We are one of the very few, odd families in America (the world??) that does not FACEBOOK. I have had a conservative, christian, homeschooling mom ask me; "How do you survive without it?"...Hmm?
Now let me state that some of my favorite Christian ministries, no, MOST of them, are on FB. Being a presence on FB is not bad. As a matter of fact, if all of the 'good' left FB, then only the 'bad'would remain. If all of the beauty left, only the 'ugly' would remain.
There are traps in every amoral element. It is how you use it. FB has been grossly misused I will say.
For example, as a Christian wife I do not spend extended amounts of time talking to other men on a 'friend' level. Why is it ok to do on FB? An old dear friend of mine left her husband for a FB friend. Sad, but it happens. However, how many Christian ladies read romance novels, only to be left feeling discontent and leave their husbands also? That problem cannot be traced back to the paper the book is written on...the issue is the heart.
I think, as in all things, women should guard their hearts. With what they read, how they spend their time and how they interact on (and off of) FB and in all of their relationships.
We also need to set aside pride. How many people spend time touting their praises on FB and dont 'let another mouth praise thee'. However, again, you dont need FB to show how prideful you are. You can do that in the privacy of your own home.
On Pintrest one day I saw this saying "May your life be as good as you say it is on FB". I say, "May your life not be as bad as you say it is on FB".
So all of that to say...there is life 'outside' of FB. There is very likely 'life' going on inside of FB. It sure is interesting though...the quickest way to offend godly, Christian women is to tell them you dont FB. If I dont mind that you DO FB, then why should it bother you that I don't?
Something to think about:)
10 comments:
It is SO good to hear of more people NOT on facebook. :) We are not either. For the same reasons. The only good thing about fb anyway is seeing pictures...which I suppose one's friends could share with one anyway. I hope many people are convicted and inspired by this good post.
Thanks Marjorie:) Blessings!
I agree. I used to have FB and it caused nothing but hours of drama and headache that I never had to deal with before. I closed it down. I then made another account under a fake name that my husband and I use together for the main purpose of keeping track of different ministries' pages in one place. I purposely do not have any friends or family on that account. I believe it truly is an addiction. :( It's sad how many people get sucked in and neglect their real life family in front of them.
I understand it is 'impossible' to delete a FB account; yet a friend posted a link the other day where you can permanently delete it. Hopefully that is so! Thanks for commenting Sabrina:) Blessings@
Facebook is really nothing more than an information gathering tool... and who knows how it will be used in the future.
If anyone told you that you HAD to sign up, divulge all kinds of PERSONAL information (name, date & place of birth, all the places you have lived &/or visited, phone number, address, schools attended, political views, tv/movies/books/games you like, photos of you/family/friends/events) EVERYONE would have balked at THAT. But get "invited" so you can "connect" with friends...?! We lemmings sign up in droves and reveal all kinds of PERSONAL information!
Yes, count me in as a lemming. :-( My husband has "closed" his account. But in order to "really" close your account you have to take extra steps. Otherwise your account is always there... waiting... lurking... ack!
I have taken further steps to protect my identity. Especially after my latest blog post on Brett Kimberlin. Yes, my fb info is available ONLY to friends... but who knows for how long
Paranoid? Yup, I wouldn't be if they weren't out to get me.
I am removing most of my photos from my fb page. I have deleted all my map info. I do not have my phone number or personal email address on there. I have removed my actual first name and am using my middle name. I have changed my last name to Ray only. In case I'm hacked... I have NEVER put in my address or hometown and have no location listed. I have eliminated all schools attended info.
Robert said, "you won't be able to be found by friends". I told him most of the people who "find me" these days is through those I have already friended, and I didn't really care. Many of my family who are "ON" FB with me I have had to block their being able to post on my wall!
I don't really "do" much on facebook. I find it a complete waste of my time. You are not missing much! I get one once a day and send whatever birthday greetings there are to send, and check through for updates. I take maybe 15 minutes for all that. I then check my Lilla Rose business facebook page for anything I need to respond to. That's it!
Stay off facebook and stay safer! I don't trust facebook.
Thanks for all of your comments Aunt Mae. Good information:)My mom does FB for her job but she doesnt have 'friends' and she keeps it private. She uses it to keep up with what is going on in the business she is a part of.
Blessings to you!
I am someone who uses FB and I love it. It enriches and blesses my life so much. I am able to pray for people that I would not know that they felt bad yesterday normally, or send an encouraging note to an old friend that never writes letters.
I love writing letters, but they were never replied to for years. My friends that I grew up with, we lost touch because they struggled with this. Many of them are on FB and we can be a part of each others lives again. However, I have rules and less than 20 people on FB are people that I do not know or have met in person. If there is an exception, it is for a good reason. I am careful about what I share online just like what I share in this comment or anywhere else online. If you are worried about privacy, everything you do online can be tracked to you and there is a record of your life online if you do much online at all. I think being careful is a part of life, but also there comes a point where if you choose to forgo FB, I respect that and think it is fine, but also if I choose to use it, I think others should respect that as well.
Our choice to forgo FB is not a privacy issue necessarily because nothing online is private. I learned that from Yahoo and the Facebook people in the news:)
I dont think you need to worry about anyone disrespecting you because you use FB...because there are so very few who dont! Since writing this post here and other places I have learned there are others who dont FB, it was quite suprising! And of course, like the post says, it all boils down to issues of the heart I think!
Thanks for taking the time to comment on the post Martha, it was good to hear from you:)
LOL Dana! Love your perspective! We don't do facebook either, although just recently I set up an account with no face, living in "nowhere", graduated from "nowhere" and my "name" is a scripture reference, ha! I needed an account because of the sites I post for, they use it for scheduling. Also, I know some people now who are on there, that have their picture and a little info and their page says something like, "Sorry I'm not accepting friends." Anyway...it has been handy having the account so that I can look at Voddie's page, ha!
I so agree that it is verrry tempting, too much for many. It has changed the world I do believe...or the internet as a whole has.
And so true that it's about the heart. Just about anything can become an addiction--reading fiction...just about any hobby. Things is facebook has taken the place of so many of those hobbies that at least a bit of value in them.
I do understand Martha's point of view that she's keeping in touch with family. I miss so much keeping in touch with cousins and the like, but I find out their news through my family who does do fb :)
Thanks for your visit and comments Bambi! Very true about keeping in touch with family; when family and friends want me to see pics they cant just have me check their FB page! They have to send it in a separate email which is a 'pain' for them I know! Ive been appreciating your blog Bambi, its really a blessing:)
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