I can honestly say I love social media when it comes to friendships. Being in the ministry, and life in general really, you occasionally get moved to new churches or towns, in some cases even new states or countries. It is so wonderful to be able to stay connected with friends even though you are no longer down the street from them, or see them at church twice a week. I love getting on Facebook and seeing what my sweet sisters are up to or how their precious children are growing.Through social media I have also been very blessed to 'meet' new people from all over the world. How incredible it is to connect with someone on the other side of the USA and even the other side of the world! I have made new and wonderful friends through social media.
What do they really mean?
Though social media is good for friends to stay in touch, it can also put a strain on the relationship. When someone texts, tweets, Facebooks, etc, it is hard, nearly impossible, to tell the 'tone of voice' being used. You can say something in a joking way, but it is offensive to the other person. I have read many status updates on Facebook and wondered if they were talking about me. I go over in my head everything that was said and done and if I did something wrong. Maybe they were not talking about me or maybe they were just joking. It is so hard to tell when you are not actually speaking with the person face to face.
Choose your words wisely when posting.
When we post something online, it is out there for everyone. If your Facebook page was put on the screen at church this Sunday, would you be embarrassed? Ashamed? Run and hide? If you are not comfortable with your entire church and the pastors seeing every status update, comment and photo, then maybe you should not be posting it.
Make time for face to face.
Social media is great to keep connected, but there is nothing like face to face! Though it is great to Facebook and text my dear friends, I miss seeing them. Recently we were able to spend the entire weekend with good friends after not seeing them for awhile. It was so wonderful to reconnect with them face to face. I was also so very excited when my sweet sisters asked me to meet them for lunch this week so we could catch up. Did I mention I miss them? So while you should enjoy keeping up with your friends on social media, try getting together for coffee or play dates often. Social media should be used for those in between times. Make it a point to get together with friends. We all need each other.Sweet Blessings~
.png)
.png
)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Jenifer,
ReplyDeleteIn this ever increasing busy world we live in we can fall into to the trap of replacing social media will real live face to face friendships. We also need to interact with people face to face. A long time ago I posted a comment that was intended the way it was taken a friendship was damaged and I forever learned to to be more careful about what I post.
Blessings to you Jenifer.
I have a love/hate relationship with social media for the very same reasons you mentioned! And I just had a misunderstanding with tone over text last week. I'll be glad when we're home and I can get face to face or even on the phone where my intentions can be seen and heard. I've really enjoyed your posts on technology and media Jenifer :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful advice :-) <3 Traci
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I were just talking about the "tone" of the message or comment last night. I think sometimes we impose our own feelings or insecurities on the comment and then that leaves us wondering. I have read many comments and wondered if they were talking about me. So this is definitely a danger we need to be aware of. Good words of wisdom, Jenifer!
ReplyDeletegreat post! it's so hard to get the right tone across in an email, facebook, text. I use lots of :) when I'm texting lol. I love face to face friendships and I'm super excited to see you this week!! hehe
ReplyDeleteHi Jenifer - face to face is always better and more fun! But I do appreciate the intent of social media, keeping people connected. Its really bad though when my one daughter texts the other to change the tv channel!!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, God bless
Tracy
I run into this quite a bit... So much of how we get our point and purpose across to people when we interact with them is through inflection, body language and other mannerisms. These obviously lost when IMing, texting or posting to places like Facebook. We need to all be very careful on what we post, and never let it take the place of real communicating when we're able to.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, I'll someday be privileged to meet some of the wonderful people such as yourself to whom I've become friends through social media. :-)
Have a Blessed Day Jenifer!