Why Facebook is The Watchtowers Biggest Enemy

LostGeneration

I just read through the Zuckerberg letter to potential investors about the upcoming IPO. Whether you love or hate FB, its interesting to consider how much of a problem it is for the WT. Here are a couple of paragraphs from the letter that I really liked: Full letter is here

At Facebook, we're inspired by technologies that have revolutionized how people spread and consume information. We often talk about inventions like the printing press and the television - by simply making communication more efficient, they led to a complete transformation of many important parts of society. They gave more people a voice. They encouraged progress. They changed the way society was organized. They brought us closer together.

Today, our society has reached another tipping point. We live at a moment when the majority of people in the world have access to the internet or mobile phones - the raw tools necessary to start sharing what they're thinking, feeling and doing with whomever they want. Facebook aspires to build the services that give people the power to share and help them once again transform many of our core institutions and industries.

And one more snippet here:

Personal relationships are the fundamental unit of our society. Relationships are how we discover new ideas, understand our world and ultimately derive long-term happiness.

Its easy to see here how Zuckerberg sees FB as a tool to help people communicate, to exchange ideas, information, etc. Contrasted to the WT mission of isolation, hate, and death to opposers via Armageddon, its easy to see who the winner will be long term.

Some of the ridiculous articles recently about shunning DFd family in all ways possible I think are targeted at FB users. Its easy for a JW to see how their DF'd relative is doing through the internet, and of course they see well adjusted people living their lives and - GASP- being happy despite living outside the walls of the Watchtower.

I don't have any delusions that they WT is going down in a ball of flames or anything like that. And I'm not saying FB is out to get the WT. But the WT is running scared of ALL information that flows freely, and there is no way to stop that now.

undercover

I was a hold out to FB. Don't really care to socialize through a computer program. But I started to realize that not just people, but companies, restaurants, bars, clubs, bands, etc. were using FB heavily as a tool to keep their fanbase and clientele informed. I was missing out on this.

In the time I've been using it, I've seen the power of being connected by it. (I've even been 'friended' by old JW friends. Been 'unfriended' by a couple as well. Oh well.)

And I think you're right, the WTS has to be hating it. That's why they've warned about it's use. The more indoctrinated, and older, dubs obey and avoid it. But the youth and those who have never known a world without Internet or social media, they will not shun it. They will embrace it every much as our grandparents embraced radio, as much as our parents and we embraced television and as much as we and our children embraced computers.

Just as they lost the battle of television, computers and the Internet, they will lose this battle as well. No, it will not be the stab to the heart that kills the beast, but it is blow that will cause them to lose control over the next generation of JWs.

Information is what will rob them of control and the ability to keep fear foremost in a JWs mind.

jam

LG agree, I do not have A facebook account but my

sons do. Both are out and family members that are JWs

and others friends of theirs who are stilll JWs regularly

communicate with them. My daughter who have I not spoken

to in 10 yrs or more, her daughter ask my son can she be

his facebook friend, they live in A different state, she is 13yrs old

my son is 41yrs old.

sir82

Some of the ridiculous articles recently about shunning DFd family in all ways possible I think are targeted at FB users.

Absolutely - I hadn't made that connection but it makes perfect sense.

This week's service meeting had a rehash of 2 pretty big "beware of social networking" Awake articles over the past 8 months. They hit it at every assembly & convention too.

Their whole paradigm is based on secret information, and restricting access of such information to those who "don't deserve it".

Now, there are 850 million FB users, and hundreds of millions more internet users, who have access to elders' manuals, BOE letters, recordings of judicial committee hearings, "apostate" websites, etc.

First world growth will come to a screeching halt in about 15-20 years time. The WTS will begin its long, slow, painful death then.

LostGeneration

UC- I'm actually still a holdout..lol. Sometimes people ask me if I'm on it and a say "no" they look at me kinda funny, like when I used to tell them I was a JW. I'm gonna have to break down and get on, if only for business.

Sir- I think it is even closer on growth moving to 0% and then declining. Maybe 5 years is my guess. The other problem is causes is JWs getting into pissing matches over people's conduct on FB. I'd like to hear more stories about JWs tattling on each other because of FB conduct, leading to more headaches for elders.

Fernando

Thankfully it seems ignorance is becoming harder to sell with all the competition out there!

metatron

I'm a bit contrarian on this subject. I think they are behind the curve, largely lost, and stuck with an illusory ivory tower viewpoint.

They hardly know what to say except to condemn. The net effect is for young people - and increasingly all others- to just tune it all out.

Their doctrine is a slap-dash patchwork of 'whatever we say currently'. They barely appreciate the power or influence of Facebook or much else related to the internet.

If you don't think they are utter fools, lost in the past and unaware of "spiritual dangers" to warn the flock about, consider this: currently there are at least two TV shows that caricature Jesus as a weak, ineffectual cartoon character, as ridiculed. They don't seem to know about it or care or even mention it.

metatron

thetrueone

The free and open information on the entire Net about the WTS. should really be seen as potentially the biggest enemy toward the WTS now.

Information contained in the organizations own literature that was once conveniently removed or abolished by the WTS itself by can now be readily

viewed by anyone. FaceBook in itself is just playing a small role in this in my opinion.

wha happened?

yea I heard the dribble from a JW about how the CO gave this negative talk about facebook and similar sites. He went on and on about how Facebook can use your information and picture for anything they want. So I asked him what facebook would use his picture for, if anything. He admitted that they probably don't have a use for him. I said right, because what the CO is spreading is just urban myth. I then went on to relate how back in 1987, the CO gave a veru negative review of VCR's. Going on and on about bringing bad association into your home. Well other than the fact that this medium is now obsolete, most JW's had them in the 90's and I would say, most did ok.

He didn't like it so the conversation concluded.

They hate facebook. Internet chatting is demonized in every assembly now.

Aussie Oz

This week's service meeting had a rehash of 2 pretty big "beware of social networking" Awake articles over the past 8 months. They hit it at every assembly & convention too.

Fortunatly, the ones that 'need to hear the talk' are not listening!

Teenagers zone out at meetings and all this nonsense goes over their heads...and they log into FB every night they can.

Mine worship a trinity: wikipedia, FB and google.

Oz

Why Facebook is The Watchtowers Biggest Enemy

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