Social media - to be or not to be

 What if "the social dilemma" on Netflix is really part 2 of a social experiment and/or social manipulation?

If the original goal was to brainwash a generation toward a certain ideation, but older and wiser people started to use the tool and share their knowledge, experience and wisdom; then perhaps you need a new experiment to see if you could get those people off social media clearing the way to influence the young.

What if "the social dilemma" documentary is more about increasing social distancing (virtually and physically) than it is about telling truth?

What if the people who "hid the truth" about social media in the beginning are now hiding their real reasons for "telling all" now?

What if the fact that someone used social media to be a BIG tool in getting elected (and that person is hated by many in the media - social and otherwise) caused them to try and figure out how to make social media a less effective tool for them in the future?

What if everyone using social media used it to be social and not political?

What if seniors, who find huge joy seeing grand children and great-grand children could no longer do that because their families decide to drop off social media.

Sure, we can go back to phone, mail, and the occasional every other year visit. I'm just not convinced that will last. Oh, there are some exceptional people that do make that work and my hat is off to them. In my experience they are the exception, not the rule. When I see the joy on my 88 year old mother's face every time she says, "Did you see what ____ posted?", I don't see social media as evil. Not that it can't be. It just isn't always that.

Here is what I know. I have not seen the documentary, I've only read about. I do not use or watch Netflix (for personal reasons). I have a great group of Facebook friends who come from all different walks of life, spiritual beliefs, political beliefs, etc. I love them all. The only ones that I've seen react to the documentary to the level that they will leave social media over it are the friends who are conservative politically, or Christian, or both. Hmmmm.

Now, do I think minors should have unlimited access to social media? NO. Do I think parents should be the biggest influence in their children's life? YES. Do I think we have lost the art of critical thinking in this country? YES.

So, if you feel the need to drop social media, that is your choice. I do not judge that decision when it is made for the right reasons and not being made based on one movie created by people who have admitted to having hidden agendas in the past and might just still have hidden agendas.

Sorry about the rant. This isn't due to one person posting about it, I've had many friends post about it. It is pent up anger due to how quickly I watch all kinds of people jump on all kinds of band wagons. Maybe in the end, I'll be the one who is wrong. And, I am in the middle of covid-fatigue and how quickly everyone's social life was radically changed, and is still not what it was. I am furious at how loved ones have been kept apart when hospitalized or in care facilities. Their failure to thrive is heart breaking.

I feel close to those I care about because I know how to pray for them, when to call them, how to celebrate with them as they share bits and pieces of real life on social media. Now, I feel like this new documentary wants to take that away too.

Personally, I gain so much emotional strength by seeing what my family and friends post (when it is actually about them and their lives) that it causes me great sadness every time I see someone I love drop out of the social media connection.

Bye, I will miss you. Some of you I know will connect with me in others ways. Thank God! But, some of you, this is our only connection.

Stress 2020 Style

So I wake up each morning with a really good attitude knowing God is in control. I have an easy time riding into work as the traffic is slightly lighter than usual, mostly due to schools being closed. I get to the office and open things up. That’s when it hits me. Nothing is as it should be. This worldwide crisis has changed everything. And, while I know this is temporary that doesn’t change the gravity of what I’m feeling. In the course of a few hours I swing from optimism to hopelessness.

Church is done online now and I’m so grateful for that. However, it’s not the same. I’ve been Christian a long time and have a strong faith. So, why then this stirring in the pit of my stomach? Why do I feel like I’m one word away from a long hard cry? And, what can I even do to change the way I feel right now?

My heart hurts for those going through a tough time in this environment. Losing a loved one and not being able to have a funeral with others who will help you carry your grief. Stuck in another country unable to come home. Being told your job is “on hold” as the place you work has to shut down. Having a loved one in an elder care facility, or the hospital, and not even being able to visit. And the list goes on. Sometimes the stories come in so fast it is impossible to process what I just heard.

That stirring in the pit of my stomach, and the need for a long hard cry, are now accompanied by an inability to concentrate, a stiff neck and sore shoulders. I work for a nonprofit, what happens when donations stop coming in? I’m closer to retirement each year and what happens now to my retirement funds with the stock market doing so poorly. In the 80's when that happened I was decades away from retirement and knew things could recover. Recently, someone asked me, “how much have you lost”? I haven’t looked. I don’t want to know.

I tell myself, “none of this surprised God” and expect that to be enough. But, to be honest, it isn’t. Does that make my faith weak? Probably. Does that make me more human than I want to be? Definitely.

Advice I’ve received from others: “Don’t watch the news”, “Don’t read news-feeds on the internet”, “Don’t stress about it, it’s out of your control”. Probably all good advice, just not practical. Ministry responsibilities require me to be on top of things, to be “in the know”. And, even if they didn’t you simply can’t get away from it.

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?” Psalm 43:5a (NLT)

Written thousands of years ago, I ask these same questions now like I’m the first person to ever have them. I forget that in the past, many dealt with circumstances that brought them to this same place I find myself in. Many times in human history, world changing events happened that caused great stress for those living through them. Yet, somehow, society went on. Often, very different from what it once was. Humans have this amazing capacity to adapt. They work through pain, grief, loss, change, heartache, famine, poverty, and much more. Some don’t make it but most do. I want to be part of the most. God willing, I can be part of the future. Perhaps, the world might be a little better when all is said and done.

For now I’m called to trust. Not in a government or a system, but in God. The God who created all things, including us fallen humans. And, for some reason He felt we were of great value. So great that He sent his only Son to die for us. Wow. If that doesn’t bring perspective then “your woods all wet”. God didn’t have to do that, He wanted to. He could have just wiped it all out and started over (the etch-a-sketch plan). But He didn’t. I am amazed once again at how loved I am by God. In fact, I just breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Everything going on in the world does not sit on my shoulders; it never did. And, God is still God. That never changes. He has broad shoulders and He is enough.

“I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again, my Savior and my God!” Psalm 43:5b (NLT)

The Psalmist made this shift so quickly. In the same verse he went from discouragement and depression to hope and praise! And guess what? Nothing in his circumstances had changed. He was still taunted by his enemies, oppressed and hunted. So, what happened here? It seems to me that he stopped looking at things from a horizontal perspective and started using a vertical one.

Father God, lift my eyes to You. Keep my focus on the eternal and not the temporal. Remind me of the great things You have down so I will anticipate with hope in the great things You are yet to do. My Savior, My Lord; be my strength when I am weak. Take me as you find me but don’t leave me there. When my head hangs low, lift my chin. The miracles in the Bible were not Your last miracles. You, Jehovah, are still in the business of performing miracles. May You heal our land. May You give hope to the hopeless. And, if I am found worthy, may You use this humble servant to help even one person who needs help right now. Not for my namesake but for Yours. AMEN