[image by nashworld]
If you want to get a glimpse in how my thinking has changed in regards to my use of technology and social media, and more specifically Twitter…then look no further than these two articles that I have written for Collide Magazine in the last year and a half.
The first article I wrote in the 2009 March/April edition of the magazine, and you read someone who is in love with social media (specifically Twitter)…telling all pastors they should be on Twitter: Why Twitter? Shaping Our Narrative One Tweet at a Time
The second article I wrote for the 2010 September/October edition of the magazine, and you read someone who is finally beginning to think more thoughtfully about how I use technology…and how it transforms my relationships…and no, not all pastors should/need to be on Twitter: Twitter: On Second Thought
The journey continues…
Has your thinking on your use of social media changed at all in the last year? How?
For me I’ve always tried to stay consistent with it because I see how valuable it can be. But I don’t think I’m as immersed in it a year ago as I am today, simply because that immersion feels less and less sustainable in a healthy way. So this means blogging less, reading blogs less, and also trying to honor the days when I take a complete break from it all.
Tyler,
I’m totally in agreement with you here. I too have cut back on the amount of blogs I read, and I’m trying to take complete Sabbath days off and not get sucked into not really resting. Thanks for commenting.
Rhett
This is excellent! I just finished reading Twitter: On Second Thought. The part that hit me hardest is this one: “What was it about that concert, and the time with my wife, that wasn’t enough for me?”
In January of this year, I quit Facebook. And last week, I quit Twitter. My thoughts about social media haven’t changed this year, necessarily, but I acted on those thoughts in more ways than I had. My steps away from social media actually started years ago, when I quit MySpace and stopped texting. Except for LinkedIn, which is thus far pretty useless for me, I’ve severed all ties to social media. It’s liberating.
It’s hard to quickly articulate why, but I’ll sum it up this way with a quote from something I’ve already written about it:
“… When we feel like an invisible audience is watching us, the pressure is on. Our decisions are calculated to a fault because everything we do is fodder for a Facebook status. … Social media can also inflate our standards in the real world. We feel more entitled to convenience, averse to effort and uncomfortable with aloneness. Finding friends the old-fashioned way can feel like too much work. Social media makes what we once needed seem obsolete. It is to relationships what fast food is to nutrition — a quick way to feel like we’ve gotten what we need. But when compared with what we really need, what we get is insubstantial.”
Arleen,
Thanks for commenting on this post, and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it. It’s cool to see what you have done in your own life to help respond to how technology shapes your life. I love the quote you have above from your blog, and now I’m going to start reading yours……
By the way….are you friends with Alex Sanchez?
“…I wonder how many of us realize that we are always turning to a kind of text or script to help us revise and interpret our lives.”-Alan Jones, The Soul’s Journey
Jones was talking about movies, books, tv shows, but I think it’s accurate for social media, esp Twitter & Facebook. Maybe a bit of a stretch, but we’re constantly turning to these “scripts” (statuses? profiles?) to help us revise and interpret our lives, conveniently, and more often than not, into what we wish it would be. I haven’t been a fan of social media since Facebook was created. I do use it and Twitter, and just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean I don’t struggle with limiting my use of it. I just don’t like how it can control our lives, identities, and relationships so easily.
PS I checked out the other 2 blogs you mentioned (steward’s & markley’s), really good. really really good. thanks.
Katy,
I love that quote by Jones….thanks for sharing that with me.
Rhett