Facebook Phenomenon

Recently I did a class presentation on the theological implications of Facebook and I've decided to fill y'al in on what I said.

The Facebook explosion seems to be a result of it meeting the intrinsic desires for individualism and community, within our present culture. By providing each member with a profile Facebook is meeting the strong yearning to be a unique individual. Our profile serves as our identity on Facebook, it represents who we are as individuals to the rest of the members.
While the profile serves to meet the longing for individualism, the networks we are integrated into (Friends List, Groups, and the initial network we join) create the framework for our community. The interaction through “walls”, notes, and comments gives the member a sense of being relational. This sense of relationship seems to be what solidifies the sense of community. Facebook serves as a kind of cyber pseudo-community. Rather than being one of the many, we are a vital part of this cyber society.
Individualism and Community are two ideas we find in Scripture as well. Throughout Scripture there seems to be a focus on individual’s and the role they play in the community. People such as Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah are Old Testament examples of this, while Mary, Peter, and Paul seem to be New Testament examples. In I Corinthians 12 Paul writes about the role the individual’s spiritual gifts play in the community of Believers. In the creation account of Genesis 2 God creates the individual, Adam, and in verse 18 we read, “The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." This would be another indication we, as human beings, are intended to be in community. The Hebrew people and the Church in Acts seem to be further biblical examples of God intending for people to be in community.
In recent years the Church has attempted to meet these desires through cell groups. These groups are intended to create fellowship and allow individuals to interact with one another on a more personal basis than what a Sunday morning service would allow. Youth group, men’s breakfasts, and women’s prayer meeting are just a few examples of other ways the Church in the past has, perhaps unintentionally, attempted to meet these needs.
The error the Church has made in addressing these needs, is attempting to meet them through programs. There are certain needs programs cannot meet because a program is purpose oriented. In programs people are not necessarily interacting because they want to, but because the program requires them to. For the individual seeking true community, this would seem to be a cheap supplement.
To meet these desires the Church needs to extend her thinking beyond programs and become genuinely interested in each other. Individuals need to be interacting outside the programs of the Church. People are seeking the type community that happens over a cup of coffee, on road trips, and during a barbeque.