The Fecundity of Facebook

Earth by Orru, openclipart.com

In the last two posts, I’ve explored a world without Facebook and the love/hate relationship we have with it.  Now I want to go deeper into the great fecundity of Facebook.

First let me concede that Facebook is indeed a time sucker; though of course the same can be said about children and friends and dogs.

Choices have to be made, and sometimes we don’t make them.  We jump onto Facebook and whittle away precious time without intending to do so.

To me, this isn’t a Facebook problem, but a consciousness problem. It’s the same consciousness required when we make any decision about how to use our attention and connection.

Connection is the most exciting aspect of Facebook–the potential of it–best captured in this quote by Marianne Williamson:

It is not only our interconnectedness technologically that promises to shift the world we live in, but our interconnectedness humanly and spiritually.

What I  find very promising about this connection on Facebook (and even, dare I say in Reality TV) is this:  it puts each person in the center of his own story, and in doing so gives each a voice–to connect with others.

Voice is essential to change, and people need to begin where they are–whether they’re talking about the weather, their pets or politics. It all matters. Each person. Every day. Every story:

Few of us write great novels; all of us live them.

~Mingon McLaughlin

When our voices connect with others, we help shape the world. From the Egyptian spring to the Occupy Movement, the internet connects the human story across the globe:

This is the first time in human history when everyone, everywhere, all of humanity, is politically awake... Surely these are challenging times, when it is easy to fear for ourselves, those we love, our nations and our planet. Yet they are also amazing times when humanity is organizing to better the world, demanding to be free or die, creating ever larger circles of connections, and awakening to our power… ~Julia Bondi

For many, like myself, Facebook provides a home base from which to explore what is going on–first among the inner circle of friends, and then outward into the network of connection that is created via each individual.

Joshua Gorman, founder of Generation Waking Up, posted these words today about the potential of these expanding connections:

Gratitude for the growing networks

of change

Let’s amplify

Let’s multiply

This Movement that has so many names

is opening up to its greater chapter yet

I see Facebook as one of the great teachers of what it means to be connected, to have a voice, and to use it to make a difference–whether with a friend, a life or a cause.

Kelly Salasin, February 2012

The Fecundity of Facebook is the third in a series of posts:

Post II: Love/Hate Facebook

Post I: a world without facebook