One must dodge dreck to harness the good of online social networks
Noticing I have a few minutes before my first class of the day, I decide to check my Facebook to see if anything happened between now and an hour ago since I last checked it. Needless to say, the Internet can be addicting, especially when Facebook news feeds update you by the minute as to what your friends posted, what quizzes they took, if they changed their statuses or if they added some new application.
As the home page loads with the news feeds, I see that two of my friends added the Zodiac application to see what the stars say about them and quite a few of my high school friends took the “Did Catholic School Warp You” quiz, which I must say, I am guilty of taking.
Being on a networking site is a great way to keep in touch with friends. However, it makes it all the easier to dip into some taboo ideas. While I am guilty as charged of wondering how “warped” I got from being a Catholic school “survivor,” it brings up some interesting ideas. Suddenly we take an honorable notion such as Catholic education and make it a joke. This offended me a little. With Facebook, it is so much easier to do un-Christian things or explore ideas that do not coincide with the Catholic Church or rather mock it.
But the use of networking sites is not all bad. St. Stephen’s, a Catholic School in Miramar, created a Facebook page to keep in touch with alumni to keep the memory of the school alive. My mother and I attended St. Stephen’s as well as many of my other relatives. Though the school closed, through Facebook we can keep in touch and find out about activities being hosted.
Although I found a lot of Christian applications for my page, such as a Daily Bible verse, they are not nearly as prevalent and appealing as some other applications. I suppose that is saying something about the world we live in.
Bryant, 20, is a University of Florida junior, majoring in psychology. She attends Mass at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Interlachen.
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