There is no putting the genie back in the bottle, the internet and social media, and the many forms of connecting such as Instagram, Discord, Tiktok, and etc are all here to stay. What I intend to examine is not a total boycott, that is impossible, the youth of the nation is firmly tied to these programs and apps, bur rather to look at pitfalls of online life. The advent of the internet came upon us so suddenly, it seemed computers had just started to be in most homes, and then you could hear the loud sound of AOL dial up, then before you knew it you had to get DSL, then Wi-Fi interconnecting of devices appeared, then Wikipedia replaced Encyclopedias, and whoosh here we are in a Online world with social media from X to Facebook that replaced MySpace, with chat rooms like yahoo replaced by Discord. One of the chief problems is that there is a cognitive dissonance developing between online living and what is called IRL (in real life). This compartmentalization has become quite problematic because there are people reportedly who are married and who have kids flirting with people, doing erotic role play (ERP) and creating soul ties with strangers, and they see nothing wrong with this form of adultery. But hold on now, they did not meet and have sex, it cannot be considered adultery! Yes it is, Jesus said, "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:28). Jesus our Lord and God makes it clear you can commit adultery in your heart.
The problem is people are treating online life like its a video game or some other sort of media where they are playing a character and living out fantasies. The issue is this is not a computer created simulator, these are real people in which you are tempting, developing soul ties, and participating in behavior that your IRL self would not want tied to you. I have a real concern that the disconnect from the online self and the in person self is going to become a gulf, and people will become splits, where they live out one life on the internet, and another in person, and you can never be certain if your significant other is truly faithful in their heart, sure they did not go to a hotel room and sleep around, but in their heart and through servers they are doing sexually deviant behavior behind your back, and probably will give the exuse that its no different reading one of those "cheesy sex novels," well those are not alright for a Christian either, but the comparison is not fair, the novel is written by an author, in Discord, Mumble, Tox, Slack, and Switch (notice name of these social apps are all negative, Discord comes from Discordia a goddess that creates separation, Mumble is something people are are incoherent do, Tox is short for Toxic, Slack means you are slacking) you are participating with other people, not reading or watching a fantasy; it is personal connection and its being unfaithful!
You need to be careful, you may think you have concealed who you are with these liaisons online, but a day is coming when none of it can be hidden, "Everything that is hidden will be shown, and everything that is secret will be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an inner room will be shouted from the housetops." (Luke 12:2-3 NCV). So while you may think you have gotten away with this double life (listen to Scott Stapp's Song, Justify, its about a double life of dark or true romance), but a Day is coming when it will be exposed.
The other pitfall of online life is cyber-bulling. Due to the anonymity people have behind icons/pfps (profile pics) and usernames, people are able to behave vastly different than they would in person. They will insult, belittle, and mistreat say someone like Dwayne The Rock Johnson, because they are safe behind their fake name and picture, but if in person they would fear the Wrestler Body Builder would take them down. There in lies the problem, people are 'brave' or I should say pseudo-brave because the fear of consequences is low. Even forums and servers that have moderators, if the abusive are close to the mods and admins, they can with impunity mistreat newbies, while newbie if they are even seen to violate a rule will get the hammer of judgement. Basically a lot of online communities are High School preserved for a life time, with clicks, and groups, and you are in or out, liked or outcast, and so you get to live probably the worst aspect of life online until you die.
Another pitfall is that you can end up meeting and making bonds with occultists, Satanists, witches, and all manner of depraved individuals because you can never truly know the person you are dming (discord private messaging), pming (private messaging, like emails only faster paced, instant), and messaging. They can put on a good show, because of that disconnect I mentioned earlier between online and offline behavior. There is no way to be fully certain of their allegiance or devotions until they let it bled into their conversation, but even then you have to take what they say with reservations, because they may just be wanting to shock or stir up drama, than actually proselytize. The problem is the LORD warns us not to be unevenly yoked with unbelievers, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God." (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). You may say, "but I am on a Christian forums, discord server, chat, or social media group!," well unless you know those people in person, how can you be sure they really are Christians? I mean what better way for those who hate Christians or are even worshipers of the evil one to infiltrate than online, and make no mistake that people infiltrate, "This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves." (Galatians 2:4). There are mentally ill, demon possessed, and outright followers of the enemy who will spend time online to try and shipwreck you, even posing as believers to accomplish these aims, and they can do it because of the anonymity of usernames and fake profile pics.
A great concern I have is how many people are going to wake up one day, and realize how much of their lives we lost online, talking to two faces, and compartmentalized loons who have stolen away precious minutes, days, and even years of their lives. The cost is there, you are spending time on this, with people you do not really know when you could be meeting people in person, developing true friendships where you can be certain they are believers, and who you can build a real life with. I am not saying you cannot have an online part of your life too, but you need to really see it for what it is, it is like a video game, a fantasy, unless of course the people in your chats are people you know in person, then that is entirely different, but this post is directed to those who are friends with strangers. Now I have read some people claim that people online are more authentic, that they show their truest nature because they fear not saying what they actually think. Perhaps, but isn't that a cowardly way out? I mean if you feel persecuted or are in genuine being persecuted, I guess online could be haven for Christians in countries that being a Christian is illegal. So I can see some positives from that potentially, but again the same issue arises, how are they certain those they friend are true followers of Christ, and worse that they will not turn them in? I know I am sounding pessimistic, that is because the nature of online life does not afford a genuineness and constancy to be sure of someone's character, which brings me to one of biggest issues.
Character. It is exceedingly difficult and even perhaps impossible to judge another person's character online. Unless they choose to be online as they are in person, you cannot easily assess their character. This goes both ways, they can in person be rather saintly, but online a sinner, and vice versa they may be wicked and pretending to be righteous to seduce you. You can never know for certain, unless of course you meet in person many times, as is the case of people who met, dated, and married. That is the exception, I am making exception for people who get together and visit in group gatherings, and people who end up meeting to date and court. In those cases you cross the threshold from online to in person, and so I have nothing to say on that matter, save be safe and make sure you meet in places in public and do not give out personal information that you should keep protected and hidden from people you do not know.
Navigating online is hard. I recently tried talking to an AI (Artificial Intelligence) to write with, and I was astounded how closely they mimicked talking to someone online. They were even creative, and anticipated what I would say, and responded instantly, which made me even wonder, am I talking to AIs and bots sometimes? Another pitfall, you may not even be talking to a human being! I mean people are lonely and I have heard about the rise of Artificial Intelligent accounts who talk to you, but trying it out I was rather surprised how realistic it seemed. It makes me think of that Futurama episode when Fry (one of main characters with red hair) falls in love with Artificial Woman that looks like his favorite actress, and she is so life like he is with her till her dies of old age, lol (laugh out loud), and yet now.. I think, that maybe us one day!
We are becoming comfortable with substitutes. The fast food of relationships which is online relationships. We make the friends quick and lose them as quickly, because the bonds are built on digital sand, bytes. Building real relationships is like building on The Rock, it can take time to lay a foundation in rock, and even feel like you will never get the house of friendship fully erected, and yet if you are patient, put in the time, and pick not toxic relationships but healthy ones, you can end up with life partner, and friends who will be there in the storms. Your online bonds will come and go like the wind because they are made of digital sand; like wiping your search history which takes a click, so can they wipe you away from their friend's list. Ghosting culture is rampant in this medium, people will shun, stop talking to, and block someone over the smallest offense, while in contrast if you build friendships on the Rock, and slowly erect that relationship on The Rock of Jesus Christ, the chances of it lasting are so much better. I am not saying all friendships last, but you have to decide, do you want etch sketch friendships of the online or the potential for some real relationships in person; I do know ghosting culture is also happening in person, and I am going to talk about that in a separate post. Maybe the in person relationships will not work out, but think on this, at least you have seen their face, know their voice, and they will have a harder time cyber-bullying you and acting a certain way because they have to own their behavior, live with the consequences. Amen.
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