social media forum

Sunday night at our church we had a social media forum discussing the good and not-so-good of all things social media. It was well orchestrated by the staff of our church and the panel that participated were knowledgeable and well spoken. I'm really hoping everyone who attended benefited from the wisdom provided by the panel.

I'd like to share a little bit from the night, but first need to throw out some of the social media forums we discussed...
 

and more. Our discussion was focused on the use of Facebook. Mostly about how to apply Biblical principals to our use of that particular social media forum as well as any other platform we choose to us.

Here are just a few things I took away from the discussion...

• Two camps: "all-in" or "all-out" and neither are necessarily wise. "All-in" is used to describe those who are 100% devoted to the use of social media and many times neglect to think about some of the dangers associated with them. "All-out" is used to describe those who are 100% against the use of social media. Neither camp is a wise place to be.
• The definition of the word "friend" is many times very different in our face-to-face interactions and our online interactions. Many times people will accept a friend request on facebook or follow someone on twitter when in real life they would never call them a friend or even necessarily speak to them in public. A good rule of thumb laid out by our panel was that if you would not speak to them in public then it is unwise to make them part of your online world.
• People must be careful when using social media because it by nature allows a certain level of privacy. Parents, know your child's password and be active in their use of social media; spouses, know your significant other's password and be open with them about your own use of social media; children, use your parents as the God-given resource that they are for you.
• We should all help hold each other accountable for our use of social media. Frequence, things said, what our page says about who we are and what we believe, etc. Always remember though to do so appropriately.
• Our faith should be integrated into every aspect of our lives, including our use of social media platforms.
• Facebook statuses and tweets are not the place to vent, call someone out, air every detail about yourself, or anything of that nature. Know how to use those platforms appropriately.

The big take away for the evening was that social media, like so many things, is a good thing when used appropriately. So, remember to pray about your use of it and to monitor that use through self checks as well as accountability from those around you.
Lastly, a good way to self check is to one pray before doing anything with social media and two to use Ephesians 4:29 as a guide before posting anything.

Let no corruptive talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.