The Scriptorium

Some people like it, some people don’t. Though I long resisted the trend, I finally signed up for Facebook. People gave me two reactions. Those already on Facebook said, “Finally! Good to see you on Facebook.”

Others said, “What a waste of time!”

So, is it a waste of time? Or is it a meaningful communication method? First let’s evaluate communication methods. I arranged the most common forms of communication in descending order of meaningfulness.

1. Face-to-face
2. Phone
3. Facebook
4. Snail Mail
5. E-mail
6. Instant Messaging
7. Text messaging

#1 Face-to-face communication is in every case the best form of communication. It is the most personal and meaningful. However, you can’t talk to everyone in person all of the time.

# 2 Phone, in my book, is the second most personal and meaningful form of communication. Though it lacks facial expressions, phone conversations allow the people to catch voice tone and inflections and catch some emotion. But yet again, you can’t communicate with everyone on the phone all of the time, and it costs money. Before long, video phone will become a more common feature (I believe) and that will supersede strict voice communication, allowing facial expressions. But it will still take second place to face-to-face conversation.

#3 Facebook will be discussed last.

#4 Snail Mail actually takes fourth place in my book. A handwritten–not type–letter is extremely meaningful. It shows the receiver that you took time to personally write this letter. In addition, writing tends to be a powerful, concise and direct means of communication.

#5 E-mail comes in fifth. Besides being fast, e-mail can be quite meaningful, IF it is well written. One big blob of text with misspellings, too little or excessive punctuation,  and bad grammar is not meaningful.

#6 Instant Messaging tends to be meaningful for teens but less meaningful (and less practical) for working individuals. It is nice in that a person can talk to multiple people at one time, but it is very impersonal. Too often, emotion is reduced to acronyms, emoticons and excessive punctuation.

#7 Text messaging is beneficial in for short, quick communication. It is a cross between e-mail and phone. It allows people to answer at their convenience. But trying to carry on a meaningful conversation through text messaging is challenging, if not impossible.

Now back to Facebook. I resisted this “craze” for awhile. But finally surrendered to the insistence of my sister. I believe it is beneficial for the following reasons.

1. Allows friends to stay permanently in contact. You avoid the hassle of changing e-mail accounts, home addresses, and phone numbers.
2. Allows the sharing of media such as pictures, videos, and so on. This sharing is much more personal than simple e-mail or snail mail.
3. Allows personal text/e-mail message service and instant messaging.

Drawbacks:

1. It can be time consuming (people must exercise restraint)
2. Can be used by an employer to evaluate you for a job (be careful what you post)
3. Can destroy or contradict Christian testimony (demonstration of excessive worldliness)
4. Can turn into a gossip tool
5. Excessive–sometimes objectionable–advertising (however, these can be easily removed)

But one must realize that any form of communication has these potential drawbacks. It is more a question of how a person adapts. Ads can easily be removed with browser ad-blocking. Most importantly, you are responsible for what you post and what you look at.

It is as meaningful as you make it. Facebook is a revolutionary, all-in-one form of communication. How will you use it? For me, I like it, though I wish I had time to make it more meaningful.