The Philippines being the 6th country in the world with the most Facebook users of 68 million, almost all people we know in our lives have a Facebook account.
Some users even have multiple accounts for reasons that involve regulating privacy (some teachers have an account for their students and a separate one for family), relationships gone bad (hiding from a possessive ‘ex’), inability to honor financial commitments (hiding from creditors), and for the most notorious reason to bash, attack and spread falsehoods under the cloak of anonymity.
In our use of personal Facebook accounts, have you ever observed how your behavior as a virtual personality in Facebook affects how you behave as a person in the physical world?
Do you post a status, photo or video to reflect the real you, or are you just posting just to project an image on how you want people to think about who you are?
Some users even have multiple accounts for reasons that involve regulating privacy (some teachers have an account for their students and a separate one for family), relationships gone bad (hiding from a possessive ‘ex’), inability to honor financial commitments (hiding from creditors), and for the most notorious reason to bash, attack and spread falsehoods under the cloak of anonymity.
In our use of personal Facebook accounts, have you ever observed how your behavior as a virtual personality in Facebook affects how you behave as a person in the physical world?
Do you post a status, photo or video to reflect the real you, or are you just posting just to project an image on how you want people to think about who you are?
In our online communities, do you post to impress
in order to earn ‘Likes’ and praises in the ‘Comments’ section? In short, do you
post in order to boost your self-esteem and inflate your ego?
Shouldn’t we be using the social media, not just for amusement, entertainment or to improve our self-worth, but as a tool to lift our communities just like we are obligated to do in the physical world?
Shouldn’t we be using the social media, not just for amusement, entertainment or to improve our self-worth, but as a tool to lift our communities just like we are obligated to do in the physical world?
At the start of this year, to commemorate
the 53rd World Communications Day, Pope Francis delivered a message,
one that specifically reminds us about how we should behave around social
network communities.
In his message, Pope Francis reminds us that in the virtual world we “remain simply as groups of individuals who recognize one another through common interests or concerns characterized by weak bonds.” Simply put, the Pope is saying that our virtual relationships in social media start and end with “common interests” and anything outside of those interests may not be a truthful relationship.
In his message, Pope Francis reminds us that in the virtual world we “remain simply as groups of individuals who recognize one another through common interests or concerns characterized by weak bonds.” Simply put, the Pope is saying that our virtual relationships in social media start and end with “common interests” and anything outside of those interests may not be a truthful relationship.
To find out, check the Facebook groups you
are a member of. Aren’t these groups categorized by “common interests” like hobbies, commerce, sports, religion,
culture, your hometown, and even celebrities you follow?
Are
you just a quiet observer or do you actively interact?
Are
you a member who helps lift the community?
In my case, I used to be just an observer
in an online community created by people from my hometown. But when I realized
that falsehoods were being propagated as truth by people with deceitful agenda,
I decided it was time to counter it with the truth. Using my modest
professional experience and skills, I was able to uncover the truth and shared
it, using my voice both in the virtual and physical worlds in order to counter
the falsehoods created by greed. I also made a point to educate the young,
whose minds are easily swayed with what they see, hear, read and experience
online. I felt it was my duty to protect the truth and the knowledge from the
malicious attacks by those who use the platform for their own selfish agenda.
According to Pope Francis, we should use
and engage our social network communities in a meaningful purpose: that to make
a community stronger that involves “mutual
listening and dialogue based on the responsible use of language.” After all, Saint Paul, the Apostle, in his
Letter to the Ephesians, said, “Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the
truth, each to his neighbor, for we are members of another” (Eph. 4:25).
Yes, more than 2,000 years before the
invention of social media, Saint Paul already had a reminder on how we, as
members of these online communities, should behave, which should further remind
us that these social media communities in Facebook or in any other online
platform should not dictate on how we live our daily lives. We should always return
to where everything started: the Bible, the only book we really need to be our daily guide in both our physical and
online worlds.
Pope Francis recognizes that social media
are a source of knowledge and relationships but using it entails responsibility
and duty as Christians. Though social media may have improved the way we live,
we should always be guided by the lessons of the Bible about goodness, truth,
and righteousness.
(Credit first photo: Vatican News website)
(Article reposted from ADSUM Newsletter, December 8, 2019)
(Credit first photo: Vatican News website)
(Article reposted from ADSUM Newsletter, December 8, 2019)
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