Stephen Crosby comments

Stephen Crosby

A few generations ago, voices were raised in opposition to a new-fangled contraption that was noisy, belched foul fumes, put people out of work, scared women and children, and ruined the quality of life. This nefarious device, the ruination of societal bliss, was the automobile.

Some technological advances seem inevitable. Being ill disposed toward them makes about as much sense as resenting gravity for ruining my opportunity to be a bird. I hope the substance of my grievance with the technological inevitably of this age runs deeper than a cranky curmudgeon bemoaning the demise of the quill pen. The object of my anachronistic malaise is the so-called "social" media (SM).

Ultimately, SM doesn't cause problems. It reveals pre-existing ones. To quote the scripture in modern jargon: "Out of the abundance of the heart, the fingers tweet." In three-dimensional terms, a bulletin board isn't responsible for what is tacked there. However, while a nasty Facebook (FB) entry doesn't post itself, the mechanism that makes the nastiness possible and easy, doesn't get a free pass. Even in the courts of law there's such a thing as aiding and abetting. In that sense, SM is guilty. The nastiness and incivility manifest by "Christians" in the SM universe is a slander against the Lord they proclaim to represent.

We live in the Information Age. It's a statement when an entire era has been categorized by a term. That term has deeply penetrated human consciousness. Modern SM technologies greatly facilitate the speed of generic information exchange. However, life cannot be reduced down to the exchange of data, though scientific materialists would have us think so. Relational communication is more than just information exchange. As a culture, we are more informed than any generation in history. We are also more relationally broken than any generation in history, including within the church.

American Pentecostal Christians have the highest divorce rate of any subgroup, worse than even atheists.[i] Fifty percent of all pastors' marriages will end in divorce.[ii] The average American, by the age of 50 has experienced 3 church splits. The chances of survival in one, is less than 50%. So, whatever we think we are informed about, it does not translate into living well socially.

For generic information exchange and benign "chatter," SM is fine. However, SM technologies do not contribute to the quality of more substantive interpersonal communication and relationships. Within the universe of "Christian issues" rather than contributing to social behavior, it contributes to the anti-social behavior lurking in the hearts of users such as:

A lack of civility

Forget spiritual and biblical issues for the moment. Just basic human politeness seems to go out the window in SM, especially when dealing with a point of view contrary to one's own. The anonymity inherent in SM seems to have the uncanny effect of drawing the worst out of believers just as darkness impels a raccoon to sniff through garbage. Insecure zealots and crusaders with the self-restraint of an abused pit bull and the finesse of a drunken lumberjack with a chain saw, prowl FB looking for their next conquerable foe.

Disingenuousness

In January of 2011, a woman with over 1,000 "friends" on FB announced she intended to commit suicide. She did. None of her so-called "friends" bothered to check on her or offered to help her. Some lived within walking distance. Some posted mocking FB postings. Whatever these 1,000+ people were, they weren't friends, in any sense of the word that I understand.

A false sense of identity

Through the skilled use of SM techniques, that are often encouraged in order to "build your tribe," "build your network of friends," or "build your brand," an individual can create a cyber-world persona. Think psychic avatar. It's not healthy.

A culture of cowardice

Things are said on FB and blog postings that would never be said face to face. The security of distance and anonymity brings out a false machismo. I've noticed that males do the overwhelming majority of nasty and hostile SM postings. Perhaps SM is a means by which some in this generation release excess testosterone the way a former generation did on the athletic field or in the boxing arena. I think football and three rounds with the gloves is a better way.