The safety shield of the internet

My son started posting videos on youtube just a week ago; he's really enjoying it and so I'm supporting his efforts but I asked him today if he has shared any of his videos with his friends, 

he said "no, I am scared." 

I know the impact of pursuing "likes" and "subscribers" so we talk about it incessantly, I tell him his value is not derived from on screen likes or the number of dislikes; I know he hears me. 

But he challenged me to whoever can get to the first 10,000 subscribers so we are constantly checking; I have all of 1 subscriber and 4 videos, he has 30 videos. 

Pretty cool and pretty fun but beholden to that comment is a glimpse of the deep dark world the internet has allowed us so many of us to hide, to be "seen" but not really, to see only what we want others to see, and to be seen by people we cannot have meaningful relationships with. 

So as we start out this year, I hope we rise to the challenges of our day, pull back the covers we have allowed to hide us, be vulnerable and build a community right where we are. 



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