On the 44th annual World Day of Communications Pope Benedict XVI shared his thoughts about the growing phenomenon we all know as the Internet and especially this more recent, worldwide cultural craze called "Social Networking." Can you say Facebook? I thoughtcha could. He compares it to the industrial revolution as far as the profound transformations this new technology is bringing about in society.
The Pope’s speech was overtly positive and he encouraged believers around the world to take full advantage of the opportunities the Internet offers this generation of the information age. He said:
would like to invite Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible…The Web is contributing to the development of new and more complex intellectual and spiritual horizons, new forms of shared awareness." I read the Pope’s message twice before I even began highlighting and rereading it in order to write this factoid. I still can’t get over the term "shared awareness." When you think of Social Networking and the power of the Internet
now, and realize how far this ability to "share awareness" has come thus far, and then imagine how much more it will progress in the years to come, well, it’s kinda spooky really. Many won’t get this reference unless they are Stephen King fans, and have really good memories.
Tommyknockers was a novel King wrote, venturing into the genre of science fiction, while he was suffering from addiction. He says it was a metaphor for that substance abuse problem. In the novel, the townspeople begin to develop a "shared awareness" where, telepathically, they are able to instantaneously share ideas and "how to" information. This novel was penned in 1987 when the Internet was just a zygote. Nearly a quarter century later instantaneous sharing has become a reality, if not telepathically -electronically.
There was a moral to the story, um, novel, that the Pope spoke about in a very important warning he conveyed in his optimistic message. In King’s novel, the people developed this ability from a spaceship that crashed and buried itself deep in the ground. It turns out that the very technologically advanced Aliens (Tommyknockers) were fighting over the joystick, vying for their turn to fly the spaceship, subsequently causing the crash. This is the danger of the kind of shared awareness the Internet enabled, pre-Web 2.0, pre-Social Networking. What good does it do mankind to advance in leaps and bounds intellectually and technologically if not spiritually and morally as well? This is the beauty of Social Networking. This is why I blog. I’m here to share what I know and have experienced. I also want to know what others have realized about the world around us so I can be aware of things I may not have personally experienced…all in real time. This is why you should participate too, if you don’t already.
It’s the technology of Facebook that is a key player in calling the masses up to the microphone, one at a time, to broadcast their thoughts. It’s true that you can’t determine if something is true just by taking a vote. However, there is a lot to be said for the power of uncensored consensus, mass communication and free speech. Even in a country that allows the free sharing of ideas, good bad or indifferent, it’s expensive to get your manifesto published in the New York times. Online, it’s free! This is the power that the Pope is encouraging us to harness, to make the World Wide Web, as well as the terra firma world -a better place. He warns us of what the Internet could become if we don’t participate. He says:
"Believers who bear witness to their most profound convictions greatly help prevent the Web from becoming an instrument which depersonalizes people, attempts to manipulate them emotionally or allows those who are powerful to monopolize the opinions of others."
I was blown away to hear the Pope give advice as to how we are supposed to go about witnessing to our convictions with sensitivity and respect, paraphrased, "without a stick up our ass." I was glad to hear that because as much as I like to share my own religious convictions, I try not to take myself too seriously even if I’m hard-over on the message of the Gospel. Those who have read my blog posts, or have had a conversation with me know that I can’t refrain from throwing a dash of satire and a pinch of scatological humor into the mix no matter what the topic is. I feel like I have his permission to continue doing this…and I’m a guy who cares about what the Pope thinks. Concerning others: I mean no offense. I feel like he described my own blogging style, and that of most other bloggers when he said:
"When people exchange information, they are already sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, their ideals. It follows that there exists a Christian way of being present in the digital world: this takes the form of a communication which is honest and open, responsible and respectful of others. To proclaim the Gospel through the new media means not only to insert expressly religious content into different media platforms, but also to witness consistently, in ones own digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preferences and judgments that are fully consistent with the Gospel, even when it is not spoken of specifically."
He also advised that we don’t delve into social networking just to plug the Gospel. He thinks we should enjoy all that it has to offer in way of making new friendships with people from other cultures in far away places, as well as fostering solidarity among our extended families, church families and close friends. He admonishes people to not indulge in phony profiles and misrepresenting themselves. Have you noticed that people who are kinda sketchy, or phony, or prone to leading double lives don’t have Facebook accounts? For the 500,000,000 of us that do have Facebook accounts, I want to talk about a "bug" that needs to be worked out of the system. It seems to be working itself out, but to most of those who participate in Social Networking or are about to, it can be a bit of a hurdle.
Have I ever used the "F" word? Yes. Have I ever uttered such a bad word in church? No. Does this make me a two-faced person? Not really. But here in lies the sociological problem of Facebook. When one writes their profile, or makes a status update, they are speaking to an audience that includes their little brother, parents, kids, priest, boss, etc. See where I’m going with this? What a challenge, especially for young people, who as part of their rights of passage are expected to get puking drunk at a frat party at least once in their college career. Before Facebook, Grandma wouldn’t have heard a thing about it. This is somewhat unfair, because when Grandma drank too much at a sorority party, 30 years before the Internet, her friends didn’t upload a photo of her table dancing with a lampshade on her head.
I see people of all ages rising to this challenge. First, I think the Internet is helping to foster better behavior by getting people to realize that everything they do, righteous or unrighteous, not only goes on some Heavenly "permanent record" but on a digital, Earthly one as well. Second, I think it fosters patience and acceptance on the part of those who may have better manners and behavior than others. Acceptance of the whole person, along with certain things that one might find offensive, leads to the kind of open, honest, true and meaningful relationships that all human souls seek.
I want to encourage older people, or anyone else who may consider themselves "computer illiterate" to approach the Internet with the same attitude that he describes younger people as having. That is one that is open to the changes in communication, with all the anxieties, challenges and creativity typical of those open, with enthusiasm and curiosity, to new experiences in life. A greater involvement in the public digital forum, i.e. Social Networking, will establish new forms of interpersonal relations, influence self-awareness, pose questions about how to behave and get us all thinking about the authenticity of our own being.
One of my favorite sayings, coined by my childrens’ generation is: Keep it real! This term has a lot of philosophical meaning behind it. It means things like: don’t be a con artist, don’t play with other peoples emotions, don’t pretend you are something that you are not, don’t manipulate others with BS, don’t lie, slander and gossip. Be true to yourself and others. In a nutshell, Pope Benedict’s entire message is something like this:
Facebook rocks! Try it, you’ll like it. Just make sure you keep it real!
