Social Networking: Sharing life or seeking attention?

My intended month of less internet, and no blogging, facebook and twitter turned into almost 7 weeks. It’s a long story, but when we returned from vacation, we had to move out of our house (the landlords had to move in quicker than we had hoped) and live without internet for a bit longer while looking for a new house to rent.

We’re finally in our home, and our internet just got hooked up yesterday. While there were some moments in which being connected would have saved some minor frustration, in the end, I survived.

When I jumped back on, I saw something with fresh eyes: That a good amount of what is communicated in the social networking world is a subtle (or not so subtle) manifestation of pride.

Think about it—we want people to see how well we are doing, what cool things we are accomplishing, the fantastic places we are going, and the great things we are learning. Or, alternatively, we share the “emo” part of our lives by publicly declaring our lives a disaster zone or clicking that we like “this day stinks and my life is falling apart so I better go write a country song about it” in hopes that others will feel sorry for us. Ultimately, while I’m certain that many are simply engaging friendships and sharing observations online, I do think an awful lot of people want or need attention.

Sharing life or seeking attention: Deep in your heart, only you know what you are doing.

Here are a couple of questions we can ask ourselves when we post something online: Do we secretly hope that others envy us or applaud our good works? Are we silently screaming “CHECK ME OUT; I’M DA MAN (or WOMAN)? Or, do we want folks to pity us and feel guilty for not paying more attention to us?

Remember, pride is about drawing attention to ourselves—The conceit that we are more important than others and that our accomplishment or agony demands the focus of another. Pride can look like someone who is full of themselves and their achievements, or can indicate someone who delights in false humility. Either one reflects a ‘puffed-up’ attitude; both are equally damaging to our own souls.

James 1:9 tells us that “everyone should be quick to listen [and] slow to speak”; I think that if James was writing in 2010, he would add, “and slow to tweet”.