The Social Network

I've been putting off this blog entry way too long. Perhaps it is because the subject is so deep and time-consuming to articulate, or perhaps it is because it hits a little too close to home. Regardless, get ready for a series of articles on the impact Facebook and social networking has on our culture.

I recently read an absolutely fascinating article in the most recent issue of Relevant Magazine by Shane Hipps. To give background, Shane is the author of one of my favorite books of the past several years, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture. While the book is admittedly a simple revisiting of the communication theory of Marshal McLuhan from the 1960's, it was one of those rare books that you feel come to the table and present something that is actually new, and that alone made it a worthy read. The basic premise of the book is to restate McLuhan's revolutionary thought for this generation: "The medium is the message." Often we hear pastors say the medium may change in this new age of technology but the message will always stay the same. Yeah, that carries some good sentimental value and it preaches well, but it's just plain not true.  Hipps looks at the history of the shifts in culture and technology and charts a very convincing course to illustrate his thesis.  Look at the advent of the printing press. This technological advance single-handedly changed Christian theology. Whereas before the Word dwelt exclusively in the hands of learned clergy, with the printing press it could now be freely distributed to all. This greatly impacted the communal nature of Christianity. In the past, faith had to be learned in community as the Word was passed orally down from the keeper of the Word.  With the printing press, though (accompanied by the advent of modernity), a new individualistic slant appeared in our faith. The Word became mobile and thus did not require a community to access. Fast forward today and apply that understanding to our new technologies.  Take the advent of projection lyrics for example. Worship becomes a much more communal act when people are no longer looking down at individual hymnals. They now all look together at one screen, thus uniting themselves in this act of worship. The medium is the message.

Hipps takes the fundamental logic behind this and applies it to Facebook in this article and his insights are quite revealing. I will be blogging about this for the next few days. You can check out the article here. Come back tomorrow to hear more about the impact Facebook and social networks have had on our level of narcissism.