The Internet and False Community

A good place to start with a “web log” is facing the realities of the dangers of the internet and its propensity toward pseudo-communication and pseudo-community. In a sense the internet can be considered as a neutral tool to be used for good or evil. However, it would be naïve to miss that internet communication encourages, or at least is very susceptible to, the seductive powers of communication vice because of its anonymity and promotion of individual control.

I fear falling into the pseudo-community of the internet and believing it to be more than what God knows it to be. I don’t mean to disregard the good things that can be accomplished on the internet. We should be appreciative of its strengths, but without being gullible about its weaknesses.

As a Pastor in a “high tech” world ministering among “high tech” people, and especially “high tech” young people, I am regularly made aware of the seductive nature of the internet towards spoiling communication. Surely the internet is a powerful tool, but it seems to be especially powerful as a hindrance to God’s design for human community.

First, there is corruption through obvious false communication like pornography (false intimacy), lying, slander, deception, and the like. It is cheaper than ever to publish deception that millions of people can read and believe. Reports of the number of people logging on to pornographic sites are staggering and frightening, especially when we consider that many of these are people are “well meaning” who historically would not have risked public shame by less anonymous means. Reports indicate that a high percentage of responses to “personal ads” are men who are already married, but who are seeking a secret fantasy life. This seems to be reflected in internet “chatting” also. Reports are flowing of significant numbers of seductions transpiring over the internet.

Clearly, the anonymity of internet access is highly appealing to “the flesh” and sinful appetites. The internet is giving substantial proof to the doctrine of “total depravity” and the truth that we would be much worse than we are if allowed to do what we really want without fear of being caught. It is also revealing that the claim that man is “good at heart” is a bold-faced lie. I remember laughing out loud about 13 years ago when I heard a Christian speaker say “yes, there is pornography on the internet, but only a few will be clever enough to find it.”

These more obvious sins are clearly a major issue that anyone with internet access must come to grips with. Spouses and parents must recognize the inherent dangers of the internet and implement careful preventative measures.

As important as these matters are our concern must also regard more subtle ways that the internet corrupts human community and communication.

The amount of time that the internet tempts us to spend must also be taken with all seriousness. Added to this concern should be consideration of the kind of communication and communication habits the internet tends to encourage, even at its best, along with the communication it tends to replace and diminish..

When I refer to the “kind of communication it tends to encourage” I’m not referring to inherently sinful communication, but to the seductive pull to continue in self-centered patterns of communication in only involving ourselves in the communication we prefer to be involved in with ourselves as masters of the communication process.

Face to face (“Real life”?) communication frequently requires us to handle the “problem” (opportunity?) of real people and the potential of offending and being offended while still be required to maintain civil relationships. On the internet we can “surf” from one conversation to another without “be offensive” or considered unsociable. We can pick and choose conversations at will, or totally disregard any response at all if we prefer. We can begin to feel like “masters” of our own universe and might even hide from consciousness the possibility that our soul may indeed be the only one in “our universe.”

It may be easy to overlook the fact that time we spend on the internet excludes time we could, or should, be conversing with our spouse, children, brother, neighbor, etc. Parents report to us that their children would stay on the internet chatting with friends all evening long if they were allowed to, and apparently many know some who ARE allowed to. This is not only a problem with young people, but is fairly common among adults also (though I expect much less prevalent among the senior generations).

I believe there are real costs to this rising self-centeredness in communication that need to addressed and guarded against.

Everyone, and especially Christians and Christian parents, needs to especially consider both of these kinds of problems with false communication on the internet. I hope to return to this topic and reflect on it in more detail.