Do you mobile blog?
Do you constantly update your Facebook status?
Do you Twitter?
and if you do ....
Do you think it is voyeurism or involvement?
How much time do you spend on your computer per day?
I facebook .... I blog .... I don't think I can add twitter.
For the average "non work force woman" (i.e. housewife) is any of this a profitable use of time?
What ministry does it allow that couldn't take place with human contact?
Does it bring you closer to people or is it a waste of time?
I read on Wired Magazine that blogging is dead and Twitter is the wave of the future. In some respects I can understand. No one wants to read a long blog post but who blogs in less than 150 characters or less? Sometimes you just have to reach out and touch someone ... right?
7 comments:
I blog (obviously), I do have a facebook, but I go weeks between checking it, and I have no idea what Twitter is. I think that blogging can be a great way to connect...I hate the phone, not that I have time anyway...and I'm busy so sometimes trying to get together with others becomes a scheduling nightmare. I think it depends on how you handle it. If you rely on the computer as your sole mode of communication then it obviously isn't healthy. But if you do it as an ADDITION to personal contact, then I think it is fine.
I blog, I Facebook, check my email and every so often go to my MySpace page, just because a few people haven't come over to Facebook. And I text. But, it can be addicting and can be a waste of time. I've tried to just do what I need to do and not stay on too long, but sometimes I'm stuck with IMing and getting through blogs and emails. I mainly started Facebook to keep in touch with my kids and it's brought around more people from my past that I have gotten back in touch with. That has been great. But, yes, I agree with Jeannett as far as it being an ADDITION to personal contact. I still try to get together with others. Of course, it's easier now, with no kids, but even work schedules and ministries make it hard to get together with people on a more intimate basis. But I try.
Great topic! This concerns me a lot. I think there is a lot of good ministering going on online. Blogging and e-mail are a great way for me to reach out; sometimes there is a loneliness involved with staying at home with the littles, and it's nice to know what's going on in my friends' worlds.
I'm really worried that the next generation only knows how to text, and they've lost the ability to have face to face exchanges. This to me seems disastrous to society.
And then I remind myself that God is in control. Still it freaks me out because there seems to be such a lack of awareness that there is life beyond texting, etc.
This is an interesting topic and one I think about a lot. Truthfully, I burn a lot of time at the computer, but I will say, that when I have been tempted to quit blogging, I remember that it allows family to keep us with the kids (mainly) and what's going on in our lives. Furthermore, for me, it is a ministry in some ways. Some family members who read my blog don't really "allow" us to talk about our faith openly, so they get to read about it through blogging and get to know us in a different way. I agree with the others who mentioned, though, that technical communication should in no way replace face-to-face. As it with most things, it's all about balance. I also appreciated what Joanie had to say about it allowing us stay-home moms to keep in touch when getting out is hard
I don't have a blog, but I love to read them-:)I do have facebook now though!! and I too have no idea what Twitter is. I don't think I can handle one more computer THING!!!! Facebook is a nice way to "visit" with friends and family I don't get to see much of!
Good topic. I've been thinking along the same lines since I read this article recently: (has some great thoughts and suggestions)
http://www.gospelandculture.org/2008/12/redeeming-social-life-online/
My thoughts are:
1. I realize I'm somewhat in the minority, being the wife of a professional student :), but I don't have the opportunity for face-to-face contact with many people I love. While I am involved in people's lives where I am, much of my heart and history remains rooted geographically elsewhere. Email, blogging, facebook, etc. allow me to maintain vital relationships at a depth that would not otherwise be possible.
2. As a stay at home mom, I have struggled in recent years with how I should be involved in evangelism, particularly friendship-evangelism (which I believe is normally most effective). Other than my preschooler and toddler, I don't know any unsaved people. I don't even grocery shop at a regular place or on a regular schedule (enough to know, for example, the checkers at my grocery store.) I've experimented with various "creative solutions," but nothing has been terribly effective. Recently I became "friends" on facebook with an old friend from HS. Through her news feed, other HS friends and acquaintances began to send me friend requests. At first I was wary. There are some people you'd sort of rather forget, if you know what I mean. But God pointed out to me that this was a prime opportunity to renew friendships with lost friends. Through the things I choose to post, I am able to be who I am now in front of these people who do not share my beliefs. I also have the opportunity to exhibit genuine interest in the details of their lives in a way that isn't always possible face-to-face. Experience shows that people are far more likely to tell the world, via facebook, how their day is *really* going than they are to say it to your face. So I'm interested to see how this goes....
Wow Kirsten, what a great thought provoking article link!! I guess the key is balance and being a good steward of the time we have and the relationships we have. Paul would have used facebook I'm sure. He kept in contact with many churches full of people that he had relationships with and didn't let geography prevent him from encouraging, exhorting and discipling those relationships God had entrusted him with.
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