Pondering on Social Media

I am on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest used to be on Myspace. But am not on Instagram or Snap Chat and used to be on Flickr. But really have had all of it 95% positive. You have to try to ignore the negative. And just ask what Jesus would do? As sometimes I wear my heart on my sleeve and offend people. And do the best to apologize and vice versa. We are to turn the other cheek and respond nicely and question people politely. But not attack that person despite differences. It is called agree to disagree!
 
I am on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest used to be on Myspace. But am not on Instagram or Snap Chat and used to be on Flickr. But really have had all of it 95% positive. You have to try to ignore the negative. And just ask what Jesus would do? As sometimes I wear my heart on my sleeve and offend people. And do the best to apologize and vice versa. We are to turn the other cheek and respond nicely and question people politely. But not attack that person despite differences. It is called agree to disagree!

Thank you, everyone! This topic has so many good posts for thought.

Since the invention of postal mail, the telegraph, telephone, television to our electronic age today, it all was and has been meant for good. The bad guys would also find a way in.

My concern has been more of the evolvement in the privilege of verbal and written communication in
freedom of speech, for most countries in these times.
Freedom of speech, aside from vulgar slander or cursing, applies to citizens who has the right to make a statement, even if it doesn't support our agendas, disrespects what we support, including our faith. Freedom of speech protects from censorship. In America this is our 1st amendment right.

However, since the beginning of Genesis (
Spirit of God and verbal) this was all meant for good, but sin found its way in, too.

As a Christian, man of God, I struggle with the brokeness of social media, not the technology but the communication. I feel our verbal and written communication in social media has not respected the privilege but abuse our freedom of speech.

Ephesians 4:29,
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

This teaching is applied to the believer but also in our standard Christian conduct for the unbeliever, or the unreached.

I'm encouraged by JPPT1974 who writes we have to try to ignore the negative. To me this means that we should be careful becoming reactive and throwing darts and arrows, but instead relying on Jesus how to receive negativity despite differences. Starting with myself, I include my confession to the Lord daily to help me guard my tongue.

At the same time, aren't we also to stand up, in love, against the decline of moral fiber in our social media?

God bless
you and your families.
 
I am on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest used to be on Myspace. But am not on Instagram or Snap Chat and used to be on Flickr. But really have had all of it 95% positive. You have to try to ignore the negative. And just ask what Jesus would do? As sometimes I wear my heart on my sleeve and offend people. And do the best to apologize and vice versa. We are to turn the other cheek and respond nicely and question people politely. But not attack that person despite differences. It is called agree to disagree!

Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed ????
 
Thank you, everyone! This topic has so many good posts for thought.

Since the invention of postal mail, the telegraph, telephone, television to our electronic age today, it all was and has been meant for good. The bad guys would also find a way in.

My concern has been more of the evolvement in the privilege of verbal and written communication in
freedom of speech, for most countries in these times.
Freedom of speech, aside from vulgar slander or cursing, applies to citizens who has the right to make a statement, even if it doesn't support our agendas, disrespects what we support, including our faith. Freedom of speech protects from censorship. In America this is our 1st amendment right.

However, since the beginning of Genesis (
Spirit of God and verbal) this was all meant for good, but sin found its way in, too.

As a Christian, man of God, I struggle with the brokeness of social media, not the technology but the communication. I feel our verbal and written communication in social media has not respected the privilege but abuse our freedom of speech.

Ephesians 4:29,
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

This teaching is applied to the believer but also in our standard Christian conduct for the unbeliever, or the unreached.

I'm encouraged by JPPT1974 who writes we have to try to ignore the negative. To me this means that we should be careful becoming reactive and throwing darts and arrows, but instead relying on Jesus how to receive negativity despite differences. Starting with myself, I include my confession to the Lord daily to help me guard my tongue.

At the same time, aren't we also to stand up, in love, against the decline of moral fiber in our social media?

God bless
you and your families.

Agreed!

You said...…..
"I feel our verbal and written communication in social media has not respected the privilege but abuse our freedom of speech. "

AMEN!


My experience in social media up to and even including this very web site, is that the great majority of people use the anonymity of a computer or telephone screen to be bullies and act rude and obnoxious.

By that I mean and it is really easy to see, people say things to others over a text line or computer forum that they would never say to someone's face.
The anomality gives some people power that they actually do not have in real life.

Because people can hide behind a computer/telephone screen they can say and do all kinds of things without fear of someone doing something physical to them which would happen in a face to face conversation.
 
I use social media on Facebook and have chosen not to be on Twitter or any other social media as such unless we include the social part of the forum.

In a nutshell, though, I think that social media should be just that...'social media', not a place to constantly share hate and/or political rhetoric. And I especially dislike it when post after post comes with the implication that we should 'share if we care' kind of thing. Really, if you don't share does that make it seem as if you don't care? It can become endless if we shared everything we cared about.

At it's best Facebook, like any social media, can be a tool to connect friends and families by sharing information and responses to photos and events. This is especially good if friends and family are distances away. I do feel it can build relationships although it can never take the place of face to face personal contacts.

At it's worst 'social media' includes vulgarity, prejudice, lies, and misinformation and seems to be an extension of abusive remarks given by those who have nothing better to do. Of course, does one even consider that being social at all? Some do obviously.

It is also a place to share love and we all need a daily dose of that even if when we are living alone it sometimes comes from social media contacts. And for those of us who are Christians it can be a tool to share the love of God with others, a place to give and receive encouragement, and sometimes a lot of fun.

Like said earlier it is something that can be good or bad depending on how it is used.
 
I am on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest used to be on Myspace. But am not on Instagram or Snap Chat and used to be on Flickr. But really have had all of it 95% positive. You have to try to ignore the negative. And just ask what Jesus would do? As sometimes I wear my heart on my sleeve and offend people. And do the best to apologize and vice versa. We are to turn the other cheek and respond nicely and question people politely. But not attack that person despite differences. It is called agree to disagree!

Hello JPPT1974;

Good sharing, and have to agree with you, when we are conscious of offending people in our communication it is humbling to apologize, and respectfully agree to disagree.

Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed ????

lol! I had to chuckle at your response and will say on a lighter note, I personally cannot keep up with having multiple accounts in the fast paced social technology. I'm amazed how fast people can text type on their electronics.

I do find a huge benefit with cell phones, texting and email on my desk top and from studying the book of James it has taught me the work in progree of how I address others in correspondence, texting or posting.

In our pastoral ministries I feel you would agree that we would prefer to communicate in person. Many in the ministry will only text me. I have to bear patience and work with this because I cannot force everyone to communicate the way I do.

God bless you all and your families.
 
Hello JPPT1974;

Good sharing, and have to agree with you, when we are conscious of offending people in our communication it is humbling to apologize, and respectfully agree to disagree.



lol! I had to chuckle at your response and will say on a lighter note, I personally cannot keep up with having multiple accounts in the fast paced social technology. I'm amazed how fast people can text type on their electronics.

I do find a huge benefit with cell phones, texting and email on my desk top and from studying the book of James it has taught me the work in progree of how I address others in correspondence, texting or posting.

In our pastoral ministries I feel you would agree that we would prefer to communicate in person. Many in the ministry will only text me. I have to bear patience and work with this because I cannot force everyone to communicate the way I do.

God bless you all and your families.

Agreed. I have a personal rule I established years ago when I saw this phenomenon taking place with texting, and phones and computers. I simply do not text at all.

I will only talk with and work with people on a face to face basis. I must be able to see the faces and the reactions to questions asked when counseling is asked for.
 
'm encouraged by JPPT1974 who writes we have to try to ignore the negative. To me this means that we should be careful becoming reactive and throwing darts and arrows, but instead relying on Jesus how to receive negativity despite differences. Starting with myself, I include my confession to the Lord daily to help me guard my tongue.
bobinfiath and JPPT1974. This is so good and so true. Yes, "ignore the negative." and encourage the positive by being positive ourselves.
 
Thoughts...I dont live in america so we dont have this amendment about free speech.
So not sure what thats all about...dont really want to get into that debate!

I think as christians when God has us say something He gives us utterance. He gives us the courage to say it. It is better to speak the Word than remain silent.

As for social media thats whats its for to be social...FB was first invented as an electronic way to keep in touch for college grads. It took off and started being rolled out to other colleges/universities. It was only amongst this group at first and then it got big and older people got into and then advertisers. Your friends were the people you wanted to stay in touch with after going your separate ways after graduation. There were other social media at the time like friendster, myspace and copy cats like Linkedin, but the thing about facebook was that it was fun. The Like button was initially just an innocent way to like someone or someones funny comment. It was never meant to be serious. When it added pictures and newsfeeds and messaging thats when it became quite useful for posting events and things. If you want to share you can but people have got to be realistic and know that anything shared online is public.
I dont think you have to share anything you are not willing to and be careful who you accept as friends, dont be friends with people you dont know! I shut down my account at one stage cos the online circle I was in was not healthy for me. But then I went back on and was more careful about the company I had on FB.

With people living in different parts of the world its a handy tool and has its uses. i never got i to linkedin I had a page up for a while but it was really boring and the site itself was too aggressive pushing stuff on you that you didnt want. FB was sometimes like that in its early days but you can learn to deal with it and turn offthe functions you dont want. Dont use twitter or instagram. Personally I dont really like the thought of having random people 'follow' me or following someone whenever they say something but I suppose its useful for some people.

I think blogs are good for self expression, although ive never been a big part of the so-called blogosphere. I dont really use many other social media cos some of the sites are pushy or have overbearing moderators. I was once called up on one called neighbourly for daring to post a personal job ad. I didnt go back after that when got called on the coals for it even though had used the site many times before and got jobs through it. I really hate it when people expect you to be posting every single day on something or constsntly critcise you for saying something. Who has time for that? If someone wants to be a self-appointed busybody thats their problem. Lol. Be an encourager not a complainer.

People seem to blame social media for a lot of things affecting youth but I reckon to be more concerned with violent video games and tv than social media. Violent Video games and tv are more addictive and damaging.

Otherwise I have ZERO TOLERANCE for bullies. On some forums they can be relentless. If someone doesnt like you whether its in real life or online they seem to just want to pick a fight. I dont think that is on. I think that in some cases you need to be firm and others you need to walk away , ignore or just log out. I also dont like to see people picking on others. Thats why theres a report button and an ignore button. I really dont like it when moderators abuse this 'power'

Pray for them that persecute you though!
 
Thoughts...I dont live in america so we dont have this amendment about free speech.
So not sure what thats all about...dont really want to get into that debate! I think as christians when God has us say something He gives us utterance. He gives us the courage to say it. It is better to speak the Word than remain silent. Otherwise I have ZERO TOLERANCE for bullies. On some forums they can be relentless. If someone doesnt like you whether its in real life or online they seem to just want to pick a fight. I dont think that is on. I think that in some cases you need to be firm and others you need to walk away , ignore or just log out. I also dont like to see people picking on others. Thats why theres a report button and an ignore button. I really dont like it when moderators abuse this 'power' Pray for them that persecute you though!

Hi Lanolin;

Freedom of speech in America allows our freedom of expression, opinion, even if you don't agree with me or insult me. Regardless, every citizen enjoys the amendment of freedom of speech. The character, integrity and moral fiber in the manner we express our freedom of speech is a different issue.

As a believer I ask God daily to guard my tongue when I speak, when I'm writing and including my mind. It's not easy and this is why God gives us the Word, to prepare ourselves to give an answer, to co-xist with others and offer hope in our faith.

1 Peter 3:15, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Ephesians 4:29, 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

There are some great points in this topic including social media, the way our electronic communication has changed since the internet launched in the late 80's or 90's. But those who serve in social media, especially in the Christian forums should be mindful and ask the Lord for humility and accept correction at any moment, and be teachable in the ministry of people skills.

Young people in these times need constant mentoring on the way we address our elders and the same for elderly (middle age and senior age) who should also be reminded how we speak to young people, and women.

1 Timothy 5:1-2, 1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

This has been the jist of my concerns in these times, how we speak to one another. I don't have the true all answers in this topic which is why I pray daily and get other's views. How can I be an example?

God bless you all.
 
Ok well theres lots of advice Paul gives to the Ephesians, 4:22-32 esp note be ye kind and tenderhearted!

Conversation with the old man? What's that, and what is the new man? How did you talk before you became a christian and what changed to how you spoke after?
Also Isnt that an interesting word picture, its not being 'nice' or 'polite' its tenderhearted, like your heart is softened, kind of like soft butter. You know you cant spread butter easily when its hard. Plus you have to practically cut it with a knife.

Heres some more read further in the next chapter 5:4-11

Foolish talking! Vain words! If someones spouting nonsense you dont have to agree with them you can reprove them on a thread. Or just ignore them. Shouldnt happen on a christian forum, but you can reprove.

Children naturally interrupt, and many dont have a 'filter'. Actually many adults dont either and I remember having to institute a swear jar for my former boss. Every time he swore it added up till he owed me a meat pie. People that joke around all the time often can be super annoying and arent aware they can be offending...or maybe they joke deliberately to offend/mock. One time I was in conversation with a professed believer, and they used a lot of sarcasm. I had to remind him that I did not see sarcasm as funny, but bitter and hurtful esp to its targets.

God likes it when we praise Him and give glory to Him, so its good we can do this va a christian forum , after all He's listening! On FB you can post scriptures, I used to do that everyday, maybe a habit all of us can get into if we use facebook. I love reading scriputres as encouragement.
 
I think FB does censor posts but not sure how they do it, the danger is if people want to post videos of mass shootings or porn, but then its only within your circle of friends it goes out. So unless youve befriended someone really dodgy, most people wouldnt have that kind of content showing up.

You cant really stop the sponsored posts by advertisers appearing on your newsfeed, it, by computer algorthims, somehow tries to tailor them to your location and whatever you've 'liked'. But then again nobody needs to go on facebook everyday. If they dont want to they can just not login. And since the feeds change day to day, its not like those posts will stay there forever. Unless someone wants to keep posting the same thing every single day, in which case, they will be chained to the computer and have no life lol.

Its like, we dont actually need to read the newspaper or watch tv everyday either. You can choose. You can choose to read the Bible everyday instead.
 
Come back to this topic, well the day of the mass shootings in christchurch, what do you know, the gunman tried to post a video of the shootings on FB.

I mean that is terrible. Well now Facebook is cracking down on people that spread hate and vids of shootings etc. I do reckon that the proliferation of graphic violence and shoot em up style movies, and video games mostly coming from america, glorfiying violence, fuel the appetite for more and make it somehow acceptable as 'entertainment' as something to watch. Not that unconverted people havent always wanted to watch such things but that it spreads because violence begets violence.

News media is equally culpable, front page is always 'if it bleeds it leads' so they will put pictures of car crashes on the cover, to sell papers. Car crashes, because they are violent. Now people might die of other things, or naturally, but if its a car crash it will make the paper. If you die peacefully in your sleep surrounded by loved ones, its not gonna make the front page unless you a celeb. But anyone dying in car crash...instant front page news.
 
Come back to this topic, well the day of the mass shootings in christchurch, what do you know, the gunman tried to post a video of the shootings on FB.

I mean that is terrible. Well now Facebook is cracking down on people that spread hate and vids of shootings etc. I do reckon that the proliferation of graphic violence and shoot em up style movies, and video games mostly coming from america, glorfiying violence, fuel the appetite for more and make it somehow acceptable as 'entertainment' as something to watch. Not that unconverted people havent always wanted to watch such things but that it spreads because violence begets violence.

News media is equally culpable, front page is always 'if it bleeds it leads' so they will put pictures of car crashes on the cover, to sell papers. Car crashes, because they are violent. Now people might die of other things, or naturally, but if its a car crash it will make the paper. If you die peacefully in your sleep surrounded by loved ones, its not gonna make the front page unless you a celeb. But anyone dying in car crash...instant front page news.

Not to argue the point because I do not need to, but I am old enough to remember that the news media has always used the …...
"If it bleeds it leads" philosophy.

Again, I am just saying that the news media is in the business of informing the public and the more news there is to give the more money they make and that is and always has been the focus of business.......MAKE MONEY!
 
Would Jesus cruciftixtion have made the front page then. If they had papers in those days.
His resurrection though...maybe the back page.
 
Would Jesus cruciftixtion have made the front page then. If they had papers in those days.
His resurrection though...maybe the back page.

YES! I would say that everyone in Jerusalem knew about His crucifixtion.

The idea was to provide the general population with a striking display of the fate awaiting those found guilty of resisting Roman rule.

The Roman orator Quintillion (circa 35-90s C.E.) observed that, ……...
“whenever we crucify the guilty, the most crowded roads are chosen, where most people can see and be moved by this fear. For penalties relate not so much to retribution as to their exemplary effect” (Declamationes 274).

From a Roman perspective, the horror of crucifixion was the horror of social shame. Executed publicly, situated along well-trafficked routes, devoid of clothing, denied burial, and left to be eaten by birds and beasts, victims of crucifixion were subject to vicious ridicule.

IT was done to scare people straight so the more who knew the better the plan.
 
Would Jesus cruciftixtion have made the front page then. If they had papers in those days.
His resurrection though...maybe the back page.

YES! I would say that everyone in Jerusalem knew about His crucifixtion. The idea was to provide the general population with a striking display of the fate awaiting those found guilty of resisting Roman rule.
The Roman orator Quintillion (circa 35-90s C.E.) observed that, ……...
“whenever we crucify the guilty, the most crowded roads are chosen, where most people can see and be moved by this fear. For penalties relate not so much to retribution as to their exemplary effect” (Declamationes 274).
From a Roman perspective, the horror of crucifixion was the horror of social shame. Executed publicly, situated along well-trafficked routes, devoid of clothing, denied burial, and left to be eaten by birds and beasts, victims of crucifixion were subject to vicious ridicule. IT was done to scare people straight so the more who knew the better the plan.

Hello Lanolin and Major;

I agree with you both, and what you shared were also on my ponderings. What if there was television or newspapers in those days? Jesus would have definitely been on the front page and would like to add Jesus' crucifixion would have been mixed with all the corruption that was happening during that time. But since there wasn't any television or newspapers, pain was a good way for authority to get people's attention.

I never heard of 'if it bleeds it leads' but it seems to relate to "yellow journalism," which is no credibility or researched news, only eye-catching headlines for increased sales.

Here in California many citizens are so discouraged because of the social negativity, amongst other reasons, and have left the state for greener pastures throughout America or overseas. I feel as followers of Christ, despite where we live, these times with social media will be the same.

Our daily walk with Christ and the Scriptures can guide us to remain the light in this mix of verbal abuse, or degrading one's life through social media. Even if the majority turn an eye or ear against our witness, God already knows this, but will open His arms to the "one or two" who see our light and desire to follow Jesus.

In the book of Daniel he was prophet, interpretor of dreams, man of prayer and an adviser to kings. God used Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius (royal authority in all things) to find favor with Daniel. But he still encountered extreme troubles, especially with his peers.

Daniel Chapter 6 is a great example for prayer during his time of troubles. Daniel teaches us that we can be empowered with prayer, faith and hope during our time of troubles, abuse of social media being one of them.

To be continued....

God bless you all and your families.
 
Hello Lanolin and Major;

I agree with you both, and what you shared were also on my ponderings. What if there was television or newspapers in those days? Jesus would have definitely been on the front page and would like to add Jesus' crucifixion would have been mixed with all the corruption that was happening during that time. But since there wasn't any television or newspapers, pain was a good way for authority to get people's attention.

I never heard of 'if it bleeds it leads' but it seems to relate to "yellow journalism," which is no credibility or researched news, only eye-catching headlines for increased sales.

Here in California many citizens are so discouraged because of the social negativity, amongst other reasons, and have left the state for greener pastures throughout America or overseas. I feel as followers of Christ, despite where we live, these times with social media will be the same.

Our daily walk with Christ and the Scriptures can guide us to remain the light in this mix of verbal abuse, or degrading one's life through social media. Even if the majority turn an eye or ear against our witness, God already knows this, but will open His arms to the "one or two" who see our light and desire to follow Jesus.

In the book of Daniel he was prophet, interpretor of dreams, man of prayer and an adviser to kings. God used Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius (royal authority in all things) to find favor with Daniel. But he still encountered extreme troubles, especially with his peers.

Daniel Chapter 6 is a great example for prayer during his time of troubles. Daniel teaches us that we can be empowered with prayer, faith and hope during our time of troubles, abuse of social media being one of them.

To be continued....

God bless you all and your families.

All great stuff.
 
It has been an observation for awhile now that social media websites were created in order to begin a programming model for voluntary abandonment of personal privacy.
Think of the pages long contract a site like Facebook for example has published at its site. Who reads all those pages before registering? And yet in those pages the applicant is informed everything about them will be sold to anyone who has the money to buy it. Marketing groups, and of course the government, and others.

Meanwhile members are lulled into the idea of self-importance. Because now rather than being fans of some celebrity they're the center of attention for the whole world and those who may happen upon their profile due to keyword hits in search engines. It is they now who have followers. And "likes" become a matter of self-consciousness and affirmation of personal worth.

We know a woman who is addicted to Facebook. She updates and posts about everything she does. "Just took a shower. Oh, I love the new Caress bath and body soap (insert scent name here) that I just got from the store. Wonderful stuff!"
Mundane silly stuff like that. It is her full time occupation because she doesn't work.

Who cares? You're just not that important. And yet, such people believe otherwise. They post personal photos and tag the image. The worst part of Facebook is that if you lose your password or you're locked out because you thought you could remember it after not logging in for some time. FB locks your account.
In order to get back in you have to prove your identity.
How do you do that?
There are a number of ways this is accomplished. They all involve giving personal information. Submit a scanned copy of your state driving license. A copy of a utility bill in your name.

Now, after all these years people are oblivious to what they're compromising in matters of personal information at other sites and in other situations.

Right after 9-11 , we're talking a week or two at most, a media array appeared outside the office of a Texas sheriff. He made news because of his public views about personal privacy and national security and the media was there to get him on the record.
He stated that he believed every home in America should have a surveillance system installed that linked directly to local and federal law enforcement. This would allow activities in the home to be observed so as to prevent the event of future attacks.

Not one reporter challenged this sheriff to set the example by installing these surveillance systems in his personal home. Mores the pity. I remember wishing I was there because I would have dared make that suggestion.

Now, all these years later that sheriffs vision is a reality. Only we're not being surveilled at government expense. We're taking that on ourselves.
"Smart TV's" , which began with Samsung, are able to listen to all that goes on in your home. Samsung said it is so as to market to the consumer who purchased their sets. However, what good is an audio feed without the faces to go with? I believe Samsung can also "watch" what is going on.

We have the Alexa system that is a voice activated control mechanism for your home. It can turn on lights, lock doors, answer questions , etc... However, it also listens in.
This was found out when a woman we know who just lost her mom and got the call about her sudden demise shared with friends what transpired. She was weeping inconsolably in her home over the loss of her mom when her Alexa system sounded out, "It'll be OK." 😱
She said she was so shocked to hear this clear loud voice, the volume overcame her crying and screaming in the privacy of her home, that she froze for a moment confused as to who was speaking. Even when she knew the voice of her Alexa system.

We have Fit-Bit watches now. The U.S military personnel are forbidden from wearing those because they can be hacked so as to track the wearer because the Fit-Bit system tracks the owner and records their activities and even their physiological readings. Heart rate, etc...

And of course there are smart cars. The new models can be controlled by the manufacturer so as to take full control of the vehicle. On-Star has an advertisement out now that shows this. A persons car has been car-jacked. The On-Star operator voice plays in the background as they speak to the car owner informing them of the status of their vehicle. Meanwhile, the commercial shows the car slowly pulling to the shoulder of the road while police pull behind. All that is being controlled by On-Star. They locked the car doors and windows to prevent escape. And slowly decelerated the vehicle so that the police could take the thief into custody.
On-Star can also eavesdrop .

EZ-Pass, that system you can install on your windshield so as to blow through toll booths because you have a payment plan with the state also records your travels and keeps a log.
And lastly, your smart phone. It tracks you, it can listen in, and being the camera and video operate from both sides, can be activated to record you and your activities.

A couple of years ago a guy who murdered someone in cold blood was arrested. His smart phone "pocket dialed" 911 at the precise time he was describing in graphic detail the murder he'd committed.
Right. This guy was a gang member. 911 was not on his speed dial.
However, he was the police #1 suspect. They just didn't have any witnesses willing to come forward.
He's now serving life because he testified against himself in that "butt dial" call to 911.

And it all got underway , the programming to make us willingly surrender our personal privacy, with Social Media.
Now Google tracks your phone and is in contract with the government to commit to surveillance of users. And they have an eternal cookie that installs on your computer. It can never be removed even with clearing cache or browsing history. The only way to clear is to revert the hard drive to factory condition. And then never use Google again. But Google is the source for most search engines. Even Duck Duck Go, which boasts it doesn't track you and values your privacy.

Smart phones are programmed to make the user addicted to the phone itself. Ever seen those people who act as if their phone is an additional appendage ? They never put it down. How many here have had people walk right in front of them in a parking lot because that person is looking at their phone?
In one country the government has installed recessed lighting in pedestrian crosswalks. This is so that people on their phones can see where they're going when they cross a street.
Really.

Young kids that have smart phones are suffering physiological disabilities due to their constant use. The muscles in their necks stretched for prolonged periods as they look down at their phones for hours make holding their head upright so as to pay attention in class difficult.

One nation under surveillance and happily surrendering personal privacy. That Texas sheriff wanted that to happen in the name of national security. Now it is happening in the name of social media and communications convenience.

Sorry for the novelette wall of post. It is just that our problems now began with social media. Which doesn't advocate free speech, as we learn when we hear of the prejudice Twitter as example demonstrates when it blocks certain open content due to religious values or conservative political views.
 
Ok well theres lots of advice Paul gives to the Ephesians, 4:22-32 esp note be ye kind and tenderhearted!

Conversation with the old man? What's that, and what is the new man? How did you talk before you became a christian and what changed to how you spoke after?
Also Isnt that an interesting word picture, its not being 'nice' or 'polite' its tenderhearted, like your heart is softened, kind of like soft butter. You know you cant spread butter easily when its hard. Plus you have to practically cut it with a knife.

Heres some more read further in the next chapter 5:4-11

Foolish talking! Vain words! If someones spouting nonsense you dont have to agree with them you can reprove them on a thread. Or just ignore them. Shouldnt happen on a christian forum, but you can reprove.

Children naturally interrupt, and many dont have a 'filter'. Actually many adults dont either and I remember having to institute a swear jar for my former boss. Every time he swore it added up till he owed me a meat pie. People that joke around all the time often can be super annoying and arent aware they can be offending...or maybe they joke deliberately to offend/mock. One time I was in conversation with a professed believer, and they used a lot of sarcasm. I had to remind him that I did not see sarcasm as funny, but bitter and hurtful esp to its targets.

God likes it when we praise Him and give glory to Him, so its good we can do this va a christian forum , after all He's listening! On FB you can post scriptures, I used to do that everyday, maybe a habit all of us can get into if we use facebook. I love reading scriputres as encouragement.

The "OLD MAN" is a metaphor for the "old nature" which is SIN.

The "NEW MAN" is exactly that. Scripture says that when we come to Christ we are NEW CREATURES in Christ Jesus.

I would also say the "tenderhearted" can mean that you will get more ants with sugar than you will salt.
 
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