Dr. Moore:
We’ve been warned that social media can distract us, shorten our attention spans, disconnect us from real-life relationships. Now a new study suggests that Facebook might also be making us miserable. I suspect there’s something to this, and it’s not just about Facebook. It’s about our churches.
Read the rest here.
I think he’s on to something. I tried to find the rest of the article, but I don’t see a link. Am I missing something?
I’ll start by saying that I think Facebook can be a great tool for networking, sharing pictures, and encouraging others. However, I find that it’s very tempting to compare myself to others on Facebook. (ie. Am I as involved as others? Is my life as fun? Do people like me?) It’s not an accurate picture of anyone’s life to take the best moments and pictures and only present those for others to see. Pastor Vroegop called something similar “plastic church”.
Also, it reminds me of the part in Prince Caspian where Lucy spies on her friends and hears their conversation. Is it really any better to “eavesdrop” on Facebook?
Interesting perspective. When I read the title of your post, before reading Mohler’s article, I came to an entirely different conclusion. I’ve often thought that social networking makes me “sadder” because I’m much more aware of the needs and hurts of others, and I too easily allow them to become burdens. I sometimes carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. Dumb. I know. BUT…I’ve been concerned for a while that discontentment can be unintentionally nurtured in the hearts of many younger women by the multitude of blogs that showcase beautiful homes and families. If I were younger, I can see how I would be “sadder” about my life if I compared it with the images they portray. I even worry that people may think I live in “paradise”…so I try to emphasize over and over again that my photos are an example of uncovering “life’s mercies” amid the thorns.
Patricia, those are wise insights. I am thankful that you stress that point in your writings. It is so easy to look in the window of someone’s blog or writings or seminar at a conference and picture that someone’s grass is so much greener.
“Nobody is as happy as he seems on Facebook. And no one is as “spiritual” as he seems in what we deem as “spiritual” enough for Christian worship. Maybe what we need in our churches is more tears, more failure, more confession of sin, more prayers of desperation that are too deep for words.”
I’m down with this…
I’m tired of plastic Christianity.