As John Dyer, a seminary-trained web developer, said a few months ago, “Technology is not neutral.” It either helps or hinders your walk with God. Some technologies do both at the same time. Which is why we need to think carefully about every new technology that comes along.
A few months ago I loudly said I wasn’t joining Facebook. I had a few good reasons:
- Most of my workday is spent in front of my laptop. When I’m not meeting with people or on the phone with people, I’m staring at a computer screen. I really like my Macbook, but not enough to spend another 30 minutes a day with it on Facebook.
- My ADD-like attention span is short enough already. I don’t think I would have the discipline to avoid stopping my work every 10 minutes to see if there’s anything new on any of my friends’ Facebook feeds.
- I have trouble finding the time to invest in the friendships I currently have. Do I really want to restart a friendship with someone I happened to sit next to for a year in 7th-grade math?
- The way Facebook is currently set up, it encourages lots of virtual shallow relationships rather than meaningful real ones. The kind of superficial small-talk that reigns on social networks like Facebook is necessary to initiate friendships, but real relationships can’t survive on superficiality for long.
The last one was the most crucial to me. But Facebook developers are now releasing tools that foster flesh-and-blood relationships. We’re testing one of them (a tool for small-groups and ministry teams to stay connected) on our church website right now, which is why I finally caved in and joined Facebook.
At first I didn’t post any personal information, so I was able to stay under the Facebook radar for a few weeks. But somehow people started finding me and sending me friend requests. So I decided to go all-in. I clicked “accept” on all the invitations. I imported my address book so Facebook could carpet-bomb my contacts with friend requests. But I’ve still got the same reservations I had before.
So I’m starting a 30-day trial with Facebook, limiting myself to one 5-minute session a day. Plenty of time to see what my friends are up to and post a few pithy comments on their walls. At the end of the month, I’ll ask myself (and my wife!) the questions below. Too many wrong answers, and I’m pulling the plug.
- Am I able to limit my Facebook time to 5 minutes a day, or am I spending too much time on the computer?
- Am I able to contain my ADD, or am I obsessively logging in to see if there’s anything new?
- Am I strengthening my flesh-and-blood relationships, or am I harming them (especially my family)?
- Am I finding ways to go beyond the superficiality that Facebook promotes, or am I spending all my time on silliness?
- Am I able to resist the temptation toward narcissism, or am I constantly tweaking my profile and pictures to impress people?
I’ll let you know the results in a month.