I joined a Facebook group for discussion between atheists and Christians recently. I tried to engage in discussion and was disappointed to find that people were more adept at the use of laughing emojis and one-line put downs than discussion. I was disappointed because I hoped I hoped for better, but I realize I should not have been surprised.
I also hoped for better from myself, and I was disappointed, if not surprised, that I was inclined to be offended. I wanted to react in kind. I found myself dwelling on a sour post for long after reading it, fighting the urge to post a quick-witted comeback, and – when I couldn’t think of exactly the right tightly packed and insightful retort – to flame the disrespectful responder with the not so inimitable laugh emoji. Ugghh….
I mostly resisted my urge to respond. The few times I succumbed to my weakness, I regretted it. There was no discussion. Just a hailstorm of barbed quips, memes, and emojis (mostly laughing – the ultimate form of online mockery).
My weak attempts to start a conversation were for naught. Perhaps, if I had stayed the course, persisted in my focus on conversation, and resisted all temptation to lash back, I might have found a real discussion. Maybe. And maybe I am just hopelessly hopeful.
I don’t know how many days I lasted in that group. It didn’t take long before I bowed out with a parting question: “Why do atheists spend so much time talking about a God they don’t believe in?”
I admit the question wasn’t meant to start a discussion, or reflective thought, or to get at anything deeply meaningful. It was a not so subtle parting shot – a little monument to my own inability to rise above the clamor and din of the social media frenzy that belies the evolutionary doctrine of the inevitable upward progress of mankind.
I was surprised again (though I don’t know why) that notices of responses to my frankly sophomoric question continued to appear in my feed days afterward. Three days to this point.
I was even more surprised at the sheer number of responses: 795 comments and 195 emojis (mostly of the laughing variety) so far. I don’t know if a single post I have ever put on Facebook has elicited that much response. Do I count that as a success?
I doubt that anyone in the group knows that I left. The sharks continue to circle the corpse of my failed attempt at a discussion, attacking the dead body with quips, memes, and emojis in a feeding frenzy that is truly remarkable, if not sadly cliche. Social media and its finest.
I am reminded of the word of the Lord to Isaiah in the temple. God sent him to preach to the nation of Israel and warned Isaiah in the same breath that the people wouldn’t listen. God, nevertheless, wanted him to be faithful, which he was.
I wonder how much Isaiah wanted to lash back at the people who mocked him and criticized him. (Perhaps, he did. I assume he was just as human as I am.) Perhaps, he was just as discouraged and disappointed as I am, though he stuck in there long enough to author a good-sized chunk of the Old Testament.
Perhaps, social media isn’t the best platform for engaging people in thoughtful discussion. (Yah think?!) The low-hanging fruit of social media tends to be pretty rotten, though I have seen some good proof from people who may be more like Isaiah than me.
I obviously do my own writing. (Like Isaiah, perhaps?) The flaming arrows don’t come as fast at me on this platform, nor are they as frequent. In fact, I’m not sure I have ever gotten 795 comments on articles I have written and posted on this site in a whole year, and 195 responses (laugh emojis and all😂) would be a record for any blog article I have written.
The scale of social media reach is powerful. The quality of that social media reach leaves much to be desired.
Perhaps, social media just reveals the reality of what is going on behind more mundane and seemingly less impactful forms of communication, like a watch. Perhaps, people are more apt to fly their true colors in the immediacy of a social media platform encouraging reflexive action that results in a more genuine response.
Perhaps, we get a better glimpse of what people are actually thinking and how they are actually responding, which we do not often see in other media. Perhaps, I should take some solace in this. Perhaps, I should be more understanding and frank in my assessment of the way my blog material hits. My writing probably doesn’t get the universal response I hope it will or think it does. On the other hand, I am probably hitting a more receptive audience that tunes into my blog writing than my posts on a Christian/atheist discussion site.
I feel like I’m trying to encourage myself not to be discouraged. Maybe I am trying to talk myself out of my disappointment – being philosophical about it. Maybe this kind of reflective thinking is what is necessary to avoid being swept up into the constantly reactive ways we are learning to live in a social media world. Maybe I am just fighting back in the way that I know how. Maybe I will do better next time.
