I've seen loads of videos and articles lately, particularly from Christian sources, talking about the damage social media is causing to our society, and the "loneliness epidemic" that lies behind the "social" element of modern technology. Before I start getting into this, I want to say I pretty much wholeheartedly agree with what these kind of articles are saying. I recognise the problems behind social media and various forms of technology, and I've experienced the negative effects of them myself. I'm not here to defend social media of its bad press.
Checking my Timehop this afternoon, I found this tweet from two years ago:
Clearly this was a late-night musing (I've always said my best musings come to me between 11pm and 1am). I can't remember if there was a specific incident or interaction that inspired this thought, but two years later, it's really made me think about the impact social media has had on my life. As a young person, social media has been around for pretty much as long as I've been old enough to be using it, which makes it hard to see how it's shaped me over the years. I'll probably never know, but I can tell that it's definitely had a big impact. Twitter and YouTube in particular have been a huge source of encouragement and self-discovery for me. So much of my ministry as a teenage new Christian in a non-Christian household came from online podcasts (shout out once again to the Say That team), Christian lifestyle/advice videos (such as the ones Jeff & Alyssa make), online devotionals (e.g. Word4U2Day), and Christian radio stations.
I've made friends through social media - obviously it's always so important to do this in a safe way, but I was grateful to make a friend through Twitter after we connected through the #ssbioy (Soul Survivor Bible In One Year) hashtag who I encouraged and was encouraged by.
Through Facebook in particular, I've been able to sustain relationships with people who have really blessed me over the years. I've received and given support to a friend who I got to know mostly through Facebook a year or two ago when we were simultaneously experiencing a similar tough situation. Moving to London, I could easily have lost contact with almost all of my college friends back home in Hampshire, but through Facebook I know a little bit about what they're up to, they know what I'm doing, and so we all stay a part of one another's lives. Additionally, my potential worries about moving to London and meeting a whole load of new people were much reduced from the friendly contact I had already had with many of them through a Facebook group.
I've been able to take part in debates, interacted with important people, and learn so much about the world I live in and my place in it. Social media, and Twitter in particular, has truly given me a voice. Through blogging and tweeting, I have a platform from which to speak and that is a valuable thing. In a democratic country where freedom of speech is our right, it's good and important that we are able to be heard. Again, I completely recognise that this privilege can be abused.
The social activist and feminist in me has pretty much been borne of social media, because I've become aware of the issues facing my society and this world, and helped me understand what I could do about it.
Regarding my recent desire to live a new, healthier, more ethical and eco-friendly life, social media communities have been the ones to teach me how I can go about it, and answered any questions I have.
I could go on.
People need people, and social media isn't always the way to access what we need from them, but just sometimes, it can be edifying, fun, educational and inspiring.
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