How Much is "Too Much" Social Media?
The internet ushered in a digital revolution and social media has ushered in a social revolution.
As many people have noticed, social media - facebook, twitter, instagram, TikTok, and whatsapp - have replaced old media, favourite meeting places, and marketing strategies.
Thanks to social media, we no longer need newspapers and milk bars to learn about world events and catch-up with friends. Also, if you did a marketing degree before 2010, you can pretty much forget everything you learned, social media has rendered it mostly obsolete.
The upside is convenience, in the palm of my hand, I can get the news, follow celebs, hate on my political enemies, share funny stories, tag family members, cultivate professional networks, and discover like-minded friends.
As a result, we are the i-generation, with the “i” denoting news and networks characterized by instantaneous delivery, insular community, and impersonal interaction.
I know I’m not the only one to say this, but this can’t be healthy.
People need people, not avatars, memes, or gifs of people, actual people.
People need conversation, not snark, retweets, or sound bites, actual conversation.
People need physical interaction, not zoom, email, shares, or likes, actual interactions.
Yes, one problem is the amount of time we spend on social media, especially during a pandemic. The other problem is how we use social media.
If social media is where you get your news, family, friends, politics, and hobbies, then you are accelerating towards a post-human state into a type virtual i-humanity. It is a life craving something new every second, guided by invisible algorithms, people constantly trying to sell you stuff, and filled with tawdry temptations.
Social media is a tool, use it wisely or else we risk making it an idol, an addiction, or an echo chamber.
Every once in a while, buy a newspaper, browse in a bookstore, drop in on an old friend, share some tea with friends.
Life is too short, family is too precious, and the truth is too important to leave it all to the social media cartels.
Thanks, very well done.
Dr. Bird, thank you for encouraging us to reconnect with each other as humans and safely as possible (given the pandemic).
Your interpretation of ‘I’ - instantaneous delivery, insular community, and impersonal interaction highlights the impact of social media’s growth. And the internet natives of generation z exhibit such traits.
The thought I have, is there resistance to the evolutionary pressures of church online? Which inevitably may create the 3 ‘I’ you mentioned.
Is church online inevitable? There is no going back to the ‘normal’.
I think there is a difference between a technology enabled church and church online. I would think the later would preserve us relationally with each other and Christ as our unifying body.
I wonder what are your thoughts?