Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

I hear a lot of jokes and criticism about the younger generation, but I am a big fan. The major reason I am is because I appreciate the value they place on value. They are not interested in spending time on empty rituals, habitual activities, or anything that does not count for something or change the world.

"Tradition" is not a good answer when they ask why they should show up. They show up for social media. It is fun for them and that is a value, but it is also more. It is about connecting and counting.

Social media is fun for me also, but that is not what it mainly is.

I love the pictures, jokes, and light conversations.

I enjoy the learning I do. Learned people post links to articles I can check out for myself. I can delve more deeply into subjects introduced in your posts.

I get greater exposure to history, philosophy, science, the arts, public affairs, and literature.

We also toss around great ideas from varied perspectives.

We get to promote people doing outstanding things in the community. We can pray for each other and encourage each others.

Sometimes I get the news in social media first and then check the more primary sources

Yet, the main thing will keep me coming back is this: the ability to lift up love, truth, justice, and God's Word, the opportunity to connect people with hope and with each other, the possibility of making a difference.

These are the things that count most to me — the value we can add to each other and to our communities.

That is what makes it count for me.

I don't argue much online. I throw out ideas ( mine or others').

You have to do your own work with them. When challenged, I will spend limited time clarifying my position or perspective out of respect.

I may even refine my position.

We have different perspectives because we have lived different lives and accepted different narratives of reality. They have become the lenses through which we perceive truth.

It is a long game to introduce new ways of viewing things.

It is really not much different than three dimensional real time, which I have not abandoned at all. It is just faster, more immediate, and includes more people over a wider geographical expanse.

I love social media, because where else could I attach Chopin's "Nocturne for Piano and Violin" to the end of a blog about social media when it has absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter?