The Social Media Personal Soap Opera

Hey y'all.

This is something that's been on my mind for a little while, something that struck me while reading an article about Christians using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

There has always been something that has struck me as "wrong" (not in the moral sense, but in the "something is a little off") sense about the way Christians post on Facebook. The amount of complaining and self-absorbtion that goes on is ridiculous. The reason I titled this post what I did is because this is how I see it- people creating a little soap opera that focuses on themselves. Taking a picture of how sick I am, posting where I am, posting about how awesome my triple latte mocha frappacino dulce extra spice soy thingamadoodle is right now... I sometimes question motives.

Now of course there is a fine line here. As an artist, I like to see people expressing themselves, and I think there are ways that non-artists can express themselves in non-artistic ways, and I think that social media is one of them. Posting thoughts, things about your life, what you're going through, so on and so forth, I think its great. Especially in the sense of Facebook being an electronic, up to date yearbook. Its a way for us all to stay connected and involved in each other's lives. But what is the motive behind it all? Is it to share your life, or is it to bring attention to yourself? When you post a picture of how sick you are, are you sharing your life with other people in a positive way or are you just trying to get sympathy? Are you trying to see how many people will respond "Oh I'm praying for you," or "You look terrible! Hope you feel better [little picture of a heart]!" If its the latter, then don't you think that its a little selfish? A little self centered? Its one thing when people seek us out to see how we're doing, its another thing to seek out others for our own benefit.

Its kinda like one thing I always hated... when people would bring something to a social gathering, like a coffee or something similar, just so other people would say, "Oh you went to Starbucks? Lucky!" Its just showing off, plain and simple. Its one thing when someone's just thirsty and wants a drink, but you could always tell the ones that were doing it for attention.

So my little two cents: think about why you're posting. If its simply because you want to share your life, great! If you're trying to get attention, stop. Please, stop. Bring glory to Christ, not to yourself. Our lives are fleeting, and attention is worth nothing. I think there's a little application in here in Philippians 2:6:

although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped

 Christ didn't live to bring glory to himself, to make his own name great. He did all things according to the will of his Father. His life was lived to always point to another. So should be the same with ours.


In Him,

Mike