In Elizabeth Drescher’s article, “Five Social Media Trends that are Reshaping Religion,” it came as no surprise that social media has slowly but surely trickled its way down to affecting religion.\u00a0 Though some may view social media integration in religion to perhaps be a “sin,” (according to Drescher’s article, a Google search for “social media guidelines for churches” yields more than twenty-seven million results,) Drescher shares in her articles some of the benefits of social media’s presence in religion.<\/p>\n
The two most intriguing trends of social media that I personally thought was quite interesting in Drescher’s article is the presence of religious apps now available to those with Adroids, iPhones, and other smart phones.\u00a0 As a Christian, I currently have a “Bible app” on my phone that offers me access to an online version of the Bible.\u00a0 When I need to look up a verse, it is so convenient to use the app.\u00a0 All I have to do is open the app, type in the Bible verse, and voila, in less than ten seconds, I have the full Bible verse on my phone screen.<\/p>\n
As I was interested in exploring what other apps are related to religion, I took it upon myself to do some research at the App Store.\u00a0 I typed in “religion,” and got a few interesting hits.\u00a0 Some included an app for religion books, Bible promises, iRosary, encyclopedia of religion, children’s Bible, Bibles in different languages, hymns, Bible trivia, Muslim Pro, etc.\u00a0 I had never seen so many apps for religion!\u00a0 It truly astounded me to see how much technology has integrated religion to allow smartphone users to have access to such apps.\u00a0 As each app had approximately one hundred to two hundred ratings, I was shocked to see how many individuals had actually downloaded, used, and rated these apps.\u00a0 Moreover, what was interesting was that many of these apps are free.\u00a0 This observation showed me that the accessibility of these apps are definitely making it easier for this social media trend to spread.<\/p>\n
Another interesting trend that Drescher talked about was “ministers-on-the-go.”\u00a0 In the article, Drescher talks about how some ministers will “check-in” to places that they go to (through Foursquare) so that the individuals who see that the minister is around their area, will have access to him and his ministry.\u00a0 I thought that this was such a creative idea as I never really saw the point in checking-in somewhere.\u00a0 Even on Facebook, which recently included the option to check-in to places, I personally thought was pointless.\u00a0 I thought, “Who cares if you’re at KFC?\u00a0 Or who cares if you went to Starbucks?”\u00a0 For some reasons I could understand, if one was at the mall by chance and wanted to see if anyone else wanted to hang out, or to show off that one was at a fancy restaurant with their friends.\u00a0 But other than reasons such as those, I thought it was absolutely pointless to check-in anywhere (especially since it’s a bit creepy because people could be stalking you).<\/p>\n
But after reading Drescher’s article, and reading the point of the minister and his reasons for checking-in, I have to admit that that is one of the best reasons that I think one should check in, and actually tried thinking of other justifications to check-in somewhere.\u00a0 Moreover, this minister reminded me of my own pastor at my church who also utilizes Facebook and other social media sites in order to stay on track with those who attend his church.\u00a0 Creating a Facebook page for his Bible study group is one way my pastor utilizes social media in order to further his ministry among those at his church.\u00a0 In this way, I saw a real life example of Drescher’s article applied in my life!<\/p>\n
Overall, I think that Drescher makes an excellent point about social media and its effects on religion.\u00a0 After reading her article, I pondered what other trends I could add to her list, and more so thought of what the next social media tool will affect religion.<\/p>\n
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Elizabeth Drescher<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In Elizabeth Drescher’s article, “Five Social Media Trends that are Reshaping Religion,” it came as no surprise that social media has slowly but surely trickled its way down to affecting religion.\u00a0 Though some may view social media integration in religion … Continue reading