My wife has been going through a
Bible Study called The
7 Experiment by Jen Hatmaker which has really engaged many of the ladies of
my church. The next part of this
particular study is all about media.
Again, let me reiterate, my concern with any of these areas is: “What
does the Bible actually say?” That
should be a key for us in any subject we tackle in the Christian faith. Our perspectives and attitudes should be
informed by Scripture and then we need to align ourselves with it where we
differ from God.
THEOLOGY OF MEDIA: (LOLOLOGY)
American culture is saturated
with media. People are consuming media
most waking hours of the day. We arise
to an alarm clock which plays music. We
listen to a CD player or iPod while in the shower. The TV turns on in the morning while we eat
breakfast to offer news and weather while checking interpersonal email on our
laptop while our coworker texts us to say they will be late for the car
pool. Advertisements spill through the
radio, TV, web pages, and even on the bottom of some smart phone apps. The drive to work is littered with
billboards, road signs, and dozens of other channels of communication. Media is everywhere.
In fact, the average person spends
more time consuming media than they realize.
Research in the field reports “Consumers
are now spending more than one-half of their waking day with media… Further,
consumers’ media consumption has increased by an hour per day over the last 2
years, this largely resulting from an additional 40 minutes of time spent
online since 2009 (“Ipsos OTX Media,”
2010).
One
of the most pervasive aspects of media that has crept up on us in the past few
years is social media. Social media is
Myspace (I just checked and… yes… it is still around), Facebook, Twitter,
Tumblr, and tons of other applications that suck up our time and connect us
with others. It seems that online
social media has become as important as traditional social functions. Anymore, a person without social media is
simply “out of the loop” when it comes to pop culture and social
functions. For example, my wife uses
Facebook to invite people to social events.
No FB, no invite. This means that
we could potentially be missing really cool people who live in the dark
ages. Our family is still too young
(children ages 12, 11, 9) for social media to play a big part of their lives. I would assume as they age that it will
become a means of social networking for their friendships and relationships and
for us keeping up with them.
Speaking of relationships, I have
noticed that the “in a relationship” status on Facebook is a sort of badge of
passage for teenagers. They are very
proud when they can be in one and it shows their devastation when the message
reads “is now single.” In addition to
this, you can Facebook stalk someone without ever speaking to them. You can know their kids names, sexual
orientation, birthdays, life milestones, and many other characteristics without
even seeing them in person. This is a
huge relationship changer for adults as well as for teenagers. This means that a “friend” no longer has to
be someone physically close. “Friend” is
now a term that has been downgraded (in my opinion).
You
might at this point be thinking… Yes Troy
In Sherry Turkle’s book (2011) Alone
Together, she relates is that technological enhancements made a person
feel like “I am a better person” and herself makes the statement later “People
love their new technologies of connection” (page 152). The sense we get from her research is that technology
is making people feel better or at least making them feel better about
themselves and their relationships (page 196).
People felt like “more” when connected (page 153). In terms of family relationships and even
Christian ministries, it would seem that the definition of self and self-worth
will be arriving to a person via others in cyberspace. A person’s sense of self is now tied to
objects and technology and the view of others online. This can create havoc if the technology
breaks down or those online are harsh.
I also noticed that Turkle goes
on to describe parents dividing their attention between technology (phones,
email, texts) and their children (page 160).
Children are seeing their parents prioritize machines. Even chapter 9 of Turkle’s book relates that
children are also growing up tethered to technology. Online games and networks are helping
children work out their identities in community (pages 180-181). Thus, having focus in a relationship no
longer looks like it once did. A
conversation may be interrupted by texts, calls, updates, and people slide to
the side of attention. Is this healthy?
Parent-child relationships used
to have to deal with the parent “being on call” for work every so often. Now, “they are always on, always at work, and
always on call” (page 202) which changes the dynamics of families. Children need to be shown and modeled
boundaries when it comes to technology.
For example, no phones, texts, TVs, music, or other devices are allowed
at our family dinner table. This allows
each person to physically talk to another and focus on what is being said. As my family grows and adds age appropriate
technology, this is a boundary that we have decided will not change. This allows for off-line real conversations and
closeness.
You
might at this point be thinking… Yes Troy
Nothing.
It
says absolutely nothing about Facebook or AOL chatrooms or email or smart
phones.
It
does however say in Exodus 20:3-6, “You
shall have no other gods before me.
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on
the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or
worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the
children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those
who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me
and keep my commandments.”
If you can’t put your phone down
to go to the bathroom, it might be a god for you.
If you have to check your phone
every five minutes, it might be a god for you.
If you choose to skip church and
play a computer game, it is a god for
you.
If you don’t want to go to a
Bible study because someone will pass you on Candy Crush, it is a god for you.
If you spend all your extra money
on gadgets and devices with “i” in the name… it might be a god for you.
If you can’t turn your phone off
for dinner, it might be a god for you.
The Christian point of view when
it comes to friendship (for me) has always been summarized by Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother
is born for adversity.” A friend
should lend support and be a good neighbor.
A friend should show concern and communicate that. This is easily done on social media with
“likes” “pokes,” hashtags, mentioning people in posts, tagging photos,
uploading videos, and being instantly alerted to birthdays and other
events. Being a good friend is easier
and can be easily expressed when people are connected through digital
media. So… use media to be a Godly good
friend.
Here are some Principles for
being a good “friend” on Facebook:
* Send a message on a person’s
birthday
* “Like” comments about people’s
kids even if you don’t care
* Comment on photos of people’s
new hair or updated look
* Send congratulations for
milestones
* Follow up short messages of
praise with a longer email
* Note what people like and are
“fans of” so that you know what presents to buy
* Use social media to help people
plan for your friendly social events
* When people ask a question,
offer honest feedback; privately if needed
* Always answer your messages
* Mention you are “praying for
you” when you know people are having a hard time (then actually do it!)
* Send people a Bible verse every
so often for their wall
For some reason, 1 Peter 3:3-4
popped in my head which encourages women (and men too) to have worth tied to
God only for it says, “Your beauty should
not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold
jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it
should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet
spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.”
If you get ticked when someone
doesn’t “like” your picture, your worth might be tied to Facebook.
If you use social media to attack
someone (not to their face), you are using social media to hide.
Overall, I personally see a
temptation for technology and the ability to be “tethered” to compete with a
relationship with God and to have all your personal worth wrapped up in a
device. Technology sucks up time, brain
power, effort, thought, money, leisure time, work time, and other aspects of a
person’s life… some of which may have been dedicated to God before. THIS is the DANGER of TECHNOLOGY.
So what is a proper Lolology? Watch out for it… very carefully.
Troy Borst
Associate Minister
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