00:00:00 Welcome to tonight's Saturday night special where I talk with you about social media. Starting Monday, I've got a new interview releasing with Heather Heuman where we talk about social media and how it affects us as a Christian business owner. And that got me thinking about the good and the bad of social media, which will talk about today on the inspired stewardship podcast. I'm Shannon miles from ballet. I challenge you to discover your calling and find your third option so you can be empowered to live every day to the fullest.
00:00:35 One way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this. The inspired stewardship podcast with my friend and Scott made her, you know, as Christians were called to be in the world, but not of the world. And that even includes the world of the online world that we've created a CZ Well, it includes being involved in it, being aware of it, being active in it and using that tool as well to spread our message and to spread the gospel welcome and thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcasts.
00:01:16 If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be. Then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true calling in the inspired search of podcast who will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world on this episode I share with you why social media is neither the hero or the villain that we often make it out to be in our life. I talk about a few of the good and a few of the bad things about social media,
00:01:59 and I talk about why you need to be aware of this no matter what you do in the world. No one area that a lot of folks need some help with is around the area of productivity. Getting not just Maur things done, but actually getting the right things done can be really,
00:02:20 really tough. I've got a course called Productivity for your passion that's designed to help you do this, and then they hold you accountable and walk with you so that you can tailor productivity not just to be getting more done but actually getting the right things done.
00:02:40 What's more, we take the approach of looking at your personality and how you actually look at things in the world and Taylor the productivity system to your personality.
00:02:51 Because the truth is, a lot of the systems that are out there are written really well for somebody with a particular personality type.
00:02:58 But if you have a different approach to things, they just don't work. But there's tools and techniques and approaches that you can take that will work for anyone,
00:03:08 and we help you do that and productivity for your passion. Check it out over an inspired stewardship dot com slash launch.
00:03:18 When it comes to social media, you'll usually hear people talking about how good or how bad it is.
00:03:25 People tend to have kind of a very strong view one way or the other about things like the Internet and Facebook and Twitter and connections that we make online.
00:03:36 You'll heal. Certain people talk about how anything that happens online is always fake. There's no reality there.
00:03:43 There's no connection there. There's no quote redeeming value when it comes to things like social media and the Internet.
00:03:52 And then you'll also hear people that talk about social media as if it's some sort of savior, something that makes our world just a perfect place and so much better today than it was 10 or 20 or 30 years ago.
00:04:07 That makes it out. As if social media and the Internet is the savior that we've all been waiting for.
00:04:14 You'll talk about people that love it and really admire it. If you tune in online, you'll talk about.
00:04:20 You'll see people talking about how social media is the thing that saved their business. You know, use this tool or trick,
00:04:27 and this will happen. It's a medium now where were filled with advertisements as well as connections with friends and family and followers and all of these people out there in the world.
00:04:41 And the truth is, when it comes to things like social media and the Internet, it's not really a new problem.
00:04:50 You know, we make it out as if this is unheard of. This has never happened before, but if you do a little bit of research and you go back and you look at what people began to say when the printing press was first invented and all of a sudden books could be mass produced and put out where anyone could read them.
00:05:10 There were people that held up that that was going to be the end of the world. In the end of society as we know it,
00:05:16 with the invention of the radio or television, the same thing happened. People talked about how this new world was just totally going to be the end of everything that has come before,
00:05:30 and the same thing happened again, as the Internet came to be and and people began to utilize email and the World Wide Web and social media to connect and to communicate in ways that had never happened before.
00:05:46 But the truth is, none of these things really have the ability to be the be all end all of the world because they're all simply tools.
00:05:58 And a tool, by definition, is not good or bad. A tool is only determined its value by how we use it.
00:06:08 You know, a brick is just a brick, but a brick could be turned into a building like a hospital or a school.
00:06:15 Brick can also be used to break a window and rob from a store are actually harm someone. If you hit them with it.
00:06:23 The brick isn't good or bad. Ahh, hammer isn't good or bad. Fire isn't good or bad.
00:06:30 They're all just tools. And when it comes to things like social media, the truth is that is also just a tool.
00:06:39 So the thought about it is not what it is, but how you use it is what determines the value.
00:06:47 And that brings us to the point that you actually have to be engaged in active and thinking about how you allow something like social media into your life.
00:06:59 That's what's going to determine the value. Let's talk about social media honestly for a minute. Let's talk about some of the good and bad things that can come from utilizing social media.
00:07:13 So some of the bad things that come to mind right away. First off, Ah, lot of time.
00:07:17 Social media leads to very unrealistic expectations and comparisons with everyone else. I've had people say things like everyone is going on vacation toe.
00:07:29 You know, Cancun or or Greece because that's what they see in their social media feed or everyone else is happier,
00:07:37 has more friends or makes more money, or has more stuff than I do because social media allows us to share the best things about our life out into the world,
00:07:48 and we don't get to see the reality. We end up seeing the highlight reel, and that's what we're comparing our own reality,
00:07:55 too. Another bad thing is social media can be abused in ways that allow people to invade your privacy or to see things even is things like your location.
00:08:08 APS that track your location can be used in harmful ways. So you have to be aware of the power that you're giving to social media.
00:08:18 There's a feeling as your online and social media, of being always on that. People are always watching you,
00:08:24 that you're always on stage, and that can lead to stress and fear. And then, of course,
00:08:31 with me talking about productivity all the time, one of the things that comes up is this comparison trap in this information overload can really damage our focus and our productivity so truthful the social media can damage your time,
00:08:48 your talent and your treasures if you're not careful. But there's a good side to see. Social media gives us an increased opportunity for connection,
00:08:59 and yeah, sometimes people will say Yeah, but the friends you have online aren't really friends. They're less than riel.
00:09:06 But the truth is, sometimes the connections you have online allow you to find people that you would never have been able to find in the rear world.
00:09:15 Look at the collections of of people that spring up around topics where they share an interest in something. But they're spread out all over the world.
00:09:27 They would never have been able to meet if it wasn't for the Internet, and then that allows them to then actually create functions and activities and get together in the real world.
00:09:37 Nowadays there's conventions and get togethers and meet ups, forming around almost any topic you can imagine. And social media facilitates that connection both online as well as in the real world.
00:09:51 Another great benefit is social Media has begun to flatten the world in many ways Now, not everyone has access to the online world on social media today,
00:10:01 but Maur and Maur people are getting access and you begin to see things like live tweeting of an event that never before would have been shared.
00:10:11 You see political and other activities that wouldn't have been able to get out there that the Internet and social media allows people to begin to report on.
00:10:24 And it allows for connection and change and understanding of the rest of the world in a way that wouldn't impossible 100 years ago and one of the best things about social media as far as I'm concerned,
00:10:37 one of its number one factors is that it begins to increase the reach for the little guy. It begins to remove the gatekeepers you know,
00:10:48 used to If you wanted toa market or communicate about something you were interested in or ah, business or service you had,
00:10:55 you would have had to have gone through a gate keeper and follow certain rules. Thio to be out there in the world with your message.
00:11:04 MIT. Someone else had to approve of your message. And now, for good or bad, that's no longer true with social media and sure that can be abused.
00:11:14 There are people that put messages out that maybe aren't the message that you wish was out in the world.
00:11:20 But there's also tons of people that are now able to communicate and share their message without having to go through a gate keeper and that begins to open up the world to people that wouldn't have had that access before.
00:11:37 And whatever it is, whether you think social media is a hero or a villain, you still need to be aware of this because the truth is because it's a tool and it can be used in so many different ways,
00:11:51 both for good and bad. You need to think about how you use social media, how you allow it into your life,
00:11:59 you know, as Christians were called to be in the world but not of the world. And that even includes the world of the online world that we've created a CZ well,
00:12:10 it includes being involved in it, being aware of it, being active in it, and using that tool is well to spread our message and to spread the gospel.
00:12:20 But through doing that, we also have to be aware of the dark sides and the things that can go wrong if we aren't deliberate,
00:12:29 an intentional in our use. Thanks for listening. Thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast.
00:12:43 As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way toe Live your calling.
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00:13:25 your talent and your treasures develop your influence and impact world way.