Facebook...mp3

This week the social networking site, Facebook, has angered privacy advocates by adding a public-search function. This means that soon anyone will be able to find Facebook members via search engines such as Google. Although viewable information will be limited, this development continues to fuel concerns that the Internet is eroding our privacy.

The growth of social networking websites in recent years has significantly changed how many of us use the Internet. Millions of people across the globe now keep in touch with friends, make new friends and reconnect with long-lost friends through social networking sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MySpace. In fact Facebook now accounts for 1% of all net traffic and is the sixth most visited site in the US.

It’s too early to say if the social networking phenomenon will have a significant impact on our lives, or indeed if it will last, but stories relating to social networking are increasingly making their way into the news and it is certainly a popular talking point.

So what are we to make of this week’s social networking story? Is it possible that social networking has the potential to redefine the boundaries between someone’s private and public life? And what is the implication of this for Christians?

I’ve heard many sermons about the importance of not segmenting our lives – especially if that means our Christian faith becomes disconnected. The saying used to be, “we worship Jesus with our lips and deny him by our lifestyles”. Is a modern version of this saying, “we worship Jesus with our lips and deny him by our social networking profiles and blogs?”

Our evangelism has often been hampered by hypocrisy, and although it’s easy to blame the hypocrisy of other Christians, we must be slow to judge, and quick to examine ourselves. Too often our private lives and public lives, our church lives and the rest of our lives are disconnected inappropriately. I’m wondering if social networking may make a difference here.

On Facebook, all my different friendship groups collide. On Facebook, photos of me at parties, uploaded by other people, can be seen by my work colleagues and my friends from church. In the past I’ve found it all too easy to act differently around my Christian and non-Christian friends – on Facebook I can’t do that – there’s only one profile about me, and it’s open for all to see!

I’ve always known that my Christian faith should be public and not private, I’ve always believed that I can’t just ‘put God in a box’ or tag Jesus onto an already long list of hobbies. Sadly, in practice, I’ve often failed. Social networking has provided me with a wake up call. It’s connected the different parts of my life, and I’ve had to ask myself the question, “Who am I going to be?” and most importantly, “What position does Jesus really have in my life?”

Phil Green, Essential Project Director

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