social media – Allaxis Partners

Conscious of Marshall McLuhan’s famous statement, “the medium is the message,” a friend recently shared these thoughts with me:

We are about to enter into a new phase of virtual technology. The iPhone 13 mini is supposed to be the end of the line. What is next is goggles. Someone from my high school reunion wrote me that she is “hooked” on OCULUS II. In keeping with the insight that “the medium is the message,” I think we can say that we become what we do. If we spend our time doing virtual things, we will become virtual people. If we spend our time doing things in the physical world, we become real people in that world.

There is no better time than Christmas to reflect on our use of digital media, for Christmas (at least in its original, non-commercial meaning) is the commemoration of the earthly birth of Jesus Christ, whom His followers believe to be God—timeless and bound by nothing created, able to alter created matter instantaneously by His word alone. From a faithful perspective, the birth of Jesus transformed the world. Even from a secular perspective, it altered the course of human history in a profound way—not instantaneously like a “viral” but ephemeral GIF but slowly and enduringly over time, person to person.

The myriad bits and bytes zipping across cyberspace supported so many relationships and so much work during the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Digital media were a gift in so many ways, chiefly in helping us avoid infection while maintaining relationships. But in what ways are digital media detrimental to us? How is a remote relationship different than a local one? What dimension do we lose when a relationships shifts from 3D to 2D? What are the human limits for remote relationships? How many can one maintain before the time they take negatively impacts one’s local life? Who gets to define what “community” means and how? Lots of questions, but these are questions of our time.

Along with Jesus’ passion, His Nativity is for faithful Christians one of the greatest expressions of love in 3D—and a paradoxical “scandal” of particularity—local, yet drawing magi from afar and angels from above. As we gather during these days—whether at a church or a home, whether for a dinner or a party, for Christmas caroling in our neighborhood’s streets or hot cocoa in a cul-de-sac—we convey the message of these days in the truest way: in the medium of our flesh.

Every technological advance simultaneously augments and atrophies a human function by outsourcing it. Because my “smart” phone can “remember” thousands of phone numbers, my brain does not. As this phenomenon continues at an exponential paceª, thoughtful reflection and informed decision about how we use our tools will only become more important.

Although many find their way of life alien, the Amish provide a powerful example of this reflective practice, examining technological developments against their Ordnung, a code of values. For example, they generally eschew the use of automobiles and airplanes, primarily because these technologies don’t contribute to their experience of community, one of their core values.

I’m not quite ready to give up my car. But I wonder if having a garden in my backyard and a grocery store within walking distance would result in a healthier diet, getting more exercise, meeting more of my neighbors along the way, and spewing less exhaust into the air. And I wonder what’s stopping me from organizing for that.

The most significant technological innovation of our age is probably the internet. But the consequences of its misuse are alarming. Social media, for example, turns personality into product. We see all too clearly now the dangers that arise when we interact with the momentary and fragmentary images and words that represent real people in the same or a similar way that we would with those real people. We become “like butter scraped over too much bread.”

It seems that our tools are most capable of outsourcing our physical and intellectual functions for the purpose of getting results or solutions. But what of our emotional and spiritual dimensions? Can those be outsourced in a healthy way? And at the end of all this outsourcing, what will be left inside?

ª https://www.akimbo.link/blog/s-7-e-11-is-seth-real

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