"Danger, Will Robinson, Danger (Of a Digital Nature)" The robot “B-9”
on the Lost in Space TV series was
programmed to warn the Robinson family of impending danger. I wonder if in the
real future that the Robinsons portrayed the real danger might just be
technology itself. For example, is social media a boon or a bane? I recently
had a little kerfuffle that caused me to do some thinking about my activity on
Facebook. I enjoy keeping up with my distant kids and grandkids on Facebook,
and I get daily chuckles from the posts shared by some of my “friends” on the
site. I hate to admit it but I also get much of my national and regional news
from pages I have “liked.” Admittedly, much of the “news” has to be put through
a truth filter since some people post indiscriminately, but a little
fact-checking usually weeds out the fluff.
One of the things that peeves me is people who violate the
prohibition against posting things that are intended for “personal gain,” also
known as advertising. Apparently some users either don’t read the Facebook
agreement or choose to ignore it. So, not for the first time, I offended a
“friend” by pointing out the indiscretion with a public post. My comment was
too strongly worded, and the “friend” took umbrage with my approach. In
hindsight I admit that I should have made a private remark instead of making a
public comment, but I still feel that inappropriate public actions merit public
remonstrance. Maybe, maybe not.
The incident precipitated some thinking about just how much
of our lives we are putting in the public spotlight. Indiscriminate posting of
our daily activities and unguarded opinions opens up a whole new realm of
possible misuses and misunderstandings. Innocent pictures posted from recreation or vacation
spots, for example, let a wide swath of users know what our idea of entertainment might be, and that our domicile is
currently unattended. One hopes that friends and friends of friends does not
include any house burglars and that our activities pass the WWJD test, but how can one be sure? Privacy settings can be
adjusted to limit this kind of exposure, but how many users really know what
their settings are? The Facebook default settings are pretty wide open.
While it is not generally considered social media, a
person’s Internet browsing history also opens a window into the life of the
user. Most people know that “cookies” placed on their computer by sites they
visit remain as markers to both legitimate and illegitimate inspection. Google
is famous (or infamous) for using this kind of data to create customer bases
which they share with various other entities. Shop for a vacuum cleaner online
and wait to see how many pop-up ads for vacuums begin to appear on your screen.
A few years ago I fell prey to this kind of unwelcome
interest. I was working on a project that involved researching the types of
families who sent their children to Christian schools. On the radio I heard of
an interesting case in California where a single mother was working as an
exotic dancer to help pay for her child to attend a Christian school. I learned
that an interview of the mother had been printed in (gasp) Playboy magazine, so I searched for it online. I was fascinated
(and somewhat appalled) by the mother’s story. Her motivation was pure enough,
but her means disgusted me.
Almost immediately after linking to the Playboy article online, I began to receive pop-ups advertising
other web sites and products of a prurient nature. Most shocking to me, I began
to receive invitations to meet “hot babes” in Muskegon where I lived at the
time. I still don’t know how my geographic location was ascertained; I assume
it had to do with the browsing history that lay hidden in my computer. There
may be another explanation, but in any case, my activity had been observed and
recorded by entities with which I had no interest. Or maybe this was all a big
coincidence… Right?
A recent Saturday
Evening Post article held more disturbing food for thought. The author was
imagining life in 2050 with a personal digital assistant implanted in his ear
which used every piece of information about the man to help him make decisions,
remember names of people he forgot, and generally place the entire digital
universe at his disposal. The imaginary device did all this by brain wave
communication, also known as mental telepathy. I know we are not there yet, but neuro-digital communication is in its infant stages, and with the relentless shift to a cashless society, stores recording our
purchases, much of our correspondence being digital, and big brothers of every
kind “reading our mail,” we are not far from every aspect of our lives being on
display at some level.
So what has all this to do with heaven? The sermon at my church this
Sunday was about being a disciple before a watching world. Pastor reminded us of
Peter’s counsel to let our “good works” reveal to unbelievers God’s place in our lives. Paul also admonished us to avoid the appearance of evil. I may have violated that warning
with my thoughtless Facebook post and my indiscriminate Internet foray. My
intent was innocent enough, but the appearance may not have been blameless. Social
media and Internet ministries may be a great way to share our faith, but it
might also be a personal back door that lets our cyber neighbors see into our
kitchen. What they see cooking there may not be our best dish to pass.
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