What do I mean by social media praying? I mean when I am scrolling through my news feed and I see more than one post directly addressing God and saying.
Ex: Jesus, I love you and I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful experience I had this weekend, I have all the best friends and the best youth group ever.
Ex: "I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open..." ( Ok I just don't get this image to begin with...)
Why does this bother me?
Well, I think part of it is a distressing cultural reflection that we think that for something to be valid it needs to be public and probably on social media. More and more for young people, reality is virtual. A relationship isn't official until it's "facebook official", our awesome lunch with a friend isn't REALLY awesome until we have instagramed our sandwich etc. Am I guilty of all of these things? yes. BUT I am still upset at the idea that more and more modern man lives in a virtual reality.
God doesn't need you to tweet Him, but He would love it if you would talk with Him. He can hear you in the silence of your heart. I think of the Lord talking about the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Pharisee prays in public telling God all the great things he has done for Him, while the tax collector beats his breast and won't even raise his eyes to heaven, saying "Lord have mercy on me, a sinner." I think the temptation is to make prayer public because we want it to be real. And yet, in the silence and humility of heart the Father who sees what is in secret will hear us.
The Christian witness is important and Benedict XVI often called for a Christian presence in social media. That being said, I think that our Holy Father Francis, is a beautiful example of how to use social media to give glory to God. He teaches on twitter almost every day. Pope Francis also uses social media so spread the word about global events such as the day for prayer for peace etc. I think this is where the New Evangelization meets social media.
Thoughts?
I agree that there is an increasing need for social media to validate our thoughts, feeling, and even our very beings. I think you've seen the Innovation of Loneliness video (http://vimeo.com/70534716)
ReplyDeleteHere's the TED talk it's based on (there's a transcript you can read if you want): http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html
In particular I'm on board with her proposed solution: "Those who make the most of their lives on the screen come to it in a spirit of self-reflection. An that's what I'm calling for here, now: reflection and, more than that, a conversation about where our current use of technology may be taking us, what it might be costing us...I'm not suggesting that we turn away from our devices, just that we develop a more self-aware relationship with them, with each other and with ourselves."
"Start thinking of solitude as a good thing. Make room for it. Find ways to demonstrate this as a value to your children. Create sacred spaces at home -- the kitchen, the dining room -- and reclaim them for conversation. Do the same thing at work."
Solitude leads to conversation. Solitude and silence and just being allows the opportunity and space for a real connection to be made. If we keep filling the void with distractions, how can we ever fill it with real personal relationships?