Doorbells instead of ringtones.

I struggle a lot with the idea of social networking.  In the back of my mind it’s this huge Inception-like conspiracy created to rob us as a culture of the ability to relate as humans, in real day-to-day life and not on cyberspace.  I think one of the greatest challenges of using any social networking is to accurately portray our real selves, amidst a world of people relishing in the fact that they don’t have to.

I read a quote from Jon Acuff the other day (on Twitter, ironically) that said, “The transparency of the Internet is a gift if you’re ethical. It’s a curse if you’ve been skating on secrecy for years.”

And I wondered what the Internet world would look like if it had some type of ethics police, with a mission of truth and accountability and not of lies and keeping face. Which led me to my next questions: Are my words and actions online a true reflection of how I act in real life?  Do I want Twitter updates and Facebook statuses in my life for my own ego?  Is there any point to social networking if I’m not using it to advance the Kingdom of Christ? 

Or am I making too big of a deal out of this?

I live in this constant state of tension between the goods and evils of technology.  I see my friends often deleting profiles or taking online fasts, only to reactivate a few days later when they realize how out of touch it puts them.  I want more than anything to have real-life relationships that exist face to face and not over a phone line or Internet connection.

I live for morning coffee dates, friends sitting on my kitchen counter, board games instead of television, and doorbells instead of ringtones.  And yet here I am, posting blogs and tweets and staring at a set of note cards next to me.

Here’s to New Year’s resolutions.