Looking Above - Episode 14 - Special Guest Sawyer Poitra

Looking Above episode 14 - Social Media vs. IRL Friendship

Sawyer Poitra joins Karen today for a discussion of how online friendship might be hindering face-to-face friendship.  Sawyer is the CEO of the Women's Resource Center in Gillette, and also works in social media marketing.  Social media has its place in society, in ministry, and in friendship, however, at some levels, it is keeping us from the joy of authentic in-person community.

Questions for discussion: 

1. How many friends/ followers do you have on social media? With how many of them have you spent 90 hours of face-to-face time (the minimum amount of time required for true friendship)?
2. How much time do you spend on social media weekly? (use your phone to see your usage habits)
3. Who do you check on without being prompted by social media?  Who checks on you?
4. Respond to this statement: Social media allows us to have wide relationships (surface relationships with many) whereas in-person allows us to have deep relationships (more in-depth relationships with few).
5. Why are we willing to substitute a shallower online friendship for a deeper more meaningful in person relationship?
6. Read 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Tell a story of a time you "did life" with a friend (like when Sawyer washed Karen's dishes) and share how being side-by-side deepened your friendship.
7. How do you think Satan might be utilizing social media to destroy God's intent for relationship?
8. Karen shared the idea of social media friendships being more like spectatorship, while in-person friendships have the capacity to be more participatory. What excites you and what scares you about participatory friendship? 

The Takeaway: Investing in face-to-face relationships is more work (than social media friendships), but will result in deeper, more life-giving friendships.

To Do This Week:  Do a social media assessment (or NetFlix, or t.v., or whatever other way you choose to use your time that keeps you from face to face relationship).  Cut back your social media (or other distraction) by one hour a day and invest that time in a face-to-face relationship.