Facebook's effects on Communication

Sorry so dark guys.... working on it.

Trendy

[TRENDY]

1.of, in, or pertaining to the latest    trend or style.

2.following the latest trends or fashions; up-to-date or chic: the trendy young generation.

3.appealing to faddish taste: a trendy hotel.

Sadly, I'm coming to realize exactly how trendy our society really truly is through social media... One minute everyone is obsessed with a certain topic.... the next minute they are discussing minute by minute updates to a T.V series.. and it never ceases to amaze me, how few at the same time are discussing other things, perhaps even serious, thought provoking matters. I can't tell you how many times I have been unaware of an event only to log on to my Facebook to be inundated with updates of some awards show, sitcom, breaking news.. but most often extraneous information....Most recently it has been the verdict of the Trayvon Martin case that has totally flooded social media, and is causes me to ask the necessary question...... Since so many people have strong feelings about what happened to the boy and the outcome of the case... why didn't anyone (including all the bloody celebrities that have been photographed wearing their hood up in the likeness of Trayvon) take up donations to afford Trayvon a proper legal counsel? Why all the banter after the fact..... but most importantly, why is it so crucial? Does anyone else see the other issues we have looming in our country? The blatant disrespect of our gracious God that provides? The fact of the matter is that NONE of us are completely innocent of anything.. we have all sinned and all fallen short. Now don't misconstrue where I'm going with this.. because I do not agree that someone should just have the right to aggress against someone, and then take their life once they decide to fight back.. but what I am saying is that these occurrences happen all the time. Racially based crimes and convictions/lack of convictions are threaded deeply in the American judicial system. I find it laughable that my peers ( and I do use the term lightly) thought that something would be different in this case.  In our media we watch the media slander victims and hero's alike.... the reason for such efforts is because drama sells.... everyone thrives off discord. Flowers & smiles don't 'trend' on yahoo.com, but Kim Kardashian and Boston Massacres' do..... We live in a world that 'feels' their way through, negating taking action, hence the disappointing outcome of this young man's case.... My charge to you is to start doing something.... if you 'feel' compelled about something....... DO SOMETHING........ Perhaps if some of these people in position would have taken action, the outcome could have been different. Perhaps is someone would have taken the time they wasted tweeting, and organized a fundraiser for his family...... they could have been afforded better legal counsel. We are collectively too stagnant for our own good.... and spilling our feelings all over the place. If you want something to change or improve... you WILL have to take action.

Associated Costs… what you must know

"Family Drama" Theme..... resolved in 2 hours? I think not!

      Drunken off media, many of us have a false understanding of how life works and the magnitude of our decision making. I have even suffered from outlandish expectations as well as many of my friends. As we enter the next decade of our lives, many of us find ourselves unfulfilled with no direction. All of the goals that were set before us by our parents or society (Getting married, having children, completing college, starting a business, beginning a career, etc……) we have engaged in and unknowingly brought more challenge upon our lives, whereas we expected these milestones to provide some level of bravado or accomplishment. What our media has failed to convey is that life is a continual process in which you will never arrive, and that preparation for the future is unavoidable. However with Jesus you can achieve some level of balance, less him you will simply continue to chase your tail. You see, perfection on Earth is a concept that will never come to pass…. Perfection will only exist in Heaven. Once you understand that the situations you are experiencing are happening because they were destined too.. you can save yourself boundless amounts of sorrow. Now…. Let us not forget how the imminent weight that our decision making plays in to shaping our world. If you are a mature adult, you can honestly assess your life and see how your decisions or lack of good decisions have brought you where you are. If you chose the path of disobedience (pursuing a bad mate, neglecting career planning, postponing education, not establishing a rainy day fund, disobeying God’s word, or just plain going against the grain…) you will often be frustrated by where you are.. and what you have, and if you are immature, you will envy those around you that have the things that you lack. However obtaining these things is not nearly as hard as disobeying. You cannot simply choose what you want, and expect things to fall into place.. You must seek wisdom and direction from God, and if you rather map out your own plan… Good luck to you. Hell is full of people that chose to do “their own thing” over choosing to do God’s work. If you think that your existence is about self gratification you are a fool. You are purposed by God, and anything you choose to do outside his will, will not get you satisfaction much less his blessing. Is it odd that often times the kids that were nerds in school become successful, meanwhile the social butterflies wilt quickly without the sham of their parents providing? Our media does not promote this idea… and keeps so many lost by the expectation that we can have it all without any area suffering otherwise known as the ‘American Dream’. This idea is FALSE ,FALSE, FALSE, hence why it Is so impossible to obtain. Life ebbs and flows, its natural. Some of us actually have good lives, good marriages and good careers, but are discouraged because our life doesn’t fit the ‘mold’.

Bad guy/good girl.... Fun, but at what cost?

 

How to snap out of it:

I would seriously encourage you to challenge yourself to put some space between you and the prevalent media influences (T.V, Music and Internet) in your life. I don’t watch much T.V, but I use the computer daily. On average I was using facebook for 2 hours daily, and finding myself extremely frustrated, depressed and unhappy. I decided to cut ties for a while, currently I am on a Facebook hiatus for six months started in January 2013. Almost instantly, I felt better about myself, began to use that two hours for other things, and didn’t feel inadequate due to the comparisons social media subliminally feeds us. If need be, one has to get drastic. Secondly,

I would encourage you to critique and analyze certain themes that you see prevalent. For instance the bad guy/good girl in movies… It always works, right? WRONG. Think about this very story in terms of people you know or even a situation you found yourself in. Lastly, understand that the media is entertainment only. If certain themes are especially bothersome, cut them out entirely. My Pastor (Jeff Haygood of Living Word Church, www.livingwordcolumbus.org) always says.. “You turn into what you look at. So if you don’t like what you see, change the vision”.

Wealthy man goes for the hood chick? Nope!