal way.  One can only hope.