First there was MySpace which was introduced as a fascinating and easy way for the common person to have their own homepage where friends can gather virtually to share comments, photos, and have fun doing, well, nothing.  Then Facebook became the next rage as it focused on students across the nation as a place for classmates to stay in contact after graduation.  Now, there’s Twitter, a very convenient way to share your ever consuming thought with all those who choose to follow your every move.  Of course, there are many others available to us with almost no limit to the subjects and audiences each caters to.

The funny thing is that as I watch these networks grow like the weeds in my backyard, it appears that more and more people are utilizing this new form of communication as a quick and easy way to stay in contact with friends.  Even I am guilty of signing up and participating in the many social networking forums available to us. I have read the many comments left by those I’ve become intertwined with and have periodically succumbed to the hours of applications available to tweak your personal page to your personality, take the quizzes that promise to show how smart you are, and numerous virtual gifts and invitations that can be sent to your network of friends. And yet, in the midst of the time being used to update my status, I have found myself using the same excuse of “I’ve been busy” when asked the standard question, “I haven’t heard from you in a long time, what’s been going on?”  My participation in the virtual world and the number of questions I’ve received along with the number “I’ve been busy” responses has made me stop and wonder whether or not anyone has ever thought about how impersonal the virtual social networking can be?  Have our lives become so busy that we must resort to reading “short blogs” and “brief updates” to stay in contact with those we love?

You’ve heard of Alcoholics Anonymous?  A group in China has stated that social networking and the internet has become such a problem in the world that individuals have not only become addicted to the technology but their continued use has caused the user to forget how to socialize outside the internet.  This group has formed a type of a clinic that helps those addicted to the internet relearn social skills and relinquish their dependency on the internet.  (USA Today, July 1, 2008)

Now before getting on any bandwagon that states that social networking is evil or excepting the thought that I’m completely against social networking, hold on.  I still believe in the benefits of social networking and appreciate its ability to help friends and family stay in contact.  What I find so humorous is that the most technologically savvy individuals who not only have access, but also better understanding of the technology currently available to this world, are the busiest of them all.  It’s the technological, the group which I would include myself in, who have access to every piece of equipment that was designed to help reduce our workloads in order to encourage additional free time has, in fact, caused the very opposite within our society.

Many of us are guilty of allowing the ease of technology to get in the way of quieting ourselves before the Lord and each other in order to truly rest in His presence.   We use social networking as a way of hastily sharing our thoughts without the true accountability of sharing those thoughts with close friends who can help encourage us and pray for us.   Plus, we cease to become that close friend in whom others can approach as one who is open to listen.  It’s almost as if we have become quick to share our frustrations and victories with the world without the consideration of taking the responsibility of sharing the frustrations and victories of others.

Hebrews 10:25 states, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

There’s something about meeting together, fellowshipping with each other, and spending quality one-on-one time that helps to lift a person’s spirit while, at the same time, encouraging a closer walk with our Maker.

Social networking combined with technology is not necessarily a bad addition to society.  However, the tendency for individuals to lean towards technology as the primary source for communication is causing more of a void than a fulfillment and the art of true social interaction is becoming a lost art.  God designed His children for deep relationships.  It’s through our relationships with each other that we learn how to grow into a deeper relationship with He who made us, Jehovah.  The next time you sit in front of the computer to type the latest update on your favorite social networking website, don’t forget to review your list of friends and family within your network and commit to placing a phone call or writing a personal note to that one person who still reads the updates but has forgotten what it means to have you as a close, personal friend.