Facebook

Yes, it’s harmful to children, democracy, and much more. It also makes my life better.

Bad for democracy, good for business

Time was when we had a neutral commons where those of us who wanted to say something could say it, try to earn people’s attention, and choose whether to give them our own. I’m speaking of course of the internet—a long decade ago, before social media swallowed it whole.

I was concerned that this was a ridiculous idea that would result in a giant train wreck forever archived in cyberspace. I was wrong; it was awesome.

Several times a day, my Facebook feed invites me to cry, laugh, or feel amazed. I click almost every time.

Social commentators warn that if you don't manage your social media identity, someone else will. I recently learned this the hard way.

If Christian liturgy works on the imagination, so do disordered secular liturgies. Social media—despite its good uses—might be one example.

As many of you have noticed, the Century no longer has links to Amazon on its website. To explain this, I took to the magazine.

This video started making the rounds last week, presenting a clever idea for communicating with the big banks at their expense.

As soon as I heard that Steve Jobs had died I went on Facebook and posted, “RIP, Steve Jobs.” There were many responses, some that surprised me. A few people talked in glowing terms about how Jobs had transformed their lives, as though he were a spiritual guru.

Pastoral
ministry is a public calling, and in our social-media age this calling extends
to online identities and relationships. Since
becoming a pastor, I've adopted some different Facebook practices.

"Oreon told me she’s praying for you,” my husband, Gary, said in between bites. We were having dinner one night when I was having a particularly stressful time at work. Gary is a pastor at a downtown Chicago church, and Oreon is one of the staff members there. “Why is Oreon praying for me?” I asked. I hadn’t had more than a passing hello with Oreon in weeks. “She saw your Facebook status message,” he said.