Social Mediation || Nation’s State - Part III

Is our solution to all of this conflict and identity crisis getting rid of social media? No, for a number of reasons.

Realistically, it would be impossible. Not only has it been made essential for connection to business, friends, and current events, but I do believe that it does a lot of good as well and offers plenty of opportunity that's not quite being seized. The internet and the platforms that come with it are here to stay, and it's time to fully accept and embrace that.

Those of us who are thinking of leaving social media actually might be exactly the ones who should stay.

You can't teach a lesson if you're not in the classroom; you can't fight a fire unless you're at the house; we can't affect meaningful discussion if we're not present where the discussion is happening.

Talk where you are, spread good conversation, and take charge over the tools given to you. Don't focus on extremes, but do what you can with where you are. It may feel very small and pointless, but all it takes is a little effort from everyone and suddenly, society begins to change - because no matter what religion, political ideology, or personality type you belong to, you are society. Society is us, and so it's up to us to fix ourselves.

This is an example of *drumroll*: The Bystander Effect. If you assume that other people will take action, and diffuse the responsibility from yourself, surprise: everyone else is probably doing that, too. It is up to the individual to bring back reasoned conversation, personal meaning, and the chance and find our American identity again.

Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this paradox. Social media has the tendency to damage those who use it, but it requires the presence of those same people to correct its course and bring it to a state that can be a net benefit to society. Due to that, it simply is a personal decision and requires some consistent self-reflection to know whether you are being more of a benefit to it than it is being a problem for you.

From a Christian perspective, social media has simply become the new mission field. There's no way that we can backtrack on our culture's use of the online world, to do so (especially as a member of my very own Generation Z) is now tantamount to entering hermitage and secluding your faith. Not everyone is called to be a social media warrior, to be sure. But we as a community cannot simply ignore it and disconnect. With the arrival of the recent election and inauguration, the amount of hate being thrown back and forth online is staggering. We are here to be a real, true "safe space" where true, sometimes difficult love and stability can be found.

Don't leave. Don't run. Just face the new fight.