The answer to why high numbers of Millennials don’t trust other people lies in understanding the nature of trust itself and the social context in which Millennials find themselves. To trust someone, you need to share common bonds of affection, values, and . . . Continue reading →
social media
Whoever Controls The Algorithm Controls What You See
And They Who Control The Algorithm Do Not Approve Of You
What Social Media Teaches Us About Law, Gospel, Forgiveness, And Grace
Carson King is a 23-year old Des Moines man who held up a sign at a televised college football game announcing, “Busch Lite supply needs replenished.” It was a joke but people began sending him money via the Venmo appl. When he . . . Continue reading →
Grammar Guerrilla: Punctuation Is Not Mean Spirited. Full Stop.
According to a number of media stories (the original story appeared in the UK Telegraph) Generation Z, those born 1995–2015, find certain punctuation marks threatening. The argument is that the use of the period (“full stop” in the UK) in text messages (and . . . Continue reading →
Re-Thinking Social Media
I know that I am supposed to have cancelled my Netflix subscription because of their release of the French film, which ostensibly seeks to critique the sexualizing of children, which nevertheless, according to critics, sexualizes them. I was also supposed to boycott . . . Continue reading →
What The Louisville And Kirk Lives Matter Narratives Tell Us About Social And News Media
Two of the many events that have roiled social and news media for the last few days seem, on the surface, about as different as one can imagine. In one case, in Louisville, KY, two white police officers, in the process of . . . Continue reading →
Getting Around The Censors: Host Your Own Content
The days of orthodox Christians and other cultural conservatives being able to rely on social media to get out their message are over. According to a Wall Street Journal story (behind a paywall) yesterday: Continue reading
Reminder: Wikipedia Is Not A Reliable Resource. It is Just Another Social Media Platform
Regular readers of this space will know how often I have warned about the problems of Wikipedia. The truth about Wikipedia is that it is not a reliable resource. I warn my students that if they cite it in their research they have . . . Continue reading →
An Episode Illustrating What Social Media Is
The Story A couple of days ago a young man took a firearm to school in Arlington, TX. He shot another student and a teacher. He was released on bond the next day and the social-media outrage machine heated up almost immediately. . . . Continue reading →
In Defense Of Twitter
My friend and colleague, Carl Trueman, has published another thoughtful piece in First Things,“Lessons From the Reformation’s Pamphlet War.” In this essay he makes an analogy between Twitter and the Reformation pamphlets that were so widely published and distributed during the Reformation. He . . . Continue reading →
Another Reason Not To Rely On BigSocMedia
Twitter’s new CEO has introduced new rules which would appear to create an opportunity to de-platform certain views out of favor with our BigSocMedia overlords. Continue reading
New Resource Page On Social Media And Wikipedia
In a very short period of time, social media has become one of the dominant forces in our age. Who does not have a social media account of some kind? Your Grandmother knows how to use Facebook and teens use and switch social media platforms the way they choose fashions, rapidly. Every social media platform, however, is a trade-off. We use them to connect with friends and to communicate but the social media platforms are using us at the same time. They are ostensibly “free” but that is because we, the users, are the content. Continue reading →
Social Media and Pastoral Ministry
If I may, I’d like to begin by voicing a concern. What I’m about to attempt is to outline some of the benefits and dangers of social media for pastors as well as a few suggested guardrails that might protect a man . . . Continue reading →