Facebook's Greatest Hits: I'll Be There

Welcome to week three of the Facebook Friend Challenge! If you’ve got this down, move to the next paragraph. If you’re just joining us, we’ve been thinking about social networking practices. We have noticed that how we operate confirms recent research, which says we get out of social networking what we bring to it. This research has also found, however, that what many people bring to social media is a growing feeling of disconnectedness. We’ve thought about how we, who call ourselves Christ’s, are also called to bring light and hope to the world. We’ve asked the question, "What do we bring to something like Facebook?" We’re looking to make a difference, even on Facebook, and using Jesus’ example to guide us.

As everyone knows, Jesus enjoyed a good meal with friends. He hung out with people and shared their lives. Sometimes it was dramatic – probably with Jesus, it was never boring. Most of the time, it was just life together.

It could be argued that Facebook was originally created to help people connect at a certain time and a certain place in the real world ...okay, it was created by a guy in order to keep track of which cute girls were at the best parties at Harvard…but we’re about redemption here, right? There is no substitute for real-world, human contact. I love that I get to see a picture of the awesome steak my friends barbecued for dinner last night. They had a great time, and it makes me happy to know they were happy. However, we could only truly bond over that steak if I was there, eating it with them, and they live on the other side of the continent.


Last time, we considered the question of how many Facebook friends is too many, and I suggested that each of us has to determine that for himself. Since then, I’ve wondered, how do I make the tough decisions about which requests to accept and which to ignore? The principle that we’re looking at today can help answer that question.

We are innately curious creatures, we humans. We were created this way and it’s how we learn. Just like most things in life, though, it can be two-edged sword – fulfilling our curiosity can also become an unhealthy addiction. Researchers have discovered something interesting about people who use Facebook to coordinate and reflect on real-world contact. They tend to be more satisfied and happy in general than people who use social networking to keep track of those they never see in real life. The results are in and, clearly, there are better ways to spend a life than trolling the halls of Facebook but never connecting. Chatting and commenting on people’s posts are good, getting together in real life is better.

So, if I have to make a choice between accepting a request from an old high school friend that I haven’t seen for twenty years and won’t talk to again until my 30^th High School Reunion – or, accepting a request from someone I just met at church last Sunday – familiarity might incline me to go with the old high school friend, but it would be way better for both of us to accept the local new acquaintance. Facebook is a great tool for arranging help, encouragement, and connection with local friends. Let’s use it that way.

Facebook Challenge, Week Three: Use Facebook to arrange a meet with local friends in the real world…of course!