Lately I've noticed how much our culture (or maybe just those who are around 30 and under) is content with the illusion of company. For instance, I'm bored sitting at home by myself, so I decide to twitter and let the world know what I'm doing or thinking. All 40 of them. :) Or I'm waiting at a doctor's office, and I'm not interested in flipping through magazines. So I get online on my phone, read an email, read a blog, check my facebook notifications, text a few people I haven't heard from in a few hours, and I feel a little more content with the time I've had to wait. As if I've spent my time actually interacting with someone.
But the truth is, I have not. I have only been occupied (not interacting) with something that is not alive, breathing, emotional, feeling, or loving. I have allowed its substitute, a mere representation of a person (if on a social network) to be enough. And I have allowed the exposure and expression of my own self to take the place of real scheduled encounters with people I call friends.
Is there a healthy guilt that should come with recognizing this substitution? I think so. We all like to find justifications for it, claiming that we spend as much time on the phone or in person with those who really matter to us as we would without these networks, but I'm not sure that is true. I'm pretty sure my phone would be ringing more, or I would be calling people way more to find out about their lives, if the world wide web didn't already provide us such an easy way to stalk people and stay in-the-know, without them ever knowing.
I like how Brent makes points and gives truths in his sermons by saying what things are NOT, and then what they ARE. So I'm going to list things that are NOT company, they are only an illusion. Just something to occupy our time. Think about how often we are tricked.
Things that don't make great company (how rude):
Facebook
Twitter
Twitpics
Blogs
Myspace
Texts
Things that make great company:
People
Posts
Time to Have a Blog Again
8 years ago
7 comments:
I agree -- and, more in-depth, I agree that the socio-substitutionary elements of this culture (primarily American culture? With its initial claim to FB and Twitter and text messages?) get presented to us as end-all-beat-alls to our 'fast-paced' lives, the best means to stay 'connected' to our friends who, sadly, also have such fast-paced lives.
Why don't we slow ourselves to healthier paces? Why don't we work harder instead of faster? And, you know, work for things more worthwhile and lasting than the temporary and tiny? Why?
I once shut my cell phone off for a month in college, and I had this voice mail that told er'body to leave a message 'cause I ain't gonna call back until later (8pm kind of later). I told er'body, see, to schedule stuff with me, and maybe hold to their commitments so that we didnt' have to use all our minutes/texts so freely. And so EXPENSIVELY.
Instead, I got a ton of responses that were sort of all, Where are you Nathan Klose because right now we are about to go get lunch and drinks, or Why haven't you responded to my text messages because like are you mad at me or what. Responses like that.
And I wonder, LH, where we're headed in terms of ministry with all this. In order to present to Gospel, will we have to do so through the blogs, blips, and short messages we find so uninterrelational, impersonal? Will our hearts even be able to present the Gospel in these ways when they are perhaps bitter over this means of presentation?
I wonder. I wonder!
I agree -- and, more in-depth, I agree that the socio-substitutionary elements of this culture (primarily American culture? With its initial claim to FB and Twitter and text messages?) get presented to us as end-all-beat-alls to our 'fast-paced' lives, the best means to stay 'connected' to our friends who, sadly, also have such fast-paced lives.
Why don't we slow ourselves to healthier paces? Why don't we work harder instead of faster? And, you know, work for things more worthwhile and lasting than the temporary and tiny? Why?
I once shut my cell phone off for a month in college, and I had this voice mail that told er'body to leave a message 'cause I ain't gonna call back until later (8pm kind of later). I told er'body, see, to schedule stuff with me, and maybe hold to their commitments so that we didnt' have to use all our minutes/texts so freely. And so EXPENSIVELY.
Instead, I got a ton of responses that were sort of all, Where are you Nathan Klose because right now we are about to go get lunch and drinks, or Why haven't you responded to my text messages because like are you mad at me or what. Responses like that.
And I wonder, LH, where we're headed in terms of ministry with all this. In order to present to Gospel, will we have to gird ourselves up and do so through the blogs, blips, and short messages we find so uninterrelational, so impersonal? Will our hearts even be able to present the Gospel WELL in these ways, esp. when our hearts will perhaps be bitter and bent up over such a means of presentation?
I wonder, LH. I wonder!
The irony is...you posted a blog about this. :)
Made me chuckle.
Jen,
I was hoping someone would notice and comment. :)
We have also been tagged as a generation that thrives on irony. It's so crazy!
I love this blog! I am all about people interaction instead of internet interaction....which is probably why I have struggled with the idea of doing a blog! Love you sis!
well said Linds! I couldn't agree more. love ya.
And you have ironically blogged about it... hmmm... jk, love you, love your heart. See you in September!
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