The Isolation Age

I have this sort of love/hate relationship going with Facebook. In some ways I love it because it allows me to stay in contact with people and find out what friends are up to, but in other ways, it can hinder relationships because I can think that because I am reading someone's Facebook wall, I know them. I'm reading David Wells book, The Courage to be Protestant and this quote really made me think about the way I interact with friends using the media around me,

"We are the Wired Generation living in a mostly electronically mediated world. However, have you noticed that while everyone is speaking, no one is really listening? We are swamped by voices. So many want our time and attention that for our own protectin we shut out most of them. And while we are surfing the Internet, emailing, watching television, or playing video games, we are doing it all alone. We are wired, but we are also more lonely and have fewer confidants that ever before. The Putnam thesis of the 1960s is correct: we are in touch with everyone potentially, but we know and are known by almost no one in particular."[31]

In the city this can be a particular struggle. Though we are surrounded by people, we are alone, even though we are contacting people through the media.
Thinking about this, here is the challenge if we are game. Make personal contact with a different person among your Facebook friends each week. This might not be face to face but that is the ideal. Maybe it is leaving a comment or message about a prayer request or a way God is really teaching you right now, but through this is going beyond just information about people to really knowing them and in turn that we might be able to care for each other and display the love of God in more purposeful and meaningful ways.

As you experience this I would also love to hear what you are learning and how it is going, so please do leave comments.

I have also attached a great blog by Justin Buzzard about how we can use Facebook to fuel instead of replace personal interaction.

Facebook for the glory of God