I know quite a few people who are heavily invested in social media as Christians. If you filter through their posts, you will see their Christian faith coming out, whether by quoting Bible verses, advertising things that their community of faith are doing, or simply showing how God continues His activity in their lives. These are great things, and in some cases, I am actually envious of how open and up-front they are about things.
I also know any number of people who are quite limited in their social media activity. They may have an account or two, but use them sparingly. You may not find much evidence of their Christian faith in their posts, but their posts are fairly sparse to begin with. I actually find myself amazed when I see some of them post, as it is so rare that I wonder what brought them to the point of actually signing in and posting.
What defines how much you post on your social media? Since you are reading this blog, I will admit that you are already one who is likely active with social media and who looks to utilize it. More likely than not, the people who rarely post will not see this and thus, will have a limited thought on it. Those who choose not to utilize social media will surely not even know that I have typed up these words, much less have a thought on them. That's somewhat of a sobering thought, too.
Why do you choose to engage with social media? What are the benefits you see in its use? On the other hand, what are the limitations you find with your use? You might say that a benefit is that you connect with more people, but a limitation could be that you spend less time face to face with those around you. Or, you may say that a benefit is that people see your faith as an active thing, but a limitation is that the words are open to misunderstanding and even ridicule. Do you delete a negative post, or let it remain? If so, why do you do what you do?
You may notice that I am asking more questions than I am providing answers. That's because I truly do believe that social media use is up to the individual. I will not belittle anyone for using it or not using it. I may challenge someone who perhaps makes too much of it, where it may interfere with things like family life and thus detract from that most important vocational responsibility, or I may question what a particular post is saying. I will not belittle anyone for actually using social media, though.
Why have you chosen to engage with social media? I think it's an important question for you to ponder, and you may find that engage with it for reasons that you may not even have really thought of before. Perhaps giving your use that critical look will help focus what you do with it, or you may find that you are doing exactly what you hope to do. Either way, I hope that taking some time to reflect on it will deepen your understanding of what you hope to accomplish through your engagement with social media.
I also know any number of people who are quite limited in their social media activity. They may have an account or two, but use them sparingly. You may not find much evidence of their Christian faith in their posts, but their posts are fairly sparse to begin with. I actually find myself amazed when I see some of them post, as it is so rare that I wonder what brought them to the point of actually signing in and posting.
What defines how much you post on your social media? Since you are reading this blog, I will admit that you are already one who is likely active with social media and who looks to utilize it. More likely than not, the people who rarely post will not see this and thus, will have a limited thought on it. Those who choose not to utilize social media will surely not even know that I have typed up these words, much less have a thought on them. That's somewhat of a sobering thought, too.
Why do you choose to engage with social media? What are the benefits you see in its use? On the other hand, what are the limitations you find with your use? You might say that a benefit is that you connect with more people, but a limitation could be that you spend less time face to face with those around you. Or, you may say that a benefit is that people see your faith as an active thing, but a limitation is that the words are open to misunderstanding and even ridicule. Do you delete a negative post, or let it remain? If so, why do you do what you do?
You may notice that I am asking more questions than I am providing answers. That's because I truly do believe that social media use is up to the individual. I will not belittle anyone for using it or not using it. I may challenge someone who perhaps makes too much of it, where it may interfere with things like family life and thus detract from that most important vocational responsibility, or I may question what a particular post is saying. I will not belittle anyone for actually using social media, though.
Why have you chosen to engage with social media? I think it's an important question for you to ponder, and you may find that engage with it for reasons that you may not even have really thought of before. Perhaps giving your use that critical look will help focus what you do with it, or you may find that you are doing exactly what you hope to do. Either way, I hope that taking some time to reflect on it will deepen your understanding of what you hope to accomplish through your engagement with social media.
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