FACEBOOK ABOUT FACE

I was talking to this 16 year old teenager about FaceBook recently.  She told me that she is sort of “giving up” on FaceBook.  Quite interesting (and to my shock), she said it is boring.  And furthermore, she said that a handful of her friends are also not spending much time on FaceBook now!  Wow!  What a revelation!

Actually I am only about 2 months old on FaceBook.  For the past months, I logged on almost every day, about twice a day.  I would spend about 10-15 minutes each time, and maybe a bit longer if there are some interesting stuff… or something worthwhile to check out further…

What have I “discovered” in FaceBook?!

I think about 90% of most people’s activities (postings and comments, etc) on FaceBook are trivial matters… matters which zero or next to zero eternal consequences or values.  Perhaps food and photographs are the No. 1 subject matters… what I ate, what I drank, what I saw, where I’ve been…  Next, is changing profile pictures... and then everyone will go wild clicking “I LIKE”…  Another common activity is recommending video clips on YouTube…  And then, there are the occasional outbursts of “I am hungry!”, “I hate that…” and “Why?!” or “What!!!”

Please don’t get me wrong!  No, I am not saying that these are useless stuff… or bad stuff…  At this point of time, I am just thinking aloud…

I think there are some values in the stuff above which I have labeled as trivial.  I think the primary good in all these stuff is that it helps people know what we are doing and thinking.  Which means some social connecting can happen.  The secondary good is that there is a channel for expression and release… when we are happy, frustrated, or bored…

Indeed, I am beginning to understand why the teenager I spoke to can become bored with FaceBook.  When FaceBook is just all about trivial matters, very soon we will look for the next thing to give us some highs…

So… what has Jason Fong been doing on FaceBook?!

So far… I have done a bit of the usual “trivial” stuff… like “liking” some people… responding to people’s comments… But just a wee bit, so that I am not misunderstood as a “boring” person!

But really… stuff I have done on FaceBook which I think were significant included recommending certain articles and posting certain comments… that would hopefully “provoke” people positively toward God.

I have a dream for FaceBook…

I would like to see FaceBook become a tool where we could use to provoke each other to love and good works.  I would like to see FaceBook become a catalyst to spur one another to be mindful of God a bit more.  I would like to see FaceBook become a window to help the world at large to know what should preoccupy the hearts and minds of people who truly love God…

If this dream fires your imagination, I would like to invite you to join me…

IMPORTANT NOTES:

If this article has blessed you, or if you think this article will bless someone; please feel free to forward it or used it in any way that would bring glory to God.  If appropriate, please acknowledge the source when quoting this material.  Jason Fong also welcomes your thoughts and comments for mutually edifying interactions.

Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this article may not necessarily reflect those of the Christian organization Jason works in, nor the church or denomination he belongs to.