{"id":1426,"date":"2011-01-31T11:33:51","date_gmt":"2011-01-31T11:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2011\/01\/in-the-news-does-facebook-make-us-more-or-less-social.html"},"modified":"2011-01-31T11:33:51","modified_gmt":"2011-01-31T11:33:51","slug":"in-the-news-does-facebook-make-us-more-or-less-social","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2011\/01\/in-the-news-does-facebook-make-us-more-or-less-social.html","title":{"rendered":"In the News: Does Facebook Make Us More or Less Social?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The hit movie, The Social Network<\/i>, paints an ironic, sad picture of relationships in the age of Facebook. The creators of the most powerful social media website in the world, one that focuses on having lots of friends, are utterly unable to have true friendships. They are social failures, even though they have made billions of dollars by promoting social media. (Note: This is the vision of the movie. I am not in a place to comment on the social lives of Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues, though the plethora of Facebook-related lawsuits suggests some measure of social ineptitude. Time Magazine’s stories associated with Zuckerberg’s title of Person of the Year 2010<\/a> reveal a much more social person than The Social Network<\/i> portrays.)<\/p>\n

\"woman-computer-dark-sad-5.jpg\"<\/form>\n

You can have hundreds or even thousands of friends on Facebook, but does that make you more social? Does Facebook contribute to deeper and wider social experience? Or does it, as many critics allege, reflect and contribute to social impoverishment? <\/p>\n

The New York Times<\/i> recently reported on a new study that seeks to answer some of these questions with actual data. “Does Facebook Make Someone Social Offline?”<\/a> summarizes an academic report from the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas in Austin.  Here’s part of the Times<\/i> summary:<\/p>\n

According to a cheery report out of the University of Texas, Austin,<\/a>
\nFacebook actually makes us more sociable. Surveying 900 current and
\nrecent college graduates nationwide, Craig Watkins and Erin Lee of the
\nDepartment of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas examined
\nthe impact of Facebook on users’ social lives, concluding that “social
\nmedia afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy
\nand community.”<\/p>\n

\nThe two point to young peoples’ propensity to use Facebook to stay in
\ntouch with far-flung friends (47 percent say it’s very important) and
\nfamily members (35 percent). Four to five years ago, Dr. Watkins said,
\nyoung people’s social networks were far more limited. “It would have
\nbeen unimaginable for young people to have their family members as part
\nof their network.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As you would expect, not everyone agrees with Watkins’ upbeat appraisal of the impact of Facebook. The Times<\/i> article includes a quote from one informed naysayer:<\/p>\n

Sherry Turkle, author of a new book, “Alone Together: Why We Expect
\nMore From Technology and Less From Each Other,” said that the study
\nallows Facebook to define what makes for social behavior. <\/p>\n

\n“I’m all for sharing photos, but you can be pro-photo sharing without
\nbeing convinced that it expands our social lives,” Dr. Turkle said.
\n“It’s a way of defining downwards what it means to be social.” <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So what do you think? If you are a Facebook user, how has this impact your social life? Are you more social? Less social? Are you social in different ways? <\/p>\n

And what do you observe in your friends, both tangible and digital? How has Facebook impacted their social lives?  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The hit movie, The Social Network, paints an ironic, sad picture of relationships in the age of Facebook. The creators of the most powerful social media website in the world, one that focuses on having lots of friends, are utterly unable to have true friendships. They are social failures, even though they have made billions…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[202,128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-the-news","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nIn the News: Does Facebook Make Us More or Less Social? - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2011\/01\/in-the-news-does-facebook-make-us-more-or-less-social.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In the News: Does Facebook Make Us More or Less Social? - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The hit movie, The Social Network, paints an ironic, sad picture of relationships in the age of Facebook. The creators of the most powerful social media website in the world, one that focuses on having lots of friends, are utterly unable to have true friendships. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}