Is the internet taking over from human conscience?

This is this morning's musing/rant as I sit in Trinity office on my own!! Everyone is on holiday or at New Wine, so it is one of those peaceful days when you suddenly hear your thoughts jump out at you! I was just beginning to start on an e-magazine for The Path (a web site magazine) and beginning to think of articles. My first thought was to write about the revolution of MySpace and how it is destroying the music industry (ah well!) and revolutionising culture in one way or another. Then I began to think about the blog explosion and wondered exactly what it is that makes these funny old things appeal to us.

It is strange, at first I thought the idea of a blog to be terribly self-indulgent, a means by which you could have a conversation with friends where only your opinions mattered, because you were the only one to speak. Then I became fascinated by them, because I was able to get to know the people around me better, discovering that it seems to be much easier to excercise a degree of unreservedness when you are typing than when actually faced with real people.

I suffer from being terribly shy and awkward when talking to certain people face to face which can be terribly frustrating. It is as if people form an opinion of you which isn't based on your true inner self and write you off with a kind of "ah well, never mind... Bless her." Is this the state of all bloggers? Longing to be somebody? It is interesting to read what some people write. They seem to express emotions, a novelty in this emotionless culture.

I say emotionless, but the truth is that everybody does have emotions, only it is seen as awkward, a weakness even, to express them in any shape or form. To suceed in business, we are supposed to be shrewd, unbiased and to take abuse like sugar in a coffee. We are also supposed to have no form of moral conscience.

I remember talking to some young people about internet relationships. They do this thing called cyber sex, I mean, come on! How two-dimensional can we be?! Typed sex?!? In a box?? They told me it didn't matter doing it, because it wasn't real. What do they mean not real? Apart from the obviously lacking physical components, what does it do to your head? Then I remembered, it is supposed to be emotionless and conscience free. Sex or even adultery without guilt. However one thing you cannot change is soul-felt emotion and the human need to be loved.

This is why 12 year-old girls end up meeting up with 40 year-old men, because in the end it is not enough simply to be 2D. The need for physical human interaction re-occurs. Both characters want to be loved and the computer, the deceptive, concealing so-called 'connecting force' that leads to human happiness has done it again. In virtual reality both of these people were 24 years old. One was lean, athletic and romantic, the other sexy, slim and exciting. In reality they are two broken souls, silenced by an artificial freedom.

They trudge home, both slightly scared, both feeling slightly sick and hating their lives. We then remember a home truth. Whenever God makes something good, the devil twists it around for evil. The only one who can fulfill and sustain a relationship where you can talk without seeing is God in your relationship with Him. Nothing is like it, you can feel His presence in you, beside you, you can hear Him speak if you listen, you can talk to Him any time because He doesn't have to be 'online', He can protect you, He can work miracles.

This almost sounds similar to the internet dellusion, only, it isn't. So what do we conclude? It is hard to know... I would dare to suggest that sometimes where your greatest gifts lie, your greatest weaknesses are waiting on the flipside. For example, if you are a fantastic public speaker, you may also be a fantastic gossip or slanderer. The answer is to fight it. Be on your guard and choose God in every circumstance for "The Lord is my strength and my song". If you are a great blogger then blog wisely and bless those who will read it. Represent God.

Get into people (as in, become interested in them). It is a shame that if anyone has a friendship with someone nowadays that expresses any form of vulnerability or emotion, it is gossipped about. Spend real time with people and, even if it is hard to know how, remove the facade.

Rant over and out.