With the explosion of worldwide web use and social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, it seems a new syndrome called Facebook Depression has sprung forth and is affecting many users; especially teenagers and children.
Apparently when people post statuses and photos of themselves displaying how great their lives are by checking into trendy restaurants, posting photos of their photogenic faces and bodies, posting family vacation photos, or partying with friends at events; other friends are feeling levels of inadequacy, sadness, and/or envy. In the teen scene, it’s pretty easy to make a friend feel left out by not inviting them to a soiree then posting 20 photos of that event as everyone comments on how fun it was. Endless gossip and worthless chatter is triggered from photos and status updates. Then there are the ones who constantly write status updates and it’s a ghost town; not even one “Like.” All this online activity and non-activity sprouts loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, and depression, according to several recent studies done by Stanford University, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a plethora of other researchers. “Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:20-21)
Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
What is this world coming to? The world keeps churning out these devices and vehicles of distraction that seem good at first, but eventually take over our lives and create social and psychological upheaval. Our culture seems to blindly eat it up, then reap the consequences of massive indigestion. As children of God, we should see through these divisive traps and not fall into the patterns of this world. (Romans 12:2)
I have to borrow a line from the movie “You’ve Got Mail,” when two female characters ask a shy introverted guy “If he’s online.” He answers, “As far as I’m concerned, the internet is just another way of being rejected by a woman.” Social Networking sites are just another way of making people feel rejected. It reminds me of the cliques in high school: the jocks, the popular cheerleaders, the nerds, and the outcast rejects. Facebook is just another version of the dreaded Yearbook, displaying the disparity between the popular and not so popular. The popular students who were involved in countless activities are strewn across many pages and the nerds have maybe two photos posted; their individual class photo and their chess club photo where they are unrecognizable due to the distance the photo was taken, because the chessboard had to be part of the shot. Not to mention, the countless people who eagerly signed the yearbook of the popular kids versus the nerds. Some kids wouldn’t even approach another student in fear of rejection. These social networking sites are like reliving high school all over again for some people and it’s a new brand of rejection for kids who don’t “keep up,” that will brand them for years to come.
Back then, we just accepted the differences. Today, many people are striving harder to even the playing field by undergoing surgery, spending money on trends, and changing their outward appearances just to “Keep Up With The (you name it).” Do you see the correlation here? People feel inadequate; they buy more merchandise and services to “Keep Up.” What’s the point? Why are people buying things they can’t afford to impress people they don’t even like? Answer: They are seeking praise, acceptance, and significance from people and things to feel better about themselves.
1 Timothy 6:9-10
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
This phenomenon seems ludicrous, but it is very real. I personally believe it could get worse as time goes on if people don’t wake up to the realities of these trappings: seeking significance in things, putting confidence in the flesh, striving for riches, and hoarding riches. As children of God, we are loved and cherished by Jesus Christ. He was rejected for our sake. He was ridiculed and bruised for our transgressions. (Isaiah 53:3-5) Jesus had no place to call home. If He was alive today and owned a computer, He wouldn’t spend hours online looking at what others had nor would He compare Himself to others. I imagine He would send some encouraging newsletters about His ministry, write a weekly bible study and teach it in between his visits to the sick and the poor. He would be focused on God’s plan for His life, which is exactly what He did.
As adults, most of us can see through the hype of having 200 friends and having loads of fabulous pictures of ourselves. We can even admit it’s all a façade to a certain degree, since we only post our best photos and write only positive and funny status updates. But place an adolescent in the mix who is still figuring out his/her identity, who takes all of this seriously, and you will have a discouraged and depressed child who is trying to keep up with a moving target! Isn’t life hard enough as it is, then to add undue pressure for our kids to “live up” to certain standards that are almost impossible to keep up with? These sites can easily become vacuums or bubbles where they appear to be an entire universe to a young person. They can spend 4 to 8 hours daily on these sites through their iPhone; constantly chatting and gossiping with friends. What happens when their fickle friends out them or reject them over some misunderstanding or something trivial as children often do? This would be catastrophic in their world. There are other kids online who don’t have anyone to chat with and no one “Likes” their photos or status updates. They too are forming an identity crisis which leads to depression as they watch other kids’ Friends List grow by the week. As parents, it is our responsibility to limit our children’s use and exposure to these sites. Perhaps even “unplug” them for periods of time to teach them the truth about their identity and significance. Their impressionable minds and emotions are often dictated by the day’s online events. They will benefit from our undivided attention and input in their lives. (See “Benefits of Dating Your Children” on my blog. www.ninaandres.blogspot.com)
Ephesians 6:4
…Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
In the bible, Joseph was rejected by his older brothers because he was favored and loved by their father Jacob. Joseph’s brothers got their identity and significance from their father Jacob, instead of God. Jacob had money and power, so they were all vying for Jacob’s blessings and favor. Jacob’s faulty and imperfect character led him to shower love and attention to Joseph over his other sons. This caused strife and bitterness within their household. As jealousy and rage set in, they conspired to kill him. Instead, they sold him into slavery which led him into Egypt
Our identity doesn’t come from what we look like, what we wear, what we own, what we drive, the house we live in, or what our occupation is. Our significance is not drawn from who we’re dating or married to, how many Facebook friends we have, the restaurants we eat at, the vacations we take, how popular we are, the family we are born in, or even the accomplishments of our children. Our only true identity and significance in this life is in knowing Christ Jesus. Everything else is garbage according to Apostle Paul! In a letter he wrote to Philippi , he commands them to “put no confidence in the flesh.” Though he had many reasons to be confident and was marked for greatness; by being born in a prominent family, achieving a higher education as a Pharisee, and being faultless according to the law, he didn’t count any of it as significant. Whatever his pedigree and accomplishments gained him, he considered them loss for the sake of knowing Christ.
Philippians 3:7-9
…Put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
As I stood in line at a Filipino market, I couldn’t help but notice the cover of a popular magazine. A famous woman was posing with her collection of designer purses. Really?!? Is this what her life has come to? Her collection of Prada, Gucci, and Hermes Birkin bags is what she claims as her pinnacle of success? She is obviously wrapped up in designer garb instead of being wrapped and clothed in righteousness that comes from Christ. Don’t laugh if you too are parading yourself on Facebook in a similar fashion. You are part of the problem; perpetuating a competition where nobody wins in the end. The scary part is that people look at this and are envious and want to strive for something similar; or worse, look at their own lives as insignificant because they don’t own a Louis Vuitton luggage collection.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Instead of flagrantly flaunting her designer duds, this famous woman ought to sell her collection of designer bags and feed some starving people in the Philippines
Luke 12:33-34
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Isaiah 10:3
What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?
All things will pass away, rust, rot, and get eaten by moths. The bible warns us not to hoard riches for ourselves. In the end, whatever we keep for ourselves will testify against us. “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.” (James 5:1-3)
It would benefit many of us to “unplug” and get a dose of perspective and truth. I personally have been unplugged from Facebook since February of this year. Since then, I have gained more knowledge and perspective of who I am in Christ. There is no relationship or friend in Facebook that compares to My Lord Jesus. Take comfort in the fact that God does not value us based on how many hits we get on Twitter or how many friends we have on Facebook. He doesn’t care about what we own. In fact, we will be accountable for what we withheld from the needy. He looks at our hearts and weighs our motives (Jeremiah 17:10). He accepts those who have accepted His son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 5:12) Are you found in Him? Is your identity, significance, and righteousness wrapped up in Christ Jesus? Make Him your Friend today!
Philippians 3:17
Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
The Takeaways:
1 – Facebook is just another device of the world to distract us from our true identities and calling, causing some of us to take it too seriously; resulting in Facebook Depression.
2 – As parents, we should “unplug” our kids from these devices and spend quality time with them; giving them a perspective of their true identity and significance as children of God.
3 – Our wealth does not buy happiness, our identity, or our significance. It is a trap that gives us false happiness and a false sense of self and security.
4 – God frowns upon the wealthy that hoard riches for themselves as people around them are barely getting by.
5 – We should “unplug” from these social networking sites and see the Truth about ourselves and the world around us. Instead of concerning ourselves with what and where our friends are eating, we should wake up to the reality of what lies ahead in the climate of our future world. It is not pretty I am sorry to say…
6 – Be content with what you have and stop following others online. Jesus is the only one we should follow. He is the only one who can lead us to life everlasting!
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