Despite appearances, some things are real. Peter Rollins’ thoughts on Facebook.
May 9th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
This is the title of an upcoming talk by Peter Rollins (PhD in Philosophy, Professor, and Christ Follower). He will be speaking about this:
We tend to think that our facebook profile reflects something of who we really are while virtual platforms such as Second Life enable us to live out unreal fantasies. But what if our most private virtual fantasies actually bring us into deeper contact with the horrifying Real of ourselves than technologies which re-present our conscious image of ourselves to the world?
This should not be taken as some mundane argument that social networking sites like Facebook are a form of deception because they offer up an idealised reflection of who we are (describing only the side of ourselves that we wish to present to others). But rather that networking sites like Facebook are derivative of a deeper psychic structure – namely that our conscious self is a form of deception because it offers up an idealised reflection of who we are (effectively hiding our deepest desires and drives from our own gaze).
These are some of the themes I will be exploring and developing at Apple on 12th May in London. Apple is a forum that explores the intersection between technology, philosophy and theology. ~ Peter Rollins.
This is something for us to definitely wrestle with. Churches are more and more trying to tap into the social networking world, places like Facebook and twitter etc. How can the church use these things redemptively? Go to Peter Rollins blog
