The Great Searching of Today's Society

Observation on Today's Society

Recently one of my resourceful colleagues told us that he had been observing today's society and what it's searching for. Few of us are involved in an online outreach project, where we quickly realize that social media has taken over not just the worldwide web, but the world itself. 

There are many articles and reports out there signaling this trend that significantly impacts teens, college students, businesses, and many more. Just to give you an example, a recent blog post by The Washington Post was entitled, "Many Teens Tell Survey They're Addicted to Social Media, Texting." Or, you can check out the 2012 social media statistics.

Actually not only social media, the Internet in general has become a world in its own. The online realm is "The 21st century's New World." Sooner or later, everyone would migrate there and it would soon become the next superpower, having a major influence over the global population.

Okay, okay, maybe you think I'm too much, but guess what, since 2010, the number of Facebook users all over the world has reached more than 500 million people crowning Facebook as the third largest country in the world after China and India (source: The Economist). I even read that recently this number has almost doubled (source: Times of India).

The Great Searching of Today's Society: Satisfaction and Community

So back to my colleague's thoughtful observation, he basically said that today's society is longing after two things: satisfaction and community. These are "public secrets"- people desire to feel fulfilled and feel like they belong somewhere.

Apparently, social media and the Internet in general are the attempts of mankind to meet the aforementioned needs. If we're honest to ourselves, we will daily find the longing for satisfaction and community lingering in the depth of our being. That is why, people keep clicking to go to the next link on the webpage. They think that satisfaction and community are just a click away on Google search or Facebook.

The Enlightening Truth

The truth is the questions remained regardless of this New World's novel mechanism/platform for searching: How and where can we get the answers?

Comments

  1. Hey Kat, would you like to spice up your blog a bit, my latest post is RSS Facebook Twitter Google+ Buttons with Hover Effect http://rookieslab.blogspot.com/2012/06/rss-facebook-twitter-google-buttons.html

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  2. Katherine,
    This is simply astounding. May they find the real fulfillment by receiving the Lord Jesus, and discovering their human spirit.

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    1. Hi Todd,

      Thank you for your response. The Lord Jesus is truly satisfying! What an eye-opening answer.

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  3. Katherine, When you mention that satisfaction and community are the two things that people are seeking that made me think of Ecclesiastes 3:11-- I like the Amplified Bible's translation on this verse: "He has made everything beautiful in its time; He has planted eternity in men's heart and mind [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun, but only God, can satisfy],.... We seek for satisfaction because God made us that way, and He also created us with a human spirit like Todd mentioned.

    I really like Job 32:8 "But there is a spirit in man...." Like a jigsaw puzzle, all the pieces of the mystery of our human life are hidden in the word of God. One of my husband's favorite verses to share with people is John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name." These "as many" become the community that everyone's heart is truly seeking.

    And I like that it's not hard or complicated to receive God--another verse in the Bible that we've used to help others see this is Romans 10: 13 "For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

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    1. I appreciate your sharing on those verses. The verses show how human it is for a human being to seek God, and how simple it is to be part of a community- God's household.

      Thank you!

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  4. great insight Katherine. i found a site that shows the average person spends nearly 8 hours a month on facebook! dang!!! they need jesus

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    1. Sure! This trend of using the Net, especially on social networks, is appalling. We need to be properly aggressive to spread the Lord online, don't you think?

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  5. I can see where you are coming from. Social media plays a big role in ppl's life. Your explanation may be a big factor in explaining what causes ppl to spend so much time on social media.

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    1. Thanks, Enosh. Do you think that is all? What would you think other factors that cause people to spend so much time on social media?

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  6. Hudson Taylor once said that thirst is defined as any unsatisfied longing. I agree all of mankind is thirsty but what quenches all of our thirsts is the Lord Jesus Himself. Social media is just a band-aid on a huge "thirsty" wound. We all need Jesus as Jehovah the Savior!

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    1. That's a very interesting point!

      "Social media is just a band-aid."

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  7. Social media is playing more and more a major part in society, but it does not seem to make people happier or more satisfied. I just scanned through an article recently that being "plugged in" too much can even cause people to become crazy. Will you point your readers to some healthy alternatives?

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    1. Actually I recently read a similar article on how the use of the Internet affect the way our brain operates. According to that article from Newsweek, the Internet may contribute to our craziness.

      There's a rebuttal article if you care to read, published by Time magazine: http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/13/does-the-internet-make-everyone-or-just-journalists-crazy/

      On that note, please wait for my upcoming post on that.

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  8. Although, advancement in technology is a result of human wisdom and creativity, God allows and can even use technology, or social media, for the advancement of His ministry. On one hand, technology, or social media, can be used by Satan to spread his worldly cosmos into people's homes and especially, into their vessels with an exercised mind. So, this can be extremely dangerous if not used carefully, or with an exercised spirit. On the other hand, technology, or social media, can be used by the Lord to spread His ministry into people's homes, and especially into people's vessels with a mind controlled by their spirit. So, may the Lord cover us when we use today's technology, or social media for the advancement of His ministry and for His Kingdom being established here on this earth.

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  9. Through out time whatever God has used for the carrying out of His purpose, Satan has tried use or counterfeit for the destruction of God's purpose. The internet is no different. While the internet has made the gospel, Christian fellowship, and spiritual material, more available to the profit of all mankind. Satan has at the same time used the internet to usurp man, occupy his time, and damage his vessel. This is a sobering reminder that technology is just another part of the battle for the earth.

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