On Social Media
Many of fellow seminarians as well as pastors I know have been wrestling with the question: to social media or not? I embraced Twitter early, was a Facebook user when it went public, and have been blogging for four years. Last weekend someone asked me if I will continue when ordained. I'm not sure. A campus pastor will use Facebook and Twitter out of necessity as a basic form of communication like the phone or email. On the other hand, a rural parish pastor probably can't justify spending extensive time on the social network sites when neither his flock or potential flock are there. Then again, I appreciate that those tools are networks that allow pastors to remain connected to fellow pastors outside their immediate geography. But they are no substitute for real conversation, person-to-person, flesh-to-flesh. Disembodied speech is about as important as those pesky ghosts in Scrouge's mind. They might motivate to remedy relationships or simply encourage one to take anti-psychotic medication. For the time being, I'm seeking a different balance. Twitter has been mostly a time wasting venture. Occasionally it is good for a laugh or a link. But by and large its worth is questionable. Secondly, much of the useful information is duplicated onto Facebook or into your favorite RSS reader. I wouldn't use Facebook if my family, friends, and colleagues didn't. That said, a daily five-minute perusal is usually all that is necessary. So, I'm reverting back to old school linking and commenting here on the blog. For one thing, its isolated from the noise of Twitter and Facebook. Secondly, it makes no demands of me other than what my priorities allow. I can go days without posting if need be. I can comment to links if time allows. Most importantly, I don't feel compelled to compose narcissistic posts about the cat, my bowel movements, or how cold it is. The daily humdrum is common to us all and not worthy of the bytes. Speaking of which, the grind calls.
