A Theology of MySpace
In a previous post, I brought up the issue of "land" and how the need to feel rooted and to have a place to belong is a deep human longing. One of the ways this need to have a place manifests itself is in the MySpace phenomenon. Though MySpace is not actually land or a place, it is virtual land or virtual place. It provides people with a place in which they can feel "at home". Some people can be described as "living" in MySpace. This is why decorating one's MySpace is important. I also think that MySpace provides a forum for self-assertion. It allows us to say "This is me - deal with it!". We constantly feel like we have to cover-up what we are feeling and who we are, and MySpace offers us a safer way to expose ourselves so that we need not forever hide.
I'm not interested in making judgments as to whether MySpace is good or bad, but I do want us to start understanding why MySpace is so important to so many people.
So my basic question is: What does MySpace provide for us?
I challenge you to think deeply about this issue and not just tell me whether it's "sweet" or it "sucks", etc. I look forward to your comments.
posted by Ryan @ 5:00 PM
3 Comments:
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Ryan, are you implying that our need for space is a function of being made in God's image?
Bob,
I'm not sure if I can say that being "made in the image of God" is connected to our need for space, because this connection is not necessarily made in Genesis. However, Genesis does itself show that humans were intended to be located in a certain place, and that part of the fall included their exile from that place. So I think that the need for "space" (though actually it's "place" that we need, which is different from "space")is part of what it means to be human. I suggest that MySpace provides a version of "place". The biggest problem with this is that in the garden, the "place" is provided, sustained, and controlled by God. In MySpace, that which secures us and "locates" us is provided, sustained, and controlled by ourselves. This can lead us to the idolatrous idea that as we manipulate "MySpace", our identity is the product of our own doing. Granted, this may seem extreme. I would only say that MySpace is not genuine "place", and therefore has its dangers, and not simply for the regular reasons its thought to be risky.
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