I Phony

Social media is one of the best inventions of all times outside of course of electricity and the light bulb.  You can talk to anyone at anytime and you don't even have to dial a number on a phone.  With my I phone I can text you, facebook you, tweet you, facetime you, heck I can actually write a blog post on my phone.  It is amazing how quickly we can find information like a recipe or directions on the internet through our I phones.  We can take pictures of anywhere we are and in real time we can upload them for people to see.  It is amazing what can be done with a computer and a cell phone.

Here's the thing though.  Why can't people represent themselves through these social media outlets the way they portray themselves in real life?  It is so interesting how many youth and adults I know that tell me one thing but then show me another through their social media.  Maybe it's because I work for a church and people are always on their best behavior when they are at church.  Maybe it's  because people know that I have certain expectations of them so they act one way in front of me but another when I am not around.

Don't get me wrong, peer pressure is something that causes some of the posts and pictures that I see.  I understand that.  What I don't understand is why when someone posts something vulgar or inappropriate on their page they don't erase it.  They leave it most of time and when I confront them about it they say that it wasn't them that posted it.

Ok I'm not perfect.  I make mistakes and I am sure that I do things that people wouldn't always approve of but I don't plaster that on facebook, twitter, or anywhere else for that matter.  I wish that people would think before they post something, write something, or take a picture.  Maybe what we all should do is say to ourselves, What would my mom say if she saw this?  Or better yet, what would Jesus say if he saw what we were posting?  Oh that's even harder than what would mom say.

Either way it is important to portray who we truly are and not try to bow down to the norms of social media.  If we can't truly represent who we are in all forms of communication than we have some true self image issues. 

The other side of the coin is that if the real you is the person that is portrayed by the inappropriate stuff that you put online instead of the person that shows up to church on Sunday morning,  we need to talk.  My door is open and am ready to listen.  You can text me!