Thoughts on Intimacy
People have the means to connect in new ways. People connect with personal and more intimate information. This is changing us as a people. I'm not sure what this means for me or the church.
On my Facebook status I mention that I'm listening to Yo Yo Ma. Soon thereafter, an advertizement appears on the sidebar for Yo Yo Ma's new Christmas album. I mention the artist, "Band of Horses" and you guessed it. Horses appear in the advertizement.
Amazon knows books I might like better than I will.
Apple's iTunes Genius is built around knowing music that you might know. I've taken advantage of
Music is a tough one isn't it? Music touches the soul and here a computer is suggesting music I might like.
Intimate information either changes what we understand intimacy to be, changes us and what we consider intimate, or is a dangerous substitute. Or is some complex version of all three.
All the facebook "Happy Birthdays" in the world can add up to a personal phone call. Or a friend who takes time away and drops by.
Perhaps this is some kind of warped view I have, based on a value system I hold, or a way I was brought up that no longer exists.
OR perhaps we are experiencing a pseudo intimacy. We go through the motions, because we are supposed to, but we still have space between us. We are still alone, no matter how intimate the information.
Certainly it is good to say, "Happy Birthday" on Facebook, or connect with people online. People we haven't seen in years etc. This is good.
But it is a new intimacy. Intimacy like REality TV. It's real, we feel like we are getting to know people intimately, but we don't really know any of them. Intimacy in this sense is one more way to attempt to control the world around us. I wonder if it often objectifies others, and reinforces the idea that I am the center of the universe, that I stand alone, and everything I encounter exists for me. Ever text I read, every tweet, every facebook status, every genius suggestion, tells us two lies. That we are individuals alone in the world, and that we have a holographic steak in front of us as we are starving, and in need of nourishment, but every time we try to eat it, we find it has no substance. Thus, we are alone and we feel crappy about it.
This isn't to say that twitter, facebook, im, text etc are bad. It is to say that it's not neutral.
But then I could be wrong. What do you think?
On my Facebook status I mention that I'm listening to Yo Yo Ma. Soon thereafter, an advertizement appears on the sidebar for Yo Yo Ma's new Christmas album. I mention the artist, "Band of Horses" and you guessed it. Horses appear in the advertizement.
Amazon knows books I might like better than I will.
Apple's iTunes Genius is built around knowing music that you might know. I've taken advantage of
Music is a tough one isn't it? Music touches the soul and here a computer is suggesting music I might like.
Intimate information either changes what we understand intimacy to be, changes us and what we consider intimate, or is a dangerous substitute. Or is some complex version of all three.
All the facebook "Happy Birthdays" in the world can add up to a personal phone call. Or a friend who takes time away and drops by.
Perhaps this is some kind of warped view I have, based on a value system I hold, or a way I was brought up that no longer exists.
OR perhaps we are experiencing a pseudo intimacy. We go through the motions, because we are supposed to, but we still have space between us. We are still alone, no matter how intimate the information.
Certainly it is good to say, "Happy Birthday" on Facebook, or connect with people online. People we haven't seen in years etc. This is good.
But it is a new intimacy. Intimacy like REality TV. It's real, we feel like we are getting to know people intimately, but we don't really know any of them. Intimacy in this sense is one more way to attempt to control the world around us. I wonder if it often objectifies others, and reinforces the idea that I am the center of the universe, that I stand alone, and everything I encounter exists for me. Ever text I read, every tweet, every facebook status, every genius suggestion, tells us two lies. That we are individuals alone in the world, and that we have a holographic steak in front of us as we are starving, and in need of nourishment, but every time we try to eat it, we find it has no substance. Thus, we are alone and we feel crappy about it.
This isn't to say that twitter, facebook, im, text etc are bad. It is to say that it's not neutral.
But then I could be wrong. What do you think?
Labels: Technology
posted by mark at
5:39 AM
1 Comments:
I've been thinking about this too. A few months ago, I was reading a news article about two teenagers in Germany who were put in rehab to "cure" them of their texting addiction. They were spending 6-8 hours a day texting and when the number of texts dropped, even marginally, they showed signs of depression. It seems that their self-worth was defined by the number of texts they received. Pretty messed up.
I'm a youth pastor and I can tell you, without a doubt, that all of the technology is affecting their view of what intimacy is. I have yet to figure out to what extent, but it's apparent that it is.
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