I’m trying to imagine the Upper Room experience as a Zoom meeting. It’s hard to see the tongues of fire or feel the mighty wind coming out of a screen. The reality of the physical coming together of all the people welcomed the Holy Spirit in.
There is a need for both means of gathering, but the ease of the screen should never be a reason to neglect the power of being present with each other.
Very interesting. You're so right that it makes large group get-togethers unwieldly if not undoable. But as an introvert, I find I don't like large group interactions much if at all. The smaller the group, the better I like it in general, all the way down to 2. The larger the group, the more pressure there is to conform, or at least it feels that way to me. One on one, it's easier to just be me. I also love that Zoom allows getting together without driving anywhere. And that it connects me with people who live far away and sometimes with people I might never interact with in the "real" world. So I like Zoom pretty well. It isn't perfect, and the reason I like it reflects my own personal limitations. But being in the presence of others is definitely a richer experience in that it allows for exchange of information that doesn't come across in Zoom, like body language (below the screen), smells, very faint sounds, sharing food. Though another limitation of mine makes sharing food often a bit stressful. I am a vegan and I prefer very low sodium foods. That is not the way most people eat, so it's stressful if I have to bring food and stressful if I feel pressure to eat foods "normal" people bring. Zoom sessions take that kind of stress right out of the picture. Literally!
I am definitely grateful for the opportunities it creates in that regard. My worry is less about individuals who actively engage with it due to legetimate limitations and more about the societal push toward a more disembodied existence, even to the point of now replacing virtual communication with AI in fields like counseling, caregiving, etc. In a culture where lonliness and isolation are already at epidemic proportions, I think it may be more important than ever to resist the lure of comfort and find ways of being together again around more diverse tables where we can learn to accept one another without the pressure to conform that you so rightly raise.
Trust me, as an off the charts introvert myself, I relate to where you are coming from. And yet oddly the more things move to the screen, the more I find myself wanting to be out in public.
Yeah, I need in-person get togethers too. And what you say about AI counseling is so true. I enjoy interacting with AI, but so far it doesn't make me feel like I've been communicating with anyone truly alive. Maybe someday, though I'm sketical.
Intriguing observations regarding the differences between online and inperson communication and community. Before STAR TREK, I remember my father reading DICK TRACY comics to me in the late 1950s. Dick Tracy wore a watch that provided both audio and video. As a child, the possibility of such a device seemed like science fiction. Back in the 1950s, a rotary dial wall phone (usually connected with a party line consisting of several nearby neighbors) was the only phone we knew. Black and white television was the only video screen we knew unless we paid money to attend an actual color film at the "picture show" in the nearby city.
Online gatherings and meetings are not the same as real flesh and blood get togethers. You and your grandmother couldn't have hugged via a Zoom screen! But for those for whom inperson interactions are not possible, isn't Zoom wonderful and amazing!! Not only can I see and talk with friends and relatives thousands of miles away, but I participate in daily Zoom meditation groups that include meditators from all over the planet. Amazing!
Absolutely. I definitely agree that it opens wonderful opportunities for small groups and global connections. But it's lacking when it comes to larger gatherings where personal connection is lost.
I’m trying to imagine the Upper Room experience as a Zoom meeting. It’s hard to see the tongues of fire or feel the mighty wind coming out of a screen. The reality of the physical coming together of all the people welcomed the Holy Spirit in.
There is a need for both means of gathering, but the ease of the screen should never be a reason to neglect the power of being present with each other.
Love the upper room image... There is definitely something tangible about the experience that we can never fully replace online.
Very interesting. You're so right that it makes large group get-togethers unwieldly if not undoable. But as an introvert, I find I don't like large group interactions much if at all. The smaller the group, the better I like it in general, all the way down to 2. The larger the group, the more pressure there is to conform, or at least it feels that way to me. One on one, it's easier to just be me. I also love that Zoom allows getting together without driving anywhere. And that it connects me with people who live far away and sometimes with people I might never interact with in the "real" world. So I like Zoom pretty well. It isn't perfect, and the reason I like it reflects my own personal limitations. But being in the presence of others is definitely a richer experience in that it allows for exchange of information that doesn't come across in Zoom, like body language (below the screen), smells, very faint sounds, sharing food. Though another limitation of mine makes sharing food often a bit stressful. I am a vegan and I prefer very low sodium foods. That is not the way most people eat, so it's stressful if I have to bring food and stressful if I feel pressure to eat foods "normal" people bring. Zoom sessions take that kind of stress right out of the picture. Literally!
I am definitely grateful for the opportunities it creates in that regard. My worry is less about individuals who actively engage with it due to legetimate limitations and more about the societal push toward a more disembodied existence, even to the point of now replacing virtual communication with AI in fields like counseling, caregiving, etc. In a culture where lonliness and isolation are already at epidemic proportions, I think it may be more important than ever to resist the lure of comfort and find ways of being together again around more diverse tables where we can learn to accept one another without the pressure to conform that you so rightly raise.
Trust me, as an off the charts introvert myself, I relate to where you are coming from. And yet oddly the more things move to the screen, the more I find myself wanting to be out in public.
Yeah, I need in-person get togethers too. And what you say about AI counseling is so true. I enjoy interacting with AI, but so far it doesn't make me feel like I've been communicating with anyone truly alive. Maybe someday, though I'm sketical.
Intriguing observations regarding the differences between online and inperson communication and community. Before STAR TREK, I remember my father reading DICK TRACY comics to me in the late 1950s. Dick Tracy wore a watch that provided both audio and video. As a child, the possibility of such a device seemed like science fiction. Back in the 1950s, a rotary dial wall phone (usually connected with a party line consisting of several nearby neighbors) was the only phone we knew. Black and white television was the only video screen we knew unless we paid money to attend an actual color film at the "picture show" in the nearby city.
Online gatherings and meetings are not the same as real flesh and blood get togethers. You and your grandmother couldn't have hugged via a Zoom screen! But for those for whom inperson interactions are not possible, isn't Zoom wonderful and amazing!! Not only can I see and talk with friends and relatives thousands of miles away, but I participate in daily Zoom meditation groups that include meditators from all over the planet. Amazing!
Absolutely. I definitely agree that it opens wonderful opportunities for small groups and global connections. But it's lacking when it comes to larger gatherings where personal connection is lost.