VORTEXT – the downside of social media.

An article by Drew    1 Comment

We didn’t see it coming – this bizarre new e-world.  Back in the day we thought that past 2000 we’d be zipping about in air cars and robots would doing all our work – we didn’t predict that the greatest change would be a crazy proliferation of communication with millions of people all round the world texting, emailing, blogging, pxting, flickring, twittering, tweeting, digging, tumbling, stumbling  and frittering their lives away.

In a recent interview NT Wright, famous author and Bishop of Durham expressed his concern that hours in front of the screen could become a dehumanizing/isolating alternative to spending time in the physical world with “huggable people”.  He described it as cultural masturbation – self stimulation that doesn’t relate to real action in the real world.  While he happily embraces texting and emailing, Wright warns us to be shrewd about how far we go with social media and suggests we should reflect on the meta issues involved.

Wright’s observations seem entirely reasonable.  Of course we must analyze any new social phenomenon, identify the pitfalls while utilizing the advantages.  But Wright’s interview has sparked a good deal of criticism.  Julie Clawson for example attacks the worthy cleric in an article on the excellent Sojourners blogsite.

Clawson accuses Wright of ‘jumping on the “caution people about the perceived dangers of the Internet” bandwagon.’  She lumps Wright in with those reactionaries ‘going off on modern technology, putting their own particular “it’s the end of the world as we know it” spin on the matter.’  This is hardly fair.  Wright is far from “going off” about anything.  He’s much too English for that.  And he certainly does not claim that e-communication will have any apocalyptic effect.  He simply points out a few of the potential dangers posed by social media and who can really doubt that such dangers exist?

Clawson presents a naïve and rosy view of social media.  She claims that internet users are more likely to socialize in the real world and that “social media builds community.”

She chooses to ignore the fact that for every person engaged in community building and intelligent discussion there are two wasting time with trivia and three pursing porn.

Two middle aged guys indulging in cybersex, both pretending to be teen lesbians, is sadly  more common on the net than Clawson’s honest emotional and intellectual interchange.

Before you write me off as another latter day Luddite I must strongly assert that I love the net.  It’s my primary research tool and a great source of entertainment.  I relish being able to look up Luddite and in seconds confirm that it is the word I want or watch a video of a friend’s toddler taking his first shaky steps in Wales.  I spend many hours each day online and therein lies the problem.

We all have a limited amount of spare time.  Many people today describe themselves as “time poor” so how we spend our time becomes extremely important.  If I spend hours and hours pimping and primping my Facebook page or playing the latest MMORPG (massively multi player on line game) that’s time I do not then have for worthwhile practical activities in the real world.  E communication can easily become a vortex which sucks up our time with nothing much to show for it.

Yes I can make friends with people on the other side of the world, perhaps partake in pseudo communities but wouldn’t I be better to try building real community among my neighbours who I barely know?  Wouldn’t it be better to visit a friend in hospital than tell the world what I had for breakfast?  Wouldn’t weeding the garden be more worthwhile than finding out what sort of American muscle car most suits my personality type?

Social media is both time greedy and addictive.  Restraint and wisdom must be applied.  Always ask yourself – is this a good use of my time, is this constructive work or have I just allowed myself to become distracted again.  (But I’ve got to clock up a top score before I quit!)  Is this important communication or am I merely contributing to the vast flow of drivel?

There’s also God time to consider.  If you’re a Christian then your time is not your own.    Ask yourself would Jesus blog or would he be out meeting the real needs of the down and outers?  Would he be online in an internet café or out with the street people?  Jesus was God incarnate, physically present in a real world, not God’s avatar in a virtual reality.

To self controlled, well organized people like Julie Clawson who manage both an active, socially engaged life in the real world along with a stimulating and worthwhile interaction through social media I say congratulations.  I envy you. I have to admit I’m readily distracted by time wasting activities.  In the past I’ve watched far too much TV.  I’ve played far too many computer games.  I could easily become totally sucked into the vortex of social media. So for me, and those like me, NT Wright’s caution is timely and vital.