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Monday October 19, 2009 ~ 8 Comments
Christian college students are big into social media. A new study done by professors at Gordon College, a Christian Liberal Arts college in Boston, MA, shows that over 30% of Christian college students spend 1-2 hours a day on Facebook alone, with 12% percent going at it for 2-4 hours each day. If you add in Twitter, email, texting, and popular websites we're looking at a significant investment in the internet in general and social media in particular. But what does it all mean? That's what Bryan C. Auday, professor of psychology, and Sybil Coleman, professor of social work wanted to find out. The study, "Pulling Off the Mask: The Impact of Social Networking Activities on Evangelical Christian College Students . . . A Self-Reported Study" was released last month and is the only one of its kind to target and give voice specifically to evangelical Christian college students and their relationship to social media usage. "We'd received enough anecdotal evidence from college students to raise some red flags about these issues," said Coleman. "But we felt it was crucial to gather scientific data from students about both the benefits and concerns (of usage) if we were going to get a clearer picture about how we could best respond."
Questions included the amount of time participants engage in a specific electronic activity during an average day; the primary reason for using a specific site; the impact (both positive and negative) of usage on personal life and relationships; the ability or inability to stop usage, and the possible conflict of usage with personal Christian values. "It isn't yet clear whether over-zealous use of computer-based activities will be formally accepted in the U.S. as a distinctive, unique form of addiction," said Auday. "What is clear from our study is that a surprisingly high percentage of Christian students who frequently engage in electronic activities report several troubling negative consequences. But ironically they also mention many positive outcomes related to the time that is spent on Facebook or text messaging their friends."
What are your thoughts? With churches increasingly leveraging social networking to assist in communication and building community, do we need to be careful? Share your thoughts in the comments. Posted on October 19, 2009 at 8:00 AM ~ 8 Comments Tagged with: addiction, christian, college, internet, social media 8 CommentsLeave a comment |
  
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Social networking (in my opinion MySpace is the worst among mega-popular sites) can be destructive to the Christian mind. Satan has a pretty firm grasp on media in general, and online is the place to go to the most destructive resources in the smallest amount of time.
That said, social networking can be a tremendous agent for the Gospel if used proactively and correctly.
Thanks for highlighting this research and article. It is especially beneficial to my ministry as I work with young Bible College students.
I appreciate the conclusion that some of these young people are coming too when they admit that they are "neglecting important areas of their life". Social networking can be so distracting.
But at the same time, as an administrator at the college, social networking allows me to get a pulse on my students and alumni every time I sit at my computer. I have been able to pray more specifically and communicate more clearly because of the things they post on their walls. It is like my address book is living and breathing and being updated constantly.
As a college minister, I am finding that I spend just as much time on Facebook as my students. It's where they are...it's where they hang out...and I have to go there, too.
Now, it *can* be destructive to fostering healthy face-to-face relationships. I have noticed that many college students don't know how to have a "hard" conversation in person. It's so much easier to Facebook someone or text them then it is to deal face-to-face.
But...folks in campus ministry especially have to foster relationships via Facebook and other social media.
Also...that guy who posted above me is named Brandon Smith, too. I just thought that was weird.
Interesting article for sure. The issues raised are important to look at and explore. The assumption that because young people can do cool stuff with the computer means they know what is appropriate and have discipline to use it in appropriate ways. This assumption leads to adolescents that are not prepared to handle the many distractions that await them on the web or via social media.
However, the question I have as I walk away from this post stems from the comments at the end stating So what's the outcome? Over half admit that they were "neglecting important areas of their life" due to spending too much time online. What if electronic activity was not part of their lives? Would they then address these "neglected" areas? So much of life is about priorities and if we fail to instill internal values that transcend the medium, then other distractions will continue leaving some of these important areas neglected...Thanks for the post and causing me to pause and reflect...
To Ed & to all: I have a hand in most of the research done by Woman's Missionary Union. We're doing much more through facebook/twitter than we used to, and I'm always looking for more info about survey methods and design. I'm especially interested in structuring questions to avoid biases. Any books or best practices you'd recommend?
I think the biggest danger is if the Church acts like social media does not exist. If we continue to see it as "Satan's tool" the Church will increasingly become a relic that young people will not see as relevant to their lives.
Matthew 16:18 talks about how the "gates of hades" will not withstand the onslaught of the Church. The implication is that the Church must be proactive, lighting the darkness, not being afraid of what we do not know.
When I was a college student I spent way too much time playing ping pong at the Baptist Student Union. Glad someone didn't do a ping pong survey back then . . .
I think Daniel nailed it. It's not about the tech itself; it's about the intent of its use. For bringing Christians together, social media can be incredibly helpful.
Apostle Paul wrote letters. Wasn't that low-tech social media?