Mammen continues:

A Survey of Facebook Users

In an attempt to identify the effect of Facebook on relationships and community, a survey was administered to a wide range of recipients. Participants received the survey via email messages and Facebook announcements. Two hundred and seventeen people participated in the survey answering a total of eleven questions. The questions included:

1. How often do you check your Facebook?
2. How often do you update your status?
3. Where are you typically when you check your Facebook?
4. What do you use to check your Facebook?
5. How has Facebook been useful to you?
6. What are some of the downsides of Facebook?
7. What role has Facebook played in your friendships?
8. Have you made new friends on Facebook?
9. Are there people you know on Facebook that you have never met in person?
10. If you answered yes to the above question, what are the differences and similarities between the friends you know only virtually and the ones you meet up with physically?
11. Is it possible to deepen friendships on Facebook?

Though the biographical data for each recipient was not recorded, the results did bring to light the kind of effect Facebook has on people. It confirmed some of the research mentioned earlier, but also challenged some of the major findings.

From the onset it is clear that Facebook is a popular and well used website. Of the 217 people surveyed, 58 percent of people said that they check their Facebook multiple times a day while only less then 3% of people reported that they use it rarely. While one might expect Facebook to permeate all aspects of an individuals life, it seemed that the majority (92%) of people used Facebook while at home, versus at work, class or coffee shops. This finding, while initially obvious, does bring to light the fact that many people use it during their leisure time.

When asking the question how Facebook has been useful, there were repeated mentions of phrases such as “keeping in touch,” “contacting,” and “connecting.” In fact these 3 phrases were mentioned 123 times in response to question five. It is clear that the primary way that Facebook has been effective for people is in connecting one person to another. The downsides were also very common among those who were surveyed. The main words that were repeated multiple times were: “addicting,” “distracting,” and “time-consuming”. These three were mentioned 40 times in response to question six.

The question which asked about the role of Facebook in friendships did not reveal anything new per se, however it was intriguing that of the 174 people who responded to this question, only 3 people said that it had a negative impact on their relationships. This seems to stand in stark contrast with the findings that were mentioned earlier. In fact, 72% of those surveyed said that it is possible to deepen friendships on Facebook. While it is not that effective in building new friendships, the majority of people believe that it is helpful in connecting with people that they would otherwise not relate to if it were not for this website.

One might expect that in light of the academic research that has been done on Facebook, this survey would have confirmed its findings. However there is a clear contrast between what is perceived from people who observe and those that actually use Facebook. What is even more revealing is what was mentioned as the downsides. The three repeated comments, though negative, reveal the desire to stay connected to Facebook even when it takes them away from other “productive” things. If people are feeling drawn to it so much so that it distracts them from other things, then either it is feeding into a sinful desire that is dampening the presence of God or it is tapping into a spiritual longing for intimacy that is being unmet elsewhere. It is with this question that we must turn to theological reflection.

The Spiritual Desire for Relationship and Community
The Biblical story from Genesis to Revelation speaks of two major longings that human beings possess, namely: the desire for relationship with other people, and the desire for relationship with God; one cannot read the scriptures without noticing these two longings that continually appear. In fact when Jesus is asked by a teacher of the law in Mark 12 about the most important commandment, he quickly responds by reciting the shemah: love God and love your neighbor. This important commandment of God reflects the most important longing in humans: the desire to relate to people and to God.

The major problem that people face in the world today is that this inherent desire to relate to each other is difficult to achieve. As mentioned earlier we live in a world that is fragmented, where people are looking for relationships and places where they feel known. Unfortunately, what people often end up feeling is lonely and misunderstood. John Drane in his book “Do Christians Know how to be Spiritual?” discusses this tension in great detail as he identifies the need for community

In a fragmented society people are looking for a place to belong. We search out places of safety, where we can be empowered rather than stifled, and where we can be open with others, acknowledging our needs and inadequacies with an expectation of support rather than a fear of condemnation. We all long to find acceptance for who we are rather than having to conform to images of who other people think we should be.

It is this desire for community, relationship and acceptance that is often being met through social networking sites like Facebook.

Facebook in so many ways counters the fragmentation that people experience because of its primary purpose: connecting people. When a person starts a Facebook profile, they are able to connect to friends that they are in contact with regularly and those with whom they have little contact. But what makes this site effective is that it does not take much work to establish these connections. By uploading photos, updating one’s status, and writing short notes on people’s walls, connections can immediately happen regardless of distance, busyness, time zones, and other barriers that people face.

Another reason why Facebook significantly addresses this longing for community is because of the way that it encourages people to tell their stories. Each person has a story to tell about who they are and how they have come to be where they are at in life. From a Biblical perspective, it is evident that as humans there is an innate desire to share our stories with one another. In some respects the entire Bible is simply a collection of stories of God and his relationship with people. The unfortunate reality of the world around us is that there are only so few spaces where people can safely share their stories. For the wealthy and popular it is much easier, but for others, their stories remain untold and unknown.

For this reason, Facebook has become an avenue where people can share their stories with a freedom to be honest and vulnerable. This is exactly what people are looking for. John Drane in his discussion of community says: “Whether we like it or not, we now live in a society where people will share their most intimate secrets with anyone who is prepared to listen.” The beauty of Facebook is that it offers people a safe space where their friends can listen to their stories without the distractions that often separate them.

This story-telling appears in a few different formats on Facebook. One predominant way that was mentioned multiple times in the survey was through photography. By being able to upload photo albums onto Facebook a person has the ability to tell a story in a very captivating way . What makes this even more engaging is the fact that individuals in photos can be “tagged” so as to notify them of how they appear in their friends’ album. This feature in and of itself invites people to consider each other stories because of the ways that it intersects with their own life.

Another feature of Facebook that lends itself to story telling is use of the status updates. By being able to update one’s status, a person can feel connected to the rest of the world. Their story of what they are doing in the present stage of life can actually have meaning because of how others can interact with it. In many cases a person’s status update will connect them to another friend, and will sometimes result in face-to-face interaction simply because they find themselves doing similar things. Though the majority of people (67) reported that they rarely updated their status, it was not far ahead of the 57 people who reported that they updated their states once every few days. The fact that 55% of people updated their status at least once a week or more shows the significance of this feature.

What Facebook offers people is a space where their spiritual longings can be fulfilled. Though the creators of Facebook would never articulate its purpose in this way, what they have tapped into is ultimately a spiritual longing. John Drane in his book the McDonaldization of the Church spoke about this longing three years before Facebook was even created.
In a world full of dysfunctional relationships in which people are hurting and constantly being put down, either by other individuals or by the more impersonal operations of the system in general, for the majority the entry point to anything that might be regarded as “fullness of life” (John 10:10) will begin and end when they find a safe space where they can be themselves and be affirmed and lifted up in the struggle to be human.

This “safe space” is the reason why Facebook is so popular. Though it started as a networking site for college students it has grown into a popular space for people of all ages and generations. Facebook, in some respects, is a gift from God for many people who do not even know him.

Part III - Facebook & Spiritual Community

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