Using Facebook as a Force for Good this Lent, Part 1: Almsgiving

Intro:

The purpose of putting our smartphones on grayscale for Lent is to choose a form of Lenten penance that requires sacrifice while also allowing us to regain an element of thoughtfulness and recollection in our use of these devices, which can distract us from purposeful Christian lives. However, while this Lenten resolution is a good first step, it may not "solve" all our usage struggles.

Perhaps that is why so many people, instead of grayscale, choose other specific resolutions, such as giving up online shopping or social media. At times, we may feel that it the struggles come with impulse control in the little bits of time we have free. We look for distractions on our phone, and find them easily, but we are left feeling that online window-shopping or mindless social media scrolling was not the best use of our time. It lacked a sense of purpose and increased our sense of a lack of impulse control or meaning in our usage.

The question for today is how we might approach Facebook during Lent, using it as a force for good, rather than mindless, time-filling, quasi-entertainment. We consider this question with the traditional Lenten penances in mind: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving and offer concrete suggestions for using Facebook well this Lent, rather than simply giving it up.

Almsgiving:

Fundamentally, almsgiving is about giving money directly to the poorest in need of basic resources. During Lent especially, we see this giving as made possible by our own sacrifices of little comforts that we can give up for a time in order to focus on others. Facebook is currently used for various fundraisers, providing us with opportunities to donate money. However, we can find many other important opportunities simply by paying attention to our friends' situations and needs.

The idea of almsgiving can be extended to include the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and each day, if we are attentive and reflective as we look through the posts of our friends and acquaintances, we will see openings to perform these works. Just recently, members of my family (including myself) had flu, and my husband posted about it on Facebook. I was moved by a number of friends who reached out to me to offer picking up groceries, dropping off Tylenol, and helping with rides for my children. And I was grateful to the friend who dropped off a meal, groceries, and Tylenol for our family.

Each day, as we scroll through Facebook, we will find people mourning the loss of a loved one, struggling to overcome illness, frustrated by logistics of family life, adjusting to a new baby, or going through some other hard times. Rather than casually passing by these posts, we can use them as a way to practice works of mercy during this season of Lent. To be more concrete, I suggest choosing at least one per week to address off Facebook, in real life, as we might say. Such actions would include sending a real, physical sympathy card or buying flowers for someone who has lost a family member, dropping off food for a sick family or family with a new baby, offering a ride to basketball practice for someone struggling with logistics, or sending some cash to someone who seems to be struggling financially.

There may be times, due to our own family circumstances, where we feel limited in our capabilities to reach out in charitable acts. While mailing a thoughtful card may be a possibility, making a meal or offering to watch someone's children may be untenable. However, during those times (including Lent) where we find such obstacles to physical works of mercy, we can still use Facebook as a force for good by offering encouraging words and making affirming, positive comments that express our concern and support for our friends with current challenges.

Because of Facebook, we often know events, including difficulties, that we might not otherwise hear about it. This Lent is a great time to put into practice the idea of almsgiving, using these posts as openings to reach out, inconveniencing ourselves to assist those in need and support those who could benefit. When we make such a choice in our use of Facebook, we can take it beyond mindless distraction to purposeful penance, using it as a force for good this Lent.