Posted by Michael Paulson January 23, 2009 05:03 PM
I was so focused on Pope Benedict XVI's new YouTube channel that I missed the section of his message today directed at the 150 million of us who may be spending too much time on Facebook. The key quote, which clearly seems to refer to Facebook friending (or at least to so-called 'friend harvesters'): "If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction." Here's the full paragraph:
"The concept of friendship has enjoyed a renewed prominence in the vocabulary of the new digital social networks that have emerged in the last few years. The concept is one of the noblest achievements of human culture. ... We should be careful, therefore, never to trivialise the concept or the experience of friendship. It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbours and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation. If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development."
Take a look at the original article at The Boston Globe.
Have you ever had a pen pal? In elementary school one of our assignments was to engage in long-distance communication with a student from a different school in a different state. When our teacher envisioned this activity I’m sure that the concern that she might trivialize the relationships of the students in her classroom by promoting contact and friendship with someone outside of the immediate community never even crossed her mind. I’m sure this activity, that’s main purpose is to improve literacy skills and improve communication skills, was never considered for the negative repercussions that it might have on the relationships that I had established with the people around me. In many ways it is ridiculous to assume this as an outcome. Though I can appreciate the Pope for embracing technology more so than any of his predecessors, I think his comments about online friendship sites do not fully realize the benefits that they do have on social and literacy skills. “If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction.” What is “real social interaction” anymore? Can’t we just embrace any means to promote positive social interactions as “real?” Also, these sites don’t just promote a desire for “virtual connectedness.” They foster real connections that often translate outside the virtual world.
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