Internet and Social Networking is a Buffer
Internet and Social Networking is a Buffer
The Internet as a Buffer. I've seen an ad on TV in Canada lately, where individuals with shopping carts bump into each other in a shopping aisle, and yell at each other and "honk" and tell each other to get out of their way and other such behavior that people would never do in real life, but do to each other on the road. Needless to say, it's obvious to say the internet provides the exact same opportunities in our social interaction.
I remember in my time volunteering at a drop-in called The Bridge Youth Centre years ago, and there was an individual who I mistakenly allowed on my MSN chat list, and I would get sucked into way more arguing and debating and fighting than I really had the maturity to cut off and stop back then. But in person this girl was the biggest and most shy coward I still have ever come across. In fact, I hardly know what this person's voice sounds like because I'd never heard it! But on the internet I would get attacked and called all sorts of names by her like she was the boldest lion!
Another time, a friend of mine with the foulest temper I'd ever come across to date, was upset with me for challenging him over MSN about some areas of correction he needed in his bad attitude. He then threatened me and told me not to come to our Bible Study that week, because he would kick the crap out of me if I did (and by thus, proving the very attitudes I was attempting to gently challenge!) Scared of nothing other than wasting my time, I gave little thought to his 'threat', and the very next night, myself and some mutual friends all invited ourselves over to this brother's house to go for a swim on that hot summer's night. I had a bit of a lump in my throat knowing the last interaction I had with the brother who's house we were going to was a less than pleasant one, but I knew I had nothing to be ashamed of. This guy said very little to me. Actually I don't remember if we had any interaction, since there were many 10-12 other people present.
Do you know what happened next time I saw him on instant messenger? He cussed me out and told me I had a lot of nerve coming over to his house. I hope you get the picture by now-that no threat to my physical safety was ever going to happen at this tough guy's hands. He was all talk, and just a coward with a keyboard. I'm sure we've all had incidents where we see people are not afraid to air their opinion on the internet but when you stand in front of them face to face and take the gloves off, there's nothing to show for it. I see it all the time on message boards, forums, comments on peoples' blogs, Facebook wall posts, etc...
I don't mind having conversations sometimes on MSN if that's the level of inhibition some people are at with sharing personal things with me. But other people are flat out wimps and need to come out of their shells and learn to have a normal conversation in real life. Heck, they make programs like Skype if you want to talk verbally to people but still not leave your house, much like a tradition phone.
As for things like Facebook and Myspace: if "social" networking sites are supposed to be revolutionizing the way we socialize and build our friendships, then how come they're doing the opposite and making us more socially retarded than just simple internet blogging and IMing was making us in the first place? Since I've been back in North America, I've run into students of the Bible school I've also attended, who ADDED ME Facebookm but would not even so much as say hello to me; I've had a cashier at the local Wal-Mart who upon making eye contact would not even say hi when I began to extend my hand for an 'almost-handshake'--you know, where you try to say hi/offer a handshake, but see it's not going to be reciprocated so you pretend you were scratching your head or doing something like that with your hand?
I also recently sat cross-aisle on a Greyhound bus from Toronto to Peterborough from another "Facebook friend" I went to high school with who absolutely would not make eye contact with me and I cannot figure for the life in me how to go two hours pretending we didn't see each other. I have a list of examples of daily interatcion like this, but those are the top of the list.
If the internet is supposed to help connect us to each other, then how come so many relationships are suffering in personal human interaction? Facebook and Myspace should not be used as a substitute for human interaction and the way we communicate with one another, but it should be used to enhance already existing relationships in my opinion.
Don't you think?
Steve has been a missionary to Europe for over 2 years, and currently lives in C
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