Of course, if I were to be honest, I use more minutes dinking around on social media sites, than I do with anything constructive on them! I’d like to say that I use them to stay connected, and that is partially true; I am connected to whoever I want to stay connected with; but it is impossible to be in relationship with more than a few hundred people at a time. And when most people have well beyond that number, you start to wonder what we mean by “connection.”

I was recently caught off guard by a quote from Veneer,

“Facebook allows us to browse. But instead of browsing news reports or items to fill our shopping cart, we’re browsing people…we search through our friends, choosing which ones to check on and interact with, much like we would a Google search” (Willard and Locy, 72-73).

The dark side of social media. I suppose if it’s going to remain relational, it must be wielded in the hands of a Christian who will make good use of it. And this might mean being used in a way to connect with people who we plan on pursuing actual relationships with.

Thanks for the insight, bro. Good stuff.

From personal experience and also through other family and friends’ experiences, I’ve seen the irresponsibility of us humans mistaking social media as an effective way of starting and building relationships. I think on a larger scale, specifically for teenagers growing up in this age of Social Media, genuine relationships are being shortchanged for little snippets of how people want to portray themselves. It’s easy to know a lot of things about someone through a little message without really knowing them. seeing them laugh, think, talk and physically react and respond to life, those are all missed through a text or a message on Facebook.

So, on one hand I believe it is an amazing tool to broadcast messages, like how Paul used letters as a way to rebuke, encourage, pray for, and teach churches(also using them to ask for prayer and other practical things from those same churches), all of those things are amazing and can help friendships grow in a sense, BUT…I too commonly see teens(and millennials) my age that think social media is the best way to make friends and build lasting relationships.

Social Media: Great for broadcasting a message, ineffective in making genuine disciples and creating well rounded friendships.

So, social media, I believe is a tool. Jesus can use all things. But, I know that there is nothing that compares to a warm hug, a look of understanding and compassion

Well said, Cinthia.