A social media fast could be detrimental to lent

Many people and sometimes even church traditions encourage other forms of lent and fasting. They include carbon fasting, alcohol fasting, sweets fasting, carbonated drinks fasting, movie fasting, T.V. fasting and social media fasting which includes popular platforms like facebook and whats app, to name a few. I have seen many social media status messages that someone won’t be on facebook for the next 50 or 40 days. Is this a good way of fasting?

There is nothing wrong when people select their modes of fasting. One should not judge anyone as everyone has a right to feel the essence of lent in their own way. But what is problematic about a social media fast? It largely depends on how one uses social media. If social media is used for spying on the lives of others, reading forwards and jokes which are hurtful and racist and forwarding messages without checking the authenticity and veracity of such messages, then taking a break from them is definitely something we should do. That is because our usage of social media is hurting us and others.

On the other hand if we use social media to communicate with people, then going on a social media fast denies humanity and communication to others in this fast paced world. This will make us construct separate huts of fasting which don’t communicate with each other and which are not there for one another. Matthew 25:34-40 says “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;  for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?  And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” Now it is definitely good to go in person and feed someone, to give something to drink, to welcome a stranger, to clothe someone, to take care of someone and visit someone in prison. There is no doubt about that.

But in today’s world everyone is caught up with work which lasts long and is unending. The time to physically be present for someone is becoming lesser and lesser in today’s context. So we must make do with other forms of communication and reaching out to people. These are mainly to reach out to people and the actual act may be done physically and in person. For instance, after lent started, I reached out to a destitute home and asked them what was their weekly and monthly need for food was and then informed my church women’s fellowship who had enquired with me about the need, I got in touch with another organization and asked them to furnish details of their organization so that a company could help them as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), another church group was informed about a need for blankets and clothes for an orphanage, a follow up was done for an old lady who was visited in the hospital by asking her daughter how she was and when a visit could be done next, spoke with elderly people who were far off and who could not be visited in person, and wrote and shared Lenten thoughts to people who could not attend church or read a bible study where they were working. Most of these things were initiated by others in the form of requests through social media.

The point is that social media has become an extended arm of communication. If it is used for the purpose of reaching out to people, connecting people, informing people and inspiring people, then having a social media fast will not serve the purpose of a meaningful lent. Instead what we should try for is a lent when we make more effort to reach out to others. Colossians 3:8 says “But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.” If social media makes us do this by the means of reading and forwarding irresponsible and hurtful messages, then we should indeed be off it. But it would be preferable to learn how to use social media during lent. Psalm 37:30 offers more wisdom in saying “The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice.” We can responsibly use social media to reach out and help many.

To conclude, it is not technology and social media which is the culprit leading everyone into sin. Rather, it is the use of technology and especially social media by humans which is the problem. Lent is a good time to learn how to use social media for the benefit of the poor and needy. Abstinence will only lead to non-usage followed by a rush in inappropriate usage. Instead of that, lent should reform our way of using social media. 

We can take a social media lenten pledge that we won't laugh at others, won't make racial slurs, won't send insulting messages to others, won't be rude online, won't watch inappropriate content, won't forward anything that we receive without checking the authenticity of it and won't use the social media to troll, insult and hurt others.  Amen.  

India in the grip of 3G: What an idea?!!

The Idea 3G advertisement sums up the way technology has gripped the Indian middle class. People to people contact is a thing of the past and the coming together of phone, mobile, internet and wireless technology is seen as the power of the finger. So much that technology is seen as the answer to problems that plague society in India. But 2G or 3G, can this be true?

Many people in India know 2G because of the Raja spectrum scam and the 1.76 lakh crore apparently being lost in the haphazard sale of the spectrum space during the 2G spectrum space allotment to companies. On the other hand the 3G sale brought in huge amounts of money to the government. As 4G waits to come in, companies are trying their best to sell 3G in big volumes to make up the amount they have invested in this technology. As part of this, 3G is being made into the common human’s core accessory without which nothing is possible. The integration of internet into our lives is fast and furious.

Idea mobile has become famous for its advertisements which are seen to evoke serious thoughts of nature conservation and public good. The latest in a series of advertisements is the “Ab biwi se 3G” (Now, from wife to 3G) advertisement doing the rounds in a variety of TV channels. The plot involves Abhishek Bachchan (a Bollywood actor and son of Amitabh Bachchan) and a friend, watching city life and wondering why we have such a large population in India. Their conclusion is that when electricity fails, couples get into the act of child making! As a solution to this, the actor offers Idea 3G. Now whenever electricity fails, the wife and husband in each house can still watch TV through the 3G enabled mobile which gives strong video streaming for uninterrupted watching of cricket matches and serials, chatting with parents and playing games. This in his opinion will solve the problem of population explosion in India. It is shown with the image of a dusty closed down vasectomy clinic.

As in many previous Idea ads this one is also naïve in its presentation of facts in a different way. The other day I heard two groups debating whether technology could do away with physical classrooms and buildings and make online learning stronger. The same argument of how technology would save resources came up. But the resources needed to keep technology up and going is relegated to the background. The same takes place in the Idea ad which seems to suggest that when electricity fails, technology will save the day. But 3G obviously does not run on solar or wind power. This means that more electricity is drained to keep the show running!

The Idea ad can be debated in the church while we rue the fact of lesser people to people contact, lesser numbers in church, lack of interest in public programmes and such. It also leads us to think how technology is changing and will change us further in the future. The culture of fun and frolic will replace serious discussions which should take place in church and society. TV viewing which was a family ritual in itself will be replaced by individual bed viewing which will challenge our ability to think and act in a responsible and sane manner. We will place technology between relationships and facebook each other instead of sitting and talking over the table. Technology and companies that make use of it will be seen as the new saviour in our lives and in the future of our country. Guess this is where the church can help by formulating a policy on technology and the church and how people should use technology in their lives.

The youth space and the church

Politics in India has come to the era of being youth-i-fied. Different parties are claiming that the youth are not only their future but present as well. With the youth being lured to join various political dispensations, youth lobbyists are asking for more seats and representation in the political decision making and the running of the country. But the seniors are not willing to let go. Understandably so, because they have themselves burnt out their youthful fire before being handed the reins of power! In the midst of this deadlock and power mongering, the debate should perhaps be about power sharing.

The church in India reflects the same predicament. The youth are demanding their share and the older generation refuses to let go of what they have themselves just received. One way of ending this impasse is to locate spaces within the political and spiritual landscape of India. Spaces where all can be included and all can participate in a worth while manner!

The youth in India are taking to the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in a big way. The internet in its various forms is helping bring about a revolution which is creating a space for youngsters in this country. The church also through interactive web sites, chat rooms, online forums and blogs is being challenged to hear what the youth have to say. A clamp down on such forums and online activity would not fare well for the traditionalists as that would bring the battle on to the streets.

The time has come for the church to claim its youth and its online community. There will be cross overs from the older generation who are still young at heart and that should be welcomed as no one can lay claim to the term youth in an exclusive manner. It would bid well for the church to allow such alternative spaces which are in a way outside the physical church but in all aspects part and parcel of the church.

The concerns about social networking sites like facebook and orkut obviously remain, with prime concerns on whether the youth are being misled into a pseudo-spiritual life rather than one based on reality and real experiences. But one cannot write away such sites without discussing the pros and cons of it. The popularity of these sites seeks a discussion on them. The discussion could also go in the direction of how the church can be a part of these spaces which the youth have made their own and how the church can take them seriously and not just write them off as technological gizmos fit only for gamers and the laptop generation.

Churches in India need to go a step further. They have to discuss the possibility of having a spirituality which fits the demands of the online generation. Is online counselling possible, can video conferencing be held between the leadership and the youth to avoid red tapism and hierarchical high handedness, can the youth meet online and discuss everyday concerns, and can the priest be available online to the youth? The non-involvement of the church will make the youth space a churchless space!