Facebook
May 11, 2011
Dear Friends,
Technology has always been a blessing and a curse. Technology can be used for good or for evil. A knife in the hands of a skilled surgeon can save lives but that same tool in the hands of a psychopath can take them. The internet is just a tool. It is neither good nor bad. How we use it has moral connotations.
Social media has become a great way to make and maintain contact with friends and fellow believers. We can learn about the birth of a child halfway across the world nearly instantaneously. We can wish a friend “Happy Birthday” whom we haven’t seen in years. We can reach out to friends and coworkers and develop deeper relationships. Yet, as with any tool, we can misuse or abuse it. Facebook is a place to make and maintain friends. It is also a good place to lose friends and make enemies.
Older people are getting on Facebook now. This presents some problems. A lot of kids abuse Facebook but it is, for the most part, because they are still immature. They do understand technology and the basic etiquette of living on-line. Older folks have wisdom of years, but are neophytes when it comes to the dos and don’t of social media.
I’d like to share some thoughts on how not to abuse Facebook.
- Please don’t put self-righteous or condescending posts on my wall condemning other religions or points of view. I probably have some friends with whom I am developing relationships that will view that post and want nothing more to do with a religion that does stuff like that. You can do whatever you want on your own wall but know that if you do that, I will probably hide your feed.
- Don’t post that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and then join the Facebookers for Marijuana group or some other nonsense. I can’t believe I need to say that, but I do.
- Don’t stalk me of Facebook. If we aren’t friends, I don’t want you rummaging through my house looking for whatever you can find to use against me. Similarly, if you aren’t on my Facebook page with honorable motives (i.e. looking to improve or develop our relationship in a healthy, positive way), unfriend me – it’s the right thing to do.
- If you want to argue or debate someone, please don’t do it on my wall (especially one of my friends whom you do not know).
- Lighten up. When I post something funny on Facebook, don’t respond with a post about “foolish jesting.” If correcting me is about helping me, you will do that off-line. If it is about you looking holy or venting, well, go ahead and post it. Don’t be surprised though when you end up being unfriended.
- If we really don’t know each other very well, don’t pretend that just because we are friends on Facebook you can say anything to me that you want.
- Everyone has their own comfort level of privacy. Be careful with non-public information. Think twice before you post “sorry to hear you failed your entrance exam” or “How was your colonoscopy?” on my wall.
- If you are “old”, don’t ask to friend young people. Let them ask you. There is a fine line between friendly and creepy. If they ask you to be their friend, it is OK. Remember that they have honored you by asking you, Mr. or Mrs. Old Person, to be their friend. Don’t abuse the privilege.
- My wall is going to show the diversity of my friends. I tell my non-religious friends not to be vulgar on my wall. However, if they breach that etiquette, I’ll handle it, not you! And, yes, rightly or wrongly, I will hold my believing friends to a higher standard than my non-believing friends.
- Stop with the passive-aggressive Facebook status updates. “I will be praying for our board that they will finally address the problems with some of our member’s poor moral choices.”
In short, friends, Facebook isn’t too different than life itself although it does have some nuances. Go into it eyes wide open. You are not going to be friends with everyone. Some people are not going to like you or everything you say. You don’t have to agree with everyone but don’t have to express that disagreement either. Bad behavior is bad behavior whether on Facebook or on the street. Learn to play well in the sandbox.
Have a great week,
Comments»
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