Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Catholics weigh in on Facebook use by ________!
Who? Who? By who?
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Just fill in the blank with anyone: Librarians, insurance adjustor's, pots and pans door to door salesmen, church lady workers, priests and Chinese people! So anyway, CNA has an explosive expose on zombie-teens and their excessive use of social network sites such as Facebook. Good report - but what about adults and all of those priests? Huh? Huh? They are like online 24/7. What about them?
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So anyway - From CNA:
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Although the amount of texting and hours spent networking online cited by the study might sound drastic to the average adult, many teens don't see it as abnormal
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One unlikely supporter of parental involvement is 16 year-old Jonathan from Omaha, Nebraska, who spoke to CNA on Dec. 6. Although excessive texting didn't land him in rehab, he noticed a sharp decline in his school performance when he got a cell phone earlier this year.
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His homework began to suffer and he even found himself losing sleep, carrying on conversations with friends via text long into the night. When his parents noticed on their cell phone bill that he had racked up 3,000 texts in one month, they staged an intervention of sorts.
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“They took my phone away,” he recalled. Though he was angry at first, Jonathan said he eventually understood. He said that he felt strangely relieved and noticed one day while riding in the car with his mom that they were actually carrying on a conversation instead of him being perpetually glued to his phone. Additionally, his school work started to improve.
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Jonathan also opened up his own Facebook account a few months ago at the urging of his friends. He said his reactions to the online networking site have been mixed.
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“The positive thing about Facebook is that you stay connected with people to a certain extent,” he said, adding that he can chat with friends and catch up with people he may have lost touch with.
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The negatives though, he added, are that it's “time consuming” and often includes interactions with others that are “superficial” and can leave one feeling empty. - Teens out of control.
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FB - spawn of the devil.
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Social network sites are eating our neo-pagan babies alive - and spitting their information out to every creepy FB user just waiting for the sewage. But gosh darnit people! The adults should share some of the blame - parents especially. I was totally aghast after viewing the most disgusting TV ad featuring a little baby - A baby mind you! (Shown above.) Standing in his crib using an iPhone or a Raspberry and even one of those new thingies from Microsoft - iPad, or whatever they call it! A baby online - unsupervised! Fortunately his mom took the stuff away from him - but only because she wanted him to take a nap - not because she was upset about his Internet use.
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These kids grow up to be crazy - I hear stories about people on Plurk just going nuts - telling off total strangers for no reason - when they should be working or in therapy. My BFF - who's name I can't reveal - is constantly drunk on her iPhone - and she texts smut pretending it's okay because she's 'such a good Catholic'. I know of a priest who just can't get enough gadgets and goes around begging for new tech stuff all the time. It is so sad to see how the Internet is wreaking havoc on families and professional students and religious life. I know this one guy whose wife and kids live in fear some of the nutcases he's befriended online will show up at their house someday - she is so scared he will give out their address on 336053 North Ditzworth Road Around the Lake in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48103. (He posts photos of himself online without his shirt and glasses. So freaking sick!)
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Yeah - so some of these 'Catholics' need help - if not rehab. Remember - child neglect can be just as bad as child abuse. And just a word to the wise - never post drunk or on pain meds - you'll live to regret it.
My BFF - who's name I can't reveal - is constantly drunk on her iPhone - and she texts smut pretending it's okay because she's 'such a good Catholic'.
ReplyDeleteROFL!! Hey, if you want a Christmas card, just ask!
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence! I'm helping one of my ESL students (who has just been streamlined into regular English classes) to write a poem with the given theme of "isolation." This sixteen-year-old girl who has a mobile phone, an FB account and Lord knows what else wanted to write about how being totally connected can make one even more alone.
And in my own time, I'm learning about the life of ex-heroin addict Jim Carroll. So many connections!
Facebook can be a bane or a blessing, depending on how you want to use it. Much to my surprise, I find that I am enjoying it very much. I am a relative latecomer to it; I have 47 contacts, which is about right. Most of them are relatives and friends who live at a distance. I have gotten in touch with cousins that I seldom see since we all grew up. I have reconnected with a dear friend from college days. My kids, siblings, nieces and nephews, and some of my husband's relatives are on my page, as well as some people who were high school classmates. There is even one cousin from Denmark who friended me; fortunately she knows English. A lot of times people share prayer requests. I have some personal rules; keep the communications positive. Don't say anything you would be embarrassed to have show up in the newspaper. Don't say anything negative about work or your boss; chances are those people are also on FB. If I have something private to communicate, I e-mail or use the phone.
ReplyDeleteMost of my contacts seem to use FB in a similar way. One of my brothers-in-law kids me that we are "Hobbits". I can think of worse things!
I check FB about twice a day. We are blocked from it at work, which is probably a good thing.
To update advice given me by one of the Sisters who taught me in school; don't post anything on FB that you would be ashamed to have Jesus or Mary see.
I LOVE FB... and if you don't like my drunken texts than don't encourage me you fresh tease!
ReplyDeleteThis post brought to you by the beverages GIN and TONIC!
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