Cool Thought: Social Network Sites and Sharing the Gospel

SNSs or social network sites (or social network services) are all the rage these days. I’ll be honest, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t check my Facebook. Checking Facebook for me has become like checking my email—or even more, like checking my phone. In many ways Facebook, in college life, has become like having a phone number—you just assume everyone has one. In fact, if someone didn’t have a Facebook it would likely give your run-of-the-mill, indie rock love’n, staying up late, Slurpee drinking college student pause—even a smirk on their face with the inevitable, “Really? You don’t have Facebook?”

With all the different types of social media, what exactly is a social network site? Danah M. Boyd in here article, Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship, she defines SNSs as:

“We define social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.

It seems that not every social media makes the cut as a social network site. Boyd also makes the clarification that SNSs are not social “networking” sites, but social “network” sites because while networking--which implies connecting with strangers--sometimes happens on SNSs, that isn’t the primary function of these sites.

So what is the primary function of these sites? What exactly is “done” on Facebook? Facebook seems to be used for a variety of things, mostly for connecting with people one knows and people that share similar interests. Connecting can really mean anything from email correspondence, to “wall” posts, to sharing pictures or videos, or even playing games together. As one who’s spent hours on Facebook, I can say that it’s functionality and appeal for many college-aged twenty-something’s lies somewhere between “hanging out” online and virtual stalking. Oh come on, we know you Facebook stalk. There are two kinds of people in Facebook world, those who Facebook stalk and those who lie about it.

So what constitutes Facebook stalking? Well I’ll leave that up to your best judgment, but to me it seems if you’re going through someone’s profile you’re not friends with, you’re probably doing something that would require a ski mask and flash light in the real world. Which brings me to my next thought; there is an immense amount of personal info on social network sites. At this very moment, I’m pulling up my Facebook and looking at someone I know from school, whom I’m about to add as friend. Without being their friend though, I can see this persons birth date, where they go to school, their relationship status, their email, their msn screen name, their phone number, and yes, even their address! Along with my friend request, I’m also including the recommendation to change some privacy settings.

There have been a lot of privacy issues with Facebook and the like. Some incidents have even made it into the news. The fact-of-the-matter is that people put a lot of personal info on the web and give a lot of people they don’t know access to it. Teens especially have a tendency to bare their soul on SNSs according to Boyd. So how much personal stuff is okay? Obviously pretty much anything one puts on Facebook is going to be personal to some extent. I think there are better personal tid-bits to share than others.

It seems like a month doesn’t go by where I don’t get a couple of Facebook group invitations for groups like “Ashley and John are getting hitched,” or “Join the (insert charity or awareness group here).” I think this is personal info worth sharing. One interesting profile identification category is religion. Every SNSs has it. When I first got back from Canada in 2005 MySpace was the “cool” SNS among my friends. When I got to BYU a few months later, everyone had Facebook so I naturally upgraded. In both cases, Christian-LDS was my religious designation. Since I'm sharing what my religion is, why not use these sites to help share the Gospel?

In a lot of ways I’m sharing the Gospel by just declaring what my religion is. I have hundreds of friends, some of whom I’ve found didn’t realize I was LDS until they saw my Facebook or MySpace, which discovery led to a discussion about the Church. I’ve had numerous friends share spiritual thoughts, idea, or even just updates of Facebook. These posts are seen by everyone who is their friend on Facebook. In Ad speak that could translate into a large reach and high frequency of Gospel messages amongst your friends and that’s a good thing. Some people like Tim Malone, as mentioned in his article Sharing the Gospel Using Facebook, are at a loss as to how to share the Gospel on Facebook or are looking for some ideas of how to share the Gospel. Some people don’t really see why sharing the Gospel online is a good thing. Feel free to share some ideas in the comment section for Tim, for now I’ll share some reasons addressing the latter concern--why share the Gospel online.

Here are some reasons why I think sharing the Gospel online is a positive thing:

1. Sharing the Gospel in any way is always a positive thing.


2. Many people like ability to formally write what they believe rather than speak it.


3. Many people (in Utah) say they don’t know anyone who isn’t Mormon to share the Gospel with. On Facebook for example, we connect with people who we’ve lost contact with and for many reasons wouldn’t connect with in the real world. This could be decade’s worth of friends. If we are looking for nonmember friends to share the gospel with, it seems to me Facebook is a great place to start.


4. Unlike a spoken testimony or statement of belief, a written declaration can be returned to and read again if desired. Think of Facebook as the golden plates of the 21st Century.

So why not share the Gospel online? I can see why some would feel a little uncomfortable sharing the Gospel online, in that they feel they might be casting their pearls before swine or so to speak. In these cases the swine is not necessarily the people they are sharing their testimonies with, but rather swine equates to the situation, setting, or medium. The reality is that most people feel uncomfortable sharing the Gospel in any setting. I would argue that in a lot of ways, sharing the Gospel online is probably one of the most comfortable ways to teach truth.

Think about it, sharing the Gospel online is a pretty good gig--you get to plan what you write, you can reference sources, and you can even share it in a non-intrusive way. As Elder M. Russell Ballard talked about in his article, Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church, I have “joined the conversation” in a variety of online settings and have found it to be a really positive experience. I don’t think you have to type out “I’d like to bare my testimony, I know the Church is true…” but simply be the light of the virtual world, an effectual city on a hill that can’t be hid and is always broadcasted. I think when the time comes; you’ll know when you should share the Gospel online with friends, just as you would know to share the Gospel on an airplane with a stranger, over lunch with a buddy, or even with that family member who wants to know more about your mission. The real challenge, in the virtual and real world alike, is having the courage when that time comes to open your mouth--or maybe, just maybe, open your laptop.