But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19
Especially on facebook, it seems to me Too Much Information is being posted.
Personal details are being relayed--seemingly without thought about who will be reading.
I'm sure I've been guilty.
I'm trying to figure out why people wish their spouse "Happy Birthday" on facebook.
Do they not communicate face-to-face?
Is it useful to write love notes on facebook for 450 friends to see?
How can people "like" content containing profanity?
And crude language (well, crude to me) used to be frowned upon
and considered impolite for use in the general public.
Now it seems to be perfectly appropriate in print,
and children who USE it are celebrated and bragged on.
If anyone had reason to post about her Child, Mary did.
If anyone had life events to blog about, Mary did.
But would she have?
Or would she simply "treasure up all these things and ponder them in her heart"?
I really don't know. (But I suspect not.)
I'm thinking hard about this...evaluating AGAIN why & how I use the technology available to me.
I'm coming up with:
More treasuring; less talking
More pondering; less posting
More contemplating; less commenting
Personal details are being relayed--seemingly without thought about who will be reading.
I'm sure I've been guilty.
I'm trying to figure out why people wish their spouse "Happy Birthday" on facebook.
Do they not communicate face-to-face?
Is it useful to write love notes on facebook for 450 friends to see?
How can people "like" content containing profanity?
And crude language (well, crude to me) used to be frowned upon
and considered impolite for use in the general public.
Now it seems to be perfectly appropriate in print,
and children who USE it are celebrated and bragged on.
If anyone had reason to post about her Child, Mary did.
If anyone had life events to blog about, Mary did.
But would she have?
Or would she simply "treasure up all these things and ponder them in her heart"?
I really don't know. (But I suspect not.)
I'm thinking hard about this...evaluating AGAIN why & how I use the technology available to me.
I'm coming up with:
More treasuring; less talking
More pondering; less posting
More contemplating; less commenting
Just love this...may print it and post it on my fridge. Really well though out and such convicting points in a way, it really makes me think! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking myself :) Being sure my activity here is consistent with my heart intentions.....
DeleteRight now stepping back is right for me. I don't write on Facebook, I prefer letters and phone calls to stay in touch :) What I do share is what He is doing in me. Personal details tend to be too personal. m.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are saying. I have asked the Lord to direct me and to use me in his will as I blog and post on FB. I pray that His light always shine's through as I share highlights of my day. I get disgusted by many of the FB users language and life style...then the Lord reminded me they do not know any better. I notice that a few of them come each Sunday to visit my Sunday prayer. With out FB I would not have the opportunity to connect. I like blogging because of some of the sweetest and most talented Christians I have met that encourage with their faith and creativity. Like you Rebecca :)
ReplyDeleteYou make great points here, Dee. That's what I'm after - trying to understand others as well as being sure I PERSONALLY am writing/posting with discrimination and discernment. I can't and wouldn't WANT to control what others do :)
DeleteYour are TOO kind with those last 3 words - but I agree that because of blogging, my life is SO much richer.
I use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends, and many are not believers. My blog is linked and they read it, and will comment how they enjoyed it. I just block inappropriate content, as I do not want to see it or have my children see it.
ReplyDeleteStepping carefully through this way to communicate....
Deanna
"Stepping carefully" is a great way to put it! (And facebook is a great tool for keeping in touch....I'm not ready to abandon it just yet.)
DeleteWell, given recent events in my life, I'm thinking about shutting down altogether for a season. We need to get back to face-to-face connections as a rule rather than the exception. I saw this clearly displayed last week while in jury room. Half the group were on cell phones; the other half happily chatting it up. And yes, there was a generational component to this observation;)!
ReplyDeleteBlessings and peace to you as you work it through, friend.
Your "recent events" were part of the catalyst to my current evaluation, Elaine.
DeleteI don't have a facebook...but I am finding the Lord move me more to the same things you posted at the end of your post. I do see how blogging has always encouraged me in the Lord...both posting and reading. There is a season for all things...and a balance to be found in all things.
ReplyDeleteI seem to go through phases with blogging, I do it for a while, then I just don't feel like it. I face booked only for a short while several years ago, I was totally inundated with inane commentary about everyone's life, updates such as "going to work in 2 hours" and thirty minutes later another update about how long until they would leave for work - personally I DON"T need to know this level of detail about other households!! I deleted my facebook account and have yet to regret it.
ReplyDeleteI have read/still read blogs where I personally feel the author shares too much of their own personal struggles, it is a fine line to tread too, you have to share a little of yourself for people to get a feel for who you are but not too much.
I find that the computer really steals away time, you pop on to look at the weather radar, check email, see whats what on a blog or two and check the news, and go here and there, and suddenly a one minute peek at the radar has turned into an hour of moseying around the web. What a waste of time.
BUT, it is not all bad, I have learned some neat things from other bloggers, I find "googling" questions to find out about things very beneficial, I have met people through blogging, I have made a pen pal (it is super nice to write and receive real letters).
But there is something very artificial about cyber land, we can post sympathetic or encouraging messages to one another, but it is not the same as actually being there to support a person for real, to cry or to laugh together, or give a hug when needed, it simply is not real community. How much nicer to have a real person pop in to visit and share a piece of pie and a cup of coffee and really communicate? And how do you really get to know a person when all you have to go by is the image they choose to present to the world through a blog/web page/social media site?
I think there can be danger in blogging too. One blog I followed for a few years was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The author, a lady in her late fifties, was a prolific poster. She seemed to reinvent herself before our eyes and she just got more and more out there, ending up living in absolute poverty, dressing as if she was a seventeenth century pilgrim, and digging herself a bigger and bigger hole. It became quite apparent she was going off the deep end fast, it became scary and very worrying. Then the blog author disappeared for a couple of months, she resurfaced in the US, she had left her husband in Canada and taken a bus to Iowa, still dressing like a pilgrim, she started a new goth blog, because she didn't have internet access she posted very infrequently and then stopped posting altogether. I suspect the author got so trapped by all that she had written that she felt compelled to live out the fantasy she had created online, only it didn't turn out to be a fantasy it became a living nightmare. I assume she stopped blogging because she perhaps reinvented herself, she really needed to, because she had become so eccentric that it must have made all social interactions extremely difficult. That is an extreme case of blogitis, and I still to this day wonder what happened to the lady, and pray that she is okay, and hope and pray that her poor invalid husband who was abandoned in Canada is being taken care of too.
Blogs certainly have their dark side and some bloggers start to have difficulty differentiating between their real life and the fantasy cyber life they write about. I think more pondering and less blogging is a fabulous statement and a wise one.
Thank you for a thought provoking post.
Bean
Martine, We need another face-to-face. SOON!
DeleteYes we do :) and I do apologize for such a long comment!
ReplyDeleteBean
Thought provoking Rebecca. I also wonder about spouses who "communicate" on FB and wonder if they don't talk to each other in person! Interesting times we live in, and social media and the internet aren't going away. Elylah's in 1st grade and everyone in the class has a computer password and homework to do on line. Scares me. You are right though, we cannot control what others post...we just have to decide how much we can tolerate coming on our own newsfeed. I recently had to "unfriend" two people...one who had constant profane rants, and another who seems to be "against" anything I "stand" for and it was a constant barrage of negative directed towards me. The peace I've gained since unfriending these two has been measurable. Overall social media has been a huge blessing in my life, but like anything, there are times we need to step back, reassess, and make adjustments...I'm going through one of those times...
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to meet you Rebecca! I wondered too why people wish their spouses happy birthday online thought I do both with my daughter so she sees it everywhere:) You have a very nice blog and I hope to return often! Thank you too for the verse on my blog. I hate being a lukewarm Christian and the reminder that Satan would love to keep me that way is a good one!
ReplyDeleteIt really does take some wisdom to sift through the demands of social media. I've minimized my own blogging, & try to spend only a small amount of time on Facebook (to keep informed about what my grandchildren are doing, as well as our many friends in Arizona). That said, quiet times with the Lord always bring me so much more joy than any of these things, but too often He sits waiting for my return.
ReplyDeleteGreat reminder!
I love facebook to keep in touch with cousins I seldom see. By my heart is grieved when I see the pictures of some of our young people and like you say, their language. I believe with all technology we can use it for good or evil. I've had to hide some people just because of what they post.
ReplyDelete