SOCIAL MEDIA WHIRLWIND: FACEBOOK & YOU

Facebook Inc. has been revolutionizing the face of Internet-availability and connecting the world in a unique way. Facebook as a Company began when a 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, launched the site as a Harvard sophomore on February 4, 2004. Since then the cyber world has never been the same. A drive that has kept the “Tech Giants” going over these years have been the zeal to “change the world”. And if you ask me, they indeed are “changing the World”.

In the noon of November 2^nd, Mark Zuckerberg (founder & CEO at Facebook) took to his official Facebook page to announce a remarkable feat that His Company has achieved as at November, 2016. He said, and I quote:

“We just announced our quarterly results and gave an update on our community's progress in making the world more open and connected.

Our community now has 1.8 billion people. We hit the milestone of 1.2 billion people using our apps every day…The number of people going Live on Facebook at any moment has grown by 4x since May. We launched Instagram Stories less than 3 months ago, and already more than 100 million people are using it every day…Our community has a lot to be proud of this quarter. Thanks for being a part of this journey to connect the world”.

Zuckerberg made it clear that the increase that has been recorded by Facebook is a

Facebook 2016 Stat

landmark and Historic one.

If Facebook were a country, it would have been the most populous Nation on earth today, with over 1.8 billion active users ahead of China which was estimated to have about 1.36 billion people as at 2015.

This is even beside Whatsapp, Instagram and the others that has millions of people around the World.

Zuckerberg and his team have been working hip-and-thigh to get more and more people online by launching the internet.org project which aims to provide portable and free internet connections to the two-third part of the world that is still unconnected to the internet.

This project has seen local communities mostly in Africa, gaining access to the internet for free in order to access some few resources including Facebook, thereby allowing more and more population to join in.

That’s the whirlwind sweeping this age. The whirlwind of the general media/internet. A strong wind stirring and leading a lot of changes we will be seeing in time to come.

Usually and truly, whirlwinds do not come to stir the space, make a circus and create a fun zone for those around. No. It only rises to toss and throw away all in its path. Therefore we must really closely evaluate what the whirlwind of the social media, especially Facebook and its sister platforms is doing, and the effect they have upon us and the future generation

The youth force of the body of Christ must realise that we cannot change the world or exert influence upon our generation by spending long hours on the social media. My foremost argument to buttress this is the fact that Mark Zuckerberg did not create his company, Facebook Inc., by spending so many hours on any social media. He did that by working off his mind and investing resources. Not even Steve Jobs of Apple, or Bill Gate or Microsoft or Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway; neither did our very own (of Christian faith) David Green of Hobby Lobby; Tom Monaghan of Domino’s Pizza; S Truett Cathy of Chick-Fil-A; Norm Miller of Interstate Batteries; John Maxwell, and many other Christian Business men and investor- of this age- who are marking the earth.

The aim of the whirlwind of social media platforms is chiefly to distract (from real priorities) and consume (precious time and resources) of the average young person in this age. These platforms have successfully and uniquely evolved over the years to slyly creep into the lives of its users and carefully cause disarray when used improperly. This has been the great cyber havoc of our time.

Any young person who must become relevant and impactful in his or her life time must learn the art of soaring high above the manipulations of the social media and internet. The same must take and build up value-adding lifestyles and get so valuable that we only come upon these social media platforms to feed our World.

We must take control of our time and keep guard over our priorities. We must realized that we have a life that is real outside the media- that which we actually got to live to make a difference rather wallowing in the euphoria of Facebook and its sisters.

I have become concerned that these platforms are having more and more faithful converts over time who have no commitment to the Lord and to His work in their daily lives. I hope we are not making idols of these tools.

The wind might be stirring, the surrounding in disarray but an eagle will always soar high above and only observe the happenings below.

I charge every young person in COCIN and the Body of Christ in general, using the internet out there to be an Eagle. Please, be an Eagle. Be young men and women who would awaken to/from the time waste and great distraction of the social media and begin to engage in Self-developing measures that will make us indispensable to our world, especially to the Church of God. We cannot afford to be continually side-tracked and manipulated by the media. We are the hope of the Church and must be equipped to take on our calling and delivering on our various assignments here on earth. In all:

³¹ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40.

Grace & blessings.