Tuesday, November 13, 2007

a little thing called facebook....

while working at calvin college i got some lessons on the world wide web. blogs, IMing, myspace and facebook were all means of community for my students.

over the years i've tried to maintain some traditional forms of communication. who doesn't love a hand-written letter? and isn't a chat over a cup of coffee more fulfilling than an e-mail? so i tended to stay away from newest technology.

i signed up for facebook as a way to connect with my students. facebook used to be just for college campuses. now it's a social network open to anyone. do i hate checking facebook? yes.

but with everything there comes good things too.

i've been able to "find" friends from college that i've disconnected with over time. i've been able to stay in contact with community that is separated by miles.

i still fear where our culture is going. are we losing the art of true, authentic communication? do we know how to offer each other our faces, our presence without the aid of a computer? are we lazy?

i do lament that i fall into the trap of writing an e-mail rather than calling. or that i can offer my reflections and thoughts freely on the screen but when face to face, i wonder if you will care to really listen.

my friend deanna took a blog fast for a week to reconnect with her family and friends, and not be a slave to the web. she's inspired me to take time each week to, instead of e-mailing or blogging, to write a letter or call a friend. to get back to the basics.

1 comment:

Cap'n said...

I will see you on facebook this week and maybe we can chat on skype.??? This doesn't pertain to your husband, because I could last a week without skyping him...