A woman
expresses the joy of her phone having no signal: “We’re out of range, thank
goodness,” she says, as she disables her phone. “I need a rest.”[1]
A supervisor at a non-profit organization expresses that her vacation was
ruined because someone was emailing her while she was gone, stating that she
could not keep herself from checking her email. A woman on a silence and solitude
retreat checks her email and Facebook because she feels like people are expecting her to be connected at all
times.
Sabbath and rest are gifts from God, given
for specific purposes that are pleasing to God.[2]
Social media, including Facebook, Email, blogs, Twitter, and text messaging are
recent phenomena that have implications for one’s ability to rest and take
Sabbath. In order to rest regularly and in a formational way, Christians must
look at social media usage critically and comprehensively. In this essay, I
will give a brief overview of the prevalence of social media and modern
technology usage and its effect on rest and Sabbath. I will share the critical
cultural analyses of Marshall McLuhan, Neil Postman, and James K.A. Smith and
what their respective theories and methodologies speak to social media
prevalence and interference in our culture. Lastly, I will present evaluations of
the importance of rest from theological and biblical standpoints and what the consequences
are for Christian formation and witness, including my own evaluation on these
points.
In his book The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture,
Shane Hipps illuminates Marshall McLuhan’s Laws of Media.[3]
The laws, according to Hipps, can be applied to any medium of communication;
any form of advancement in technological communication, regardless of its type,
is still subject to the four laws. The laws ask: What does the medium extend?
What does the medium make obsolete? What does the medium reverse into? What
does the medium retrieve? An example provided by Hipps is the effects of
electronic culture as applied to the four laws.[4]
For example, in Hipps’ interpretation, it enhances corporate approaches to
faith, makes obsolete our belief in the metanarrative, reverses into
relativism, and retrieves the contemplation of icons. The same laws can be
applied to social media. It could be said that social media enhances
quantitative connectivity between people, makes obsolete geographic distance,
reverses into individualism, and retrieves the great commission to connect to
the ends of the earth. However, Hipps notes that there seems to be a
fundamental shift in the newest forms of electronic culture through the
illusion of connectivity. He says, “Suddenly, we have the illusion of closeness
with someone while remaining totally anonymous. This anonymous intimacy has a
strange effect. It provides just enough connection to keep us from pursuing
real intimacy... I am concerned that virtual community is slowly becoming our
preferred way of relating.”[5]
Social media has the capacity to obsolesce the Christian community’s need for
face-to-face connection and relation while simultaneously pervading our every
waking moment. In the introduction, I mentioned a woman who was checking her
email on vacation. She had gone on vacation likely to get away from work.
However, someone was emailing her while she was gone. She felt like she had to remain connected as if she did
not have a choice. Thus, she felt that this person emailing her was ruining her
vacation. She lost her ability to rest due to connectivity. Sherry Turkle
examines this phenomenon in tongue-in-cheek fashion, saying, “A vacation usually
means working from someplace picturesque.”[6]
Calhoun all but responds directly to this dilemma with an argument for Sabbath: “Sunday generously hands us hours
to look into the eyes of those we love. We have time for loving and being
loved. Rhythmically, the Sabbath reminds us that we belong to the worldwide
family of God. We are citizens of another kingdom—a kingdom not ruled by the
clock and the tyranny of the urgent.”[7] Sabbath,
in the context of this topic area, would necessarily include rest from
connecting to others through social media and/or intentionally connection
through more personal means. Ruth Haley Barton speaks to this intrusion of
social media on rest from her personal experience:
It is a great temptation to check e-mail and
voicemail (just once) or to try to get writing and speaking prep done (just a
little), yet computers and most communication technologies take me back into
work mode and are deadening to my spirit. They serve good purposes during the
work week, but in the context of Sabbath they are a real intrusion and do not
usher me into trust and rest. [8]
So
though Sabbath is an ancient, regular practice of the Christian church, new
media have implications for old practices. “Nearly every new digital or
electronic technology contains, retrieves, and restructures a previous medium…
the media relationships get more disorienting when we talk about the Internet.”[9] The
onset of new technology and media can be disorienting and can interrupt proper
Christian liturgies, thus largely influencing the overall lives of Christians.
In order to properly address this interruption, we can look at the
methodological tools from Smith, McLuhan, and Postman.
James K.A. Smith says “Our identity
is shaped by what we ultimately love or what we love as ultimate – what, at the
end of the day, gives us a sense of meaning, purpose, understanding, and
orientation to our being-in-the-world.”[10] This
love is based on liturgies, whether secular or sacred.[11] We are
formed from the body up; we are defined by the things we do and the things we
desire. Looking statistically at the average American Christian today, our
basic desire is evidently connectivity and social media as these practices are
becoming increasingly pervasive. So what are the implications, according to
Smith, of this new practice?
What
we desire or love ultimately is a (largely implicit) vision of what we hope
for, what we think the good life looks like. This vision of the good life
shapes all kinds of actions and decisions and habits that we undertake, often
without our thinking about it. So when I say that love defines us, I don’t mean
our love for the Chicago Cubs or chocolate chip scones, but rather our desire
for a way of life. This element of ultimacy, I’ll suggest, is fundamentally
religious. But religion here refers primarily not to a set of beliefs or
doctrines but rather to a way of life. What’s at stake is not primarily ideas
but love, which functions on a different register. Our ultimate love/desire is
shaped by practices, not ideas that are merely communicated to us.[12]
Smith makes
additional claims: since we are fundamentally desiring creatures, our very
identities are found in what we love and practice.[13]
Similarly, he claims “Secular liturgies don’t create our desire; they point it, aim it, direct it to certain
ends.”[14]
Smith makes the unique argument that there are inherent ends within what we
perceive as means. Modernly, in the context of social media, our practices of
connectivity, isolation, and virtual community have implications for our very
identities, especially within the Christian community. Our social media
practices, which Hipps fears may be becoming commonplace, direct our desire. And
Smith fears that we do this “often without our thinking about it,” as stated
above. Smith, however, does have potential practices and solutions for this
dilemma: there must be Christian worship practices of intentional counter-formation.[15]
He mentions several formative Christian practices, including the Sabbath, that
when intentionally sought allow one to “rehearse a way of life, to practice
(for) the kingdom.”[16]
Social media, with millions of users around the world, has proven itself to be
a natural secular liturgy. Sabbath and rest are less natural to human nature,
but nonetheless necessary for intentional separation from the seamless,
formative, secular liturgies that have spilled into the lives of many
Christians. I will expand on the imperative of this specific practice later in
this essay.
As a basic
claim in Flickering Pixels, Shane
Hipps says, “Christianity is fundamentally a communication event… Any serious
study of God is a study of communication, and any effort to understand God is
shaped by our understanding – or misunderstanding – of the media and technology
we use to communicate.”[17]
Hipps draws heavily on the writings and theories of McLuhan. He employs
McLuhan’s basic premise that “the medium is the message.”[18]
When the medium changes, the message fundamentally changes as well. “The tools
we use to think actually shape the
way we think.”[19] The
media we use to gather, process, and disperse information have the ability to
shape us, as opposed to solely the message with those media. Hipps explains
this with the example of television:
When
we watch television, we are oblivious to the medium itself. The flickering
mosaic of pixilated light washes over us, bypassing our conscious awareness.
Instead, we sit hypnotized by the program – the content – which has gripped our
attention, unaware of the ways in which the television, regardless of its content,
is repatterning the neural pathways in our brain and reducing our capacity for
abstract thought.[20]
This formula can be applied to
social media. For example, Tim Keller, a well-known author and pastor in New
York, is the subject of a fan-created Twitter account, @DailyKeller, which has
126,178 followers.[21] This
account produces 140-character or less bits of wisdom and quotes from
Tim Keller. Though @DailyKeller “tweets” quips such as “Racial pride and
cultural narrowness cannot coexist with the gospel of grace. They are mutually
exclusive,”[22] the
content is only half of the equation. What does it mean that more than 100,000
people believe the wisdom of a prolific author can be given and received in
small bits without discussion, out of the quotes original context, and
consistently from someone other than the original author? What are the
implications for this medium? McLuhan’s Laws of Media can be applied here. What
does Twitter enhance, obsolesce, reverse into, and retrieve? It could be argued
that it enhances quantity of information intake, but obsolesces the necessity
of context. Regardless, the medium does have implications for the original
content; it will not remain unchanged.
Thus far,
this essay has seemed an effort in discounting and discrediting the
proliferation of social media. Hipps does not stop with critique, however. He
understands the reality and presence of social media and its eventual
pervasiveness within culture, similar to the process of the integration of the
printing press and early electronic media such as the telegraph, television and
radio.[23]
There is a certain inevitability of media technological advancement, but there
is ample room for proper hermeneutics and implementation. To acquire this end, we
must learn to see with two eyes. Hipps employs Postman’s image of the two-eyed
prophet:
To
perceive media and technology with both eyes open, we cannot simply list the
various benefits and liabilities of all new and existing media in hopes of
understanding their power and meaning. Instead, the task before us requires an
entirely different approach to analyzing media, recognizing them not simply as
conduits or pipelines… but rather as dynamic forces with power to shape us,
regardless of content.[24]
To see with
only one eye limits the observer to only one side of the story. In the case of
social media, this can be either the clear benefits (dissemination of
information, ease of communication) or the evident drawbacks (dilution of
information, lack of discernment in usage). But to act as a two-eyed prophet,
the observer can see the sum, which is greater than the individual components. This
requires asking deep, digging questions and a healthy skepticism. It also
requires counter-formational practices that take into account one’s overall
health in spiritual formation. These all make up what Hipps calls the “radar
for perceiving the true nature and power of media and technology to shape the
way we think and interact.”[25]
He goes on, “Armed with this radar, we are better equipped to detect and engage
the unique challenges and opportunities of electronic culture with discernment,
authenticity, and faithfulness to the gospel.”[26]
In this, Hipps points out the fact that electronic media, including social
media, have inherent opportunities for use. In order to achieve recognition of
these opportunities, it is necessary to take a step back and observe the big
picture of the outcomes of social media. This, in Christian counter-formational
practice, includes intentional implementation of Sabbath and rest.
At the baseline level, there is a biblical
mandate for the taking of a Sabbath. During the creation story in Genesis, the
crowning moment is the rest on the seventh day, rather than the creation of
humanity. The day is set apart and consecrated as holy.[27] Marva
Dawn goes even deeper with this mandate: “This text implies that the motivation
for keeping a Sabbath is in imitation of God… What we do draw for our formation
from this text is that to keep a holy day is written into the very fabric of
creation. Since the entire first creation account culminates in the seventh day
of God’s resting, that model is an essential core of the whole earth’s being.”[28] This
speaks to the words in Psalm 127: “Unless the Lord build the house, those who
build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1a, NRSV). But Dawn’s assertions are not
merely negative; the more we practice shalom and rest in a patterned way in our
lives, the more we will be able to bring that peace and wholeness into the
remainder of our lives.[29] Thus,
as we are able to step away from the grip and slope of social media, we will be
able to bring a more balanced way of living into the other days of the week,
using social media in a more conscious, productive way.
William Powers, in his book Hamlet’s Blackberry, describes this
phenomenon on a familial level. He realized that his was living for and through
a screen, rather than for and through one another.[30] His
family decided to take an Internet Sabbath: to intentionally avoid the Internet
and seek out one another.
We slowly came to understand, in a visceral
way, the high cost of being always connected. At the same time, because we were
now away from our connectedness on a regular basis, we grasped its utility and
value more fully. We now experienced the two states in an intermittent rhythm,
so each could be appreciated in contrast to the other.[31]
He asserts, similarly to McLuhan and
Hipps, that these technologies are not inherently evil. But there has been a
fundamental shift when it comes to technology’s impact on our lives; social
media seemingly is able to grip us differently than other previous
technologies. But this family’s Internet Sabbath enabled them to not only
connect to one another but to also see the goodness of the Internet.
In the Sabbath and times of rest, we
are reminded of our limits, just as the people were when God initially
instituted the Sabbath.[32] We have
physical limits, but we also have limits of mind and attention. The Sabbath has
been given to us so that we may be able to delight in God for God’s own sake,[33] and
that we may be able to delight in one another, truly living through and for one
another and for our creator.
This phenomenon has profound
implications for the body, both individual and corporate. Sherry Turkle asks,
“What is a place if those who are physically present have their attention on
the absent?”[34]
This is a call to be mentally and spiritually present in the same space as our
physical bodies. Our overuse of social media has a keen ability to make those
far away from us seem closer, while making those who are near to us seem
farther away.[35]
Thus, there are implications for our faith both individually and ecclesially. This
trend has brought about spectacled worship services that are consumer-driven and
often focused on those outside the walls.[36] There
are great benefits to this trend, but there is also an unintended consequence
of losing focus on the activity of God and God’s perfect patterns in creation. Hipps
explicates the role of the church: “The church
is the temple of the Holy Spirit, not me personally. Paul is emphasizing that
the Spirit dwells in the corporate body. Our individual purity still matters,
and the Bible still teaches that the Spirit dwells in us personally, but this passage [1 Corinthians 6:19-20] is
actually concerned with the church community as a whole.”[37] I
believe that an individual response of patterned Sabbath and rest would have
direct benefits for the corporate identity and practices of the church. As has
been described above, once one steps away from electronic media, one can relate
more wholly to others as well as be enabled to use electronic media in a more
prolific way by seeing its benefits and values. Through this practice, those in
the church body should hold one another accountable, seeing with two eyes both
the limitations and benefits of social media and the necessary place of the
Sabbath for retaining this view.
Celebrating a holy day and living in God’s
rhythm for six days of work and one of rest is the best way I know to learn the
sense of our call—the way in which God’s
Kingdom reclaims us, revitalizes us, and renews us so that it can reign
through us. Before we can engage in the practice of our call, we need to be
captured afresh by grace, carried by it, and cared for.[38]
The institution of the Sabbath
refocuses our call individually and ecclesially. This practice also helps us
properly use and understand social media in our lives of Christian witness.
This is a technology that has proven itself to be abundant and permanent in
many ways, and it is imperative that, as Christians, we properly view the
benefits and limitations of social media.
This conversation is not yet
complete; in fact, it is likely just beginning. I have concluded in this essay
that social media and rest can and should exist simultaneously, but the
question remains: are the two mutually exclusive? Many of the authors who have
been brought into this essay assert that social media necessarily negates one’s
ability to rest. But is this entirely true? As social media continues to
replicate, there will likely be arguments for its actual assistance in the process of rest. Also, as social media becomes
more commonplace in the church body, many pastors and churches are beginning to
see social media as necessary for the
modern witness of the church. Does social media have a place in ushering in the
kingdom of God? Can it truly enhance our Christian witness? With these
questions in mind, a further question arises: what is the vision of the good
life when it comes to simultaneously experiencing social media and rest? What
is a proper future trajectory to best accept and live abundantly within these
two realms? These questions necessitate attention as the proliferation of
social media continues to increase and will become increasingly demanding of
our everyday lives as Christians living in the world.
Bibliography
Barton, Ruth Haley. Sacred
Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. Downers Grove,
Ill.: IVP Books, 2006.
Calhoun, Adele Ahlberg. Spiritual
Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP
Books, 2005.
Dawn, Marva J. In the
Beginning, God: Creation, Culture, and the Spiritual Life. Downers Grove,
Ill.: IVP Books, 2009.
------. The Sense of the Call: a
Sabbath Way of Life for Those Who Serve God, the Church, and the World.
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006.
Hipps, Shane. Flickering
Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan,
2009.
------. The Hidden Power of
Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church. El
Cajon, CA: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2006.
Powers, William. Hamlet's
Blackberry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age. New York: Harper
Perennial, 2011.
Smith, James K.A. Desiring the
Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Academic, 2009.
Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together:
Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York:
Basic Books, 2011.
[1] Sherry Turkle, Alone Together:
Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other (New York:
Basic Books, 2011), 202.
[2] Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices
That Transform Us (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2005), 40.
[3] Shane Hipps, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media
Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church (El Cajon, CA: Zondervan/Youth
Specialties, 2006), 41.
[4] Ibid, 82.
[5] Shane Hipps, Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith (Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2009), 113-114.
[6]
Turkle, 165.
[7]
Calhoun, 42.
[8] Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for
Spiritual Transformation (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2006), 141.
[9] Hipps 2005, 64-65.
[10] James K.A. Smith, Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and
Cultural Formation (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009), kindle
fire location 400.
[11]
Ibid, kindle fire location 372.
[12]
Ibid, kindle fire location 400.
[13]
Ibid, kindle fire location 407.
[14]
Ibid, kindle fire location 2455.
[15]
Ibid.
[16]
Ibid, kindle fire location 4534.
[17]
Hipps 2009, 13.
[18]
Ibid, 25.
[19]
Ibid, 45.
[20]
Ibid, 26.
[21] https://twitter.com/dailykeller
[22] https://twitter.com/dailykeller/status/335068780097056768
[23]
Hipps 2009, 66.
[24]
Hipps 2005, 27.
[25]
Ibid, 82.
[26]
Ibid, 82-83.
[27] Marva J. Dawn, In the Beginning, God: Creation, Culture, and the
Spiritual Life (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2009), 63.
[28] Ibid,
64.
[29]
Ibid, 66.
[30] William Powers, Hamlet's Blackberry: Building a Good Life in the
Digital Age, (New York: Harper Perennial, 2011), 224.
[31]
Ibid, 231.
[32]
Calhoun, 41.
[33]
Barton, 137.
[34]
Turkle, 155.
[35]
Hipps 2009, 106.
[36]
Hipps 2005, 149.
[37]
Hipps 2009, 177.
[38] Marva J. Dawn, The Sense of the Call: a Sabbath Way of Life for
Those Who Serve God, the Church, and the World (Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006), 33.
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