If you look up the definition of love phrases like 'attractive qualities' and 'underlying oneness' are found as well as 'to like or desire enthusiastically' and 'treasured object'.
I thank
Okay I jest and I'm stretching the definition a little, but I reckon most of us would admit we are attracted to it. For the millions of us that own a smart phone why not monitor yourself for a day and see how often you pick it up to check your emails or read the news. Our desire to consume information means that we approach things like Facebook and Twitter quite passionately. How many times have you clicked a link someone's posted or commented and engaged in enthusiastic debate? And how about the oneness you feel with others who 'like' the same page as you? It's like you've all given each other a 'knowing wink' - metaphorically of course.
Certainly when we 'lose' the internet we can exhibit feelings of anxiety and disconnectedness, "we's haves lost our precioussss."
(Two things to note from that last paragraph: Firstly I find it quite amusing to suggest we have lost the internet. I mean where did you last see it? Looked under the bed? Is the internet just a small black box with a flashing red light that you could accidentally mislay? Secondly, that was quite a tenuous Gollum link, apologies.)
As Brits we tend to be a nation of contradiction. We love collectively supporting the underdog and then we aggressively knock them off the pedestal we've sat them on after they become a success. Or we vote continuously for the worst act on X-Factor, but then complain bitterly when their presence knocks out the genuinely talented one.
The same can be said for the internet and all stuff it brings with it. We love social media, we love access to 24/7 news, we love the videos of cute kittens and stupid dogs. (Well you might like the cute kittens, I take can take 'em or leave 'em.)
The World Wide Web has made the planet smaller.
Skype and the like enable us to connect with friends and family on a regular basis even when they live on the other side of the world. Justice movements begin online and work their way into the real world. We stand with others (in an internetty, ethereal kind of way) when Twitter spreads tweets of injustice, rebellion and even war.
And yet...
We hear those who say it's pulled us apart, that we spend more time looking at our smart-phones than we do our loved ones. Facebook has changed our definition of 'friend' into a mere acquaintance. Constant news and tweets have turned us into mindless information junkies desperate for our next fix. Easy access to pornography has altered expectations of sex, boys in particular are developing a distorted view of a healthy loving relationship.
To some extent this is true and the bit about porn too sad and too real to explore further here and there will always be a minority that take things too far. For me however the internet is truly, all things considered, a blessing to us all.
I run our church internet stuff - website, social media engagement etc and I've found it in the majority to be entirely beneficial. When someone is looking for a new church in Leeds or wanting to speak to someone so much of our initial connection now comes through our internet site or Facebook page. In fact a lot of our visitors we see on a Sunday or a Friday night (Encounter) have found us by searching first online. The phonebook, what's that?
Folks have been encouraged, uplifted and spurred on through social media posts (pictures in particular generate high engagement). Links and videos challenge and sharpen the inquisitive mind. Emails inform and maintain connection.
The internet is a tool and a tool used well will always produce an effective end result. So don't complain about it, don't push against, embrace it. Look at how it can enhance your life and acknowledge the benefit it brings to others. Get excited about it and see how you can use it to your advantage in a selfless and engaging way. It will never replace physical human interaction, but we are inherently social creatures made to be in relationship with one another and the internet allows us to maintain these in a very real way.
The internet - yep, I love it!
Ephesians 4:29 (The Message) - Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.
