The London Telegraphy published an article today about the effects social and new media are having on society. The article focuses on how social media Web sites such as Twitter are changing our language. The gist of the story is that the Collins English Dictionary has added over 250 words to the official lexicon, many of which have been established by the online culture.
Internet memes such as "meh" and "noob" (or is it n00b?) are now a part of the English vernacular (I use this word to point out the irony of words like "noob," but that's another post). It seems with every passing day we become more and more addicted to the virtual world that has exploded in the last 10 plus years. This reminds me of two things: The fact that we still need face-to-face interaction and the potential for ministry utilizing media.
This presents a sort of paradox though, how does one go about using multimedia to create a more personal environment and encouraging community? Media by nature is meant for the masses, to make mass communication easier. Media is corporate. Faith is not. Community is not. This is evidenced itself by Twitter and Facebook, both of which are largely leading to a society that is by and large narcissistic. Twitter points to this perfectly, it is a place where people have come to believe that trivial exploits such as picking up the dry cleaning are worthy of exclaiming to the world. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with social media, there's nothing wrong with Twitter. The problem is the attitudes and ideas of the people using it.
I've struggled with the close of this post, but it all boils down to one question: Where is the room for God and the Church in all this? I don't have an answer now, but I feel very sure there is one and I'm determined to find it.
-Caleb Williams
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