What I Learned During My Break From Social Media

If you're a regular reader of this blog then you know I took a break from writing on here and from other social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter during the Lenten season from late February to early April. I haven't been that active in blogging since I returned from this break since I've been fairly busy and it's taken me a little while to get back in the blogging groove.

There are a number of topics that I'd like to write about that I'll hopefully be working on in the coming weeks but for now I'd like to share a few things I learned during my break from some of my regular online activity. Here goes...

1. My mind was less cluttered with less time spent online. There is so much activity that is readily available to us due to the Internet that our minds are nearly always in overactive mode and we rarely get a time to mentally rest. I found that when I was not trying to track with everything that all my friends were doing online, my mind wasn't nearly as busy and active. I discovered I had more time for reflection and was even intentionally leaving the television off and not listening to the radio in the car as much since I had a greater appreciation for quiet. And as a father of four young children, quietness is a precious commodity in my eyes.

2. I became more focused on what I needed to learn and less on what I think others needed to learn. As a regular blogger that seeks to primarily write about things that are important and significant, I'm often thinking about the things that I think others need to hear when it comes to issues pertaining to God or race or religion or culture. I, unfortunately, can miss out on what it is that I need to learn because I'm so busy formulating thoughts for the consumption of others. Sharing information with others is fine, but I need to not miss the lessons that I need to learn as well.

3. There can be a real tendency towards negativity and meanness on the web. By removing myself from online dialogue for a season, I was able to recognize how quickly virtual conversations can turn into mean-spirited lectures and not necessarily genuine, respectful conversations. With the anonymity that our online personas afford us, we are quick to offer judgmental, sarcastic or just flat-out mean commentary in ways that we never would in face-to-face interactions. This has caused me to take pause and think twice about what I post online.

4. Although Blogger, Facebook and Twitter can be useful, I don't "need" any of these things. Online social networking has online been part of my life for the past handful of years and I did okay before I had any of those things. Since I have spent time each day for years utilizing these tools, I did wonder if there was some sort of an addiction that had consumed me without me realizing it. Within a couple days of going cold turkey on social media, I was confident this was not the case. I really didn't miss it and my life was fine without it.

To be fair, though, I did miss learning about some of the important updates in friends lives (like engagements, birth of babies, job changes, etc.) but my wife, Lori, filled me in on those things if I hadn't spoken with friends personally. I feel more confident that while online social networking can be useful in my life, it is not a necessity.

In closing, I'm glad I took the break that I did. I view my time online differently and have a different perspective on the things that I'm going to choose to write about. I have also been encouraged by a number of friends that told me that they missed reading my blog or seeing my status updates. In some cases, I didn't realize that these individuals were regular readers. It has been a good reminder that our time on online has the power to influence people and it's up to us whether we want that influence to affect people in a positive or negative way. I hope that my writing reaches people in a positive manner.

I'm Back

After a several week break from the world of blogging and online social networking, I'm back on online. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with friends and sharing my thoughts through this blog. Fortunately, my intentional hiatus online taught me several things that I'll be sharing with you soon. And there were a number of events that happened in the world around us that I'll be sharing my thoughts on (even if it may be many weeks after the fact in some cases).

For now I hope that your heart is encouraged as we celebrate the most significant event in world history -- the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For a message that I post each Easter about Jesus, click here. God bless!

Why I'm Giving Up Social Networking

In my blog post yesterday I shared some history behind the Christian season of Lent and the common practice of fasting during this period. Over the past number of years, I have often observed this season by giving up some sort of food or beverages. Things like chocolate, sugar, and caffeine are just some of the things that I've abstained from during Lent in recent years.

But this year is going to be different. Since I've been eating much healthier over the past year (I've lost 25 pounds since last February), I began seeking the Lord several weeks ago about how I could observe Lent this year. And the thought came to my mind: What about giving up social networking? Although I don't think I'm addicted, I do spend time visiting online sites like Facebook and Twitter several times a day. I also write several blog posts a week and this certainly takes up some of my evening time.

So that it is what I'm going to do. For the next six weeks or so, I will not be participating in any online social networking. No Facebook. No Twitter. No Blog.

Since my work requires it, I will still be available by e-mail and will actually receive e-mail alerts of any messages I receive through the above websites but I won't be responding.

Beginning tomorrow I'm choosing to focus more intently on my relationship with God and my family and am going to be more intentional about spending less time online and more time doing other activities. I'm also hoping to spend more time reading books and less time reading things online. As I've mentioned numerous times before, I think online social networking can be a wonderful thing that helps us stayed connected to those we care about and to learn more about the world.

But it also has the potential to become addictive and distracting. So I'm going to do a bit of a test over the coming weeks to see if I go through any kind of "withdrawal." Just a handful of years ago, none of these things were part of my life. So they're not really necessities. But they can be fun and I'm looking forward to re-connecting with you online in April. God bless.

Is Facebook Harming Us?

With the increasing popularity of online social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, there has been an obvious cry about the virtual connections that people are making online. Terms like "false community" and "fake friendships" get bandied about regularly, usually from older generations that are unfamiliar with these new forms of media.

As a minister that works with college students, I am familiar with the dominant role that online networking plays in the lives of young people. Although I am genuinely concerned that these online connections will take the place of face-to-face interactions, but I don't feel that they are "all bad." Just like anything else, things like Facebook have positive aspects, as well as negative ones. It's up to us to choose how we will use them.

Agreed, there are those that have an unhealthy addictions online. I know people that spend hours each day on Facebook posting pictures, writing on people's walls, taking quizzes, playing games and searching for new friends. If they are never spending time socially live and in person with friends, that should be a concern.

Because of my role in our ministry, I have the opportunity to travel and meet lots of new people. Many of these individuals are on Facebook and I become "friends" with them online after meeting them. On average, I probably spend less than 15 minutes a day on Facebook for personal reasons. I spend additional time on there when it's related to our ministry, but it's not a huge time commitment.

Since I have close to 1,000 Facebook friends, one might assume that most of those friends are people I've never met. That assumption would be false. There are probably 20-30 people that I haven't met personally and most of those we have a legitimate connection through a mutual friend. Granted, a lot of my friends on Facebook are merely acquaintances that I've only met once or twice. But establishing an online friendship with them has allowed me to stay in touch and get to know them better.

Some would argue that those friendships are meaningless because it is taking place virtually and not face-to-face. But would they wish that we lost touch altogether? Because of Facebook, I've been able to re-establish connections with friends from childhood and relatives that I hardly ever get to see. Because I've lived in several different parts of the country and frequently travel, I have friends all over the place. Facebook allows me to keep in touch with those friends in way that a yearly Christmas card doesnn't allow.

Facebook is not inherently bad. We have a choice on how we want to utilize it. As my friend Ryan McReynolds wisely notes, we could easily compare Facebook to the printing press or the telephone. Some of the most ardent critics of Facebook are those that spend significant time curled up with books written by dead people that they'll never meet. The irony is striking. Face-to-face communication should be our preferred method of relating to one another, but when that isn't possible, I'd rather connect online than not connect at all.