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Social networking websites can foster relationship
building – and also evangelism.
By Joanne Brokaw
MORE than 30 years ago, when he was a teenager, Mike
Parker met Mark Henderson while on an 800-mile road trip to the Philmont
Scout Ranch in Cimmaron, New Mexico. The two became fast friends.
“We spent a couple of weeks hiking the wilderness
trails, shared a tent, lived off the land and in general had a great time
doing ‘guy stuff’ in the great outdoors,” said Parker,
author of the Christian sci-fi series The
Scavengers and host of BuddyHollywood.com.
The two friends kept in contact for awhile, but eventually lost touch in
1973.
But recently, out of the blue, Parker got a
‘friend request’ from Henderson on the popular social website,
Facebook.
“We’ve had a delightful time catching
up,” Parker said of the blast from his past, adding that the two
still have much in common, even 35 years later.
Parker’s story highlights North America’s
growing fascination with social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace,
LinkedIn, Twitter and ShoutLife – where strangers meet, and old
friends reconnect.
These social websites operate as global networks, where
users connect with people who share common interests or activities –
for the purpose of building relationships.
Online ‘friends’
People create their own online page, where they
establish a public profile, listing their interests and personal
information, and then ask other like-minded people – even strangers
– to be their ‘friends.’
Users stay in contact by writing short notes or
comments on each other’s sites, posting videos and pictures, and
updating their profile status, letting friends know where they are and what
they’re doing at any given moment.
According to Nielson Co., MySpace is the most popular
social networking site, with Facebook right behind.
MySpace has almost become an industry unto itself; the
company launched MySpace Records in 2005, is active in promoting social
causes through its Impact site, and partnered with the Commission on
Presidential Debates for the 2008 election.
Generally, however, social networking sites are
primarily used for people to simply communicate with each other.
On the surface, it might seem quite trivial. Hundreds
of millions of people log on daily, to chat aimlessly – perhaps
sometimes purposefully – with friends and strangers, about what
they’re reading or who they’re dating or who’s the better
quarterback or guitarist; they also post personal video sand photos. But
that desire for gossip might just be part of our human nature.
University of Liverpool psychology professor Robin
Dunbar, PhD, has suggested that social exchanges meant to keep track of
other individuals in a community have, since the dawn of language, helped
humans form bonds and develop trusting relationships.
Dunbar broadly defines these social exchanges as
gossip, and said they help people not only spread information, but also
help them understand how that information affects their own lives.
Social networking is a powerful tool in that exchange.
As one person writes about their political or religious beliefs, for
example, their online friends can join in the conversation. When one teen
writes about a recent break up, friends chime in to offer support.
Too much information?
The concern for Christians, though, is how much
information is too much information.
What are the real-life consequences from all that
public chatter?
Last year, MSNBC reported the results of a survey by the Ponemon Institute, a
privacy think tank, in which they found that “35 percent of hiring
managers use Google to do online background checks on job candidates, and
23 percent look people up on social networking sites. About one-third of
those web searches lead to rejections, according to the survey.”
While there is a debate about the ethics of using
information from an applicant’s MySpace or Facebook profile in the
hiring process, there’s no question that what’s on a
user’s profile – from photos of drunken escapades to the
admission of substance abuse – can come back to haunt them someday,
because it’s all there for the world to see.
It’s those concerns, about being exposed to
objectionable content, that have Christian parents worried about their kids
and teens getting involved in social networking sites.
Almost all such sites have privacy polices that, if
followed, can help users navigate safely. And users are encouraged to only
approve friend requests from people they actually know.
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Even so, Christian social networking sites have begun
popping up all over the internet.
One of the most popular is ShoutLife, which boasts a
membership of about 140,000 users of all ages.
Steve McLellan, owner and director of operations for
the site, assures parents that ShoutLife is committed to safe, clean and
family friendly content.
The site, he said, has a staff of volunteers who
continually monitor site content, as well as “a language filter that
replaces all cuss words and questionable content with substitute words and
phrases.”
Each page has a ‘report this page’ button
that allows users to report profiles that violate the terms of use.
Whatever your age, McLellan said, “You will feel
right at home with us.”
Aiding ministries
Many Christians use both Christian and mainstream
social networking communities.
Chris Giovagnoni, who is the internet sponsor and donor
engagement program manager for Compassion International, said that by using
social networking sites and blogs, the ministry can better communicate with
its sponsors and donors – and educate the public about what makes
Compassion different from other child-sponsorship programs. As a result,
the ministry can better help those in need.
Compassion has a MySpace page, and in January 2008 won
the MySpace Impact Award – and along with it, prominent placement on
the site and a $10,000 prize.
Since it was online votes from their MySpace friends
that led to the win, Compassion let them help pick how the money was used.
The MySpace friends voted to use the prize money to help fund
Compassion’s Child Survival Program.
And it isn’t just large ministries that benefit
from social networking. When Christian author Caron Guillo entered the
debut international Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition last year,
she met several other contestants through Amazon discussion boards.
The writers continued to communicate regularly through
Facebook and email, critiquing each other’s work, encouraging one
another, and engaging in each others lives on a personal level.
“When one of my local friends recently lost his
home in a fire,” Guillo says, two of her online friends
“pitched in to help with funds and wish list items.”
Sharing Jesus
While the majority of Compassion’s 20,000-plus
MySpace friends are Christians, Giovagnoni said that the ministry is
contacted by people who are atheists or agnostics – and in one case,
a Muslim lesbian teen.
These friends want to connect with Compassion because
they see the ministry’s bigger picture of helping children rise above
their impoverished situations. All of those encounters offer opportunities
to talk about Jesus.
In the end, whether users are looking to rekindle old
friendships, promote a social cause, or find other like-minded strangers to
start a conversation, the options to connect on a social networking site
are unlimited.
Missionaries can keep in touch with supporters back
home, Christian music artists can compete with mainstream bands, and small
ministries can reach out to the four corners of the globe.
And as Mike Parker found out, reconnecting on Facebook
can help old friends pick up where they left off – even decades
later.
Award-winning freelance writer and columnist Joanne
Brokaw is the Christian music blogger at Beliefnet.com, and also pens a
monthly humour column for the Christian Voice
Magazine. Contact: joannebrokaw.com.
February 2009
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