Downside to facebook

I opened a MySpace account shortly after it started to get a lot of attention in the media. I entered very basic information about myself and started scanning through a few accounts of my friends and relatives. I decided to drop it when I saw how filthy some of the content was. MySpace did not seem to monitor the content and apparently had no problem with people using the F bomb, including dirty jokes, linking to sexy videos, etc.

That is why I was a little leery about facebook when it started to take off. After I learned that you could block a lot of the things you do not want to see, I opened an account. Facebook also includes an option for reporting content that is inappropriate. I personally enjoy the great benefits of facebook and social networking in general. Think of how fast we can share prayer requests, or keep up with old friends who live out of state, or learn more about new friends that you only see at church, etc.

Even so, I have heard from many people about things they have seen on facebook that have hurt, shocked, worried or even angered them. Such as:

1. Party postings - comments and photos about a party that can be seen by those who were not invited.
   
2. Controversial comments - I know I am guilty of posting religious and political comments that have angered some.
3. Unintentional comment contests - people make a comment and dozens of people respond, yet when others make a comment nobody seems to notice.
4. Direct or indirect language - posted by your friends or their friends or from groups they have "liked".
5. Photos/Videos - amazingly some people act different around certain crowds and then are shocked when you get upset by their behaviors shown through photos and videos.
6. Popularity issues - when a person does not accept your friend request or somebody drops you as a friend even though they are friends with others you know.
   

So how do we deal with these issues? It might help if we stop and think before posting anything (remember the WWJD slogan). Another thing would be to make use of facebook features to limit who can or cannot see certain posts.

1. Party postings - when you host a party where you cannot afford to invite everyone, you could post photos and videos and share only with those who were invited.
2. Controversial comments -while we do have freedom of speech, it would benefit all of us to remember that our speech can draw people in or turn them away.
3. Unintentional comment contests - this is not something that we can fix easily, but just as we teach or children to make a concerted effort to reach out to the "wall flowers" at their school, we should also make an effort to reach out to all of our friends on facebook.
4. Direct or indirect language -I personally will delete any replies to my posts which use what people like to call "adult language" (the politically correct way of saying "filthy language" which God hates to hear), and I will hide or block people who consistently use this type of language. I have also reported someone who was using language that was very sexually explicit. If you wouldn't say that word, don't "like" a group with it in the title.
   
5. Photos/Videos - if it is not something you would share with your pastor in front of the church on Sunday morning, then maybe you should consider using privacy settings (or don't post it at all). Remember that teens use facebook and we are to be examples for them.
   
6. Popularity issues - there will always be people more popular than others. Jesus was very popular for awhile and then overnight the people hated Him and even killed Him. It should not be our goal to make more friends, but to be better friends to the ones we have.

These are not the only issues or solutions. When somebody shares a concern with you about facebook, think of what you do and how you can help make things better for your friends. I know that many use facebook as an escape from reality and do not want to suffer with morals while online. Unfortunately that is another, deeper problem altogether.