From the Pulpit: Clicking and commenting is not compassion

The University of Michigan did a long-term study of college aged adults. One of the questions asked in the research was, ‘How much do 18-24-year-olds really care about others?’ The study concluded that in 2009, people ‘care’ 40 percent less than they did 1979. Wow! Of course, that may just be an issue in Michigan. That couldn’t be true for us, could it? Regardless, what is the deal? How has it come to be that we seem to care less now than we did a generation ago?

Personal electronic devices, social media, and the 24-hour news cycle have undeniably impacted the way we see the world around us. We are ‘selfie’ obsessed, 80 percent of social media are about the person who is posting. Seeing likes, comments, and shares of ourselves has a measurable neurological effect. Social media use has been shown to release dopamine. This is the same stuff that is released when we exercise or get a hug or smile. Dopamine creates a chemical ‘high’ that is an integral part of forming habits and behavior patterns.  What we used to get only through getting up and out, we can now get on our phones. Social media feeds are inundated with all sorts of information, from breaking news to birthday parties to cat videos. We see so much information that we have become desensitized to what is going on around us. The lack of personal interaction creates a distance that no number of clicks, likes or shares can close. While this may seem new, it’s an ancient issue. The tendency towards self-absorption is quite human, it’s part of our nature. Technology and social media haven’t changed society, rather they have just served to expose our humanity in more expansive ways.  

As an emigrant to the land of social media, it has been quite interesting trying to parent my boys who are techno-natives. How do we help our kids navigate this unfamiliar terrain? How do we teach compassion and empathy in a selfie-saturated culture? How do we keep the focus off ourselves?

We can start with modeling it like Jesus did. “Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched the man.” Mark 1:41.

Compassion acts. While clicking and commenting is appropriate, and in our culture a significant means of communication, it is not compassion. Clicking is clean, compassion is messy. To be like Jesus, we must move from behind the mouse and get in the mess. Compassion means we must move. Move outside of our comforts, our competencies, and conveniences. Seldom will compassion be convenient. In fact, true compassion may be quite costly and messy.

What about you? What is your next move? To whom can you show compassion? What if we became a community known for our radical compassion to those who are broken, hurt, and sick?  hat if we built a better life by making the lives of those around us better?