Facebook, Friends and Faith
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Just me on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 10:00 AM
This weekend, I have the pleasure of speaking at a conference on the topic “Finding Friendship in the Facebook Generation”. My friends here know I’m very passionate about the use of social media in building community, supporting relationships and especially in sharing the Good News of Christ’s gospel message. But as I prepare to revisit this topic on Saturday with a new group of friends, I would love to have a renewed conversation with you on the role of social networking in your life.
The question at hand is, “As we move into an increasingly “wired” world, how can we focus on nurturing our faith and creating great relationships using updated, modern communication?” I know for myself, part of successfully building relationships online is engaging in two way conversation, as I would in “real life”. I also try to continually remind myself that if I wouldn’t say something to a person’s face, I should never share it online. Finally, I’m constantly cognizant of the fact that for many of my Facebook and Twitter friends, I am the only Catholic they “know”. My status updates, tweets, and comments may be the only interaction with our Church, so I need to be aware of being true to Her teachings and joyous in my attitude.
I would also say that I’m constantly surprised by the easy transition between knowing someone online and having the joy of meeting them “in real life” to pursue a face to face encounter. A great example of this is my relationship with my fellow Faith & Family bloggers. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting and hugging Arwen or Rebecca (yet!), but I count them among my closest friends and pray for them and their families every day.
How about you - what are some ways in which you’ve nurtured your faith, but also your social life, using tools like Facebook, Twitter and Faith & Family? Do you run the risk of letting online relationships impact your service to your family and friends? How have you used social media tools to share your faith?
Print Blog
Email a FriendPost a Comment
By submitting this form, you give Faith And Family Magazine permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
