{"id":27987,"date":"2021-11-18T18:51:08","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T02:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=27987"},"modified":"2021-11-18T18:51:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T02:51:08","slug":"a-new-mode-of-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-new-mode-of-community\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Mode of Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>How to Disappear<\/em> by Akiko Busch provides a manual of sorts for the reader, walking into how to embrace a life that is less outwardly seen and more inwardly at peace. Using personal experiences of how embracing nature and a less digitized world has impacted her life in various avenues, Busch advocates for less engagement in the technology that seems to track our every move. Housed under sociology, <em>How to Disappear<\/em> focuses heavily on the negative impacts of advanced technology and the obsession to stay visible to the outside world. From social media platforms to a refrigerator that is tethered to an internet signal, Busch is clear in her opinion that they are contributing towards a lack of privacy and simultaneously to the erosion of concern for that dwindling lack of invisibility.<\/p>\n<p>While I appreciate the emphasis on increased awareness of just how connected we are at any given moment and the urging for the reader to venture into more nature and an invisible lifestyle, I\u2019m not convinced that Busch lays out a thorough argument regarding the harm of technology. There is little acknowledgement throughout the book of the good that has come from technological advancements over the years. While I know this was published pre-COVID, I have been in awe since our global lockdowns how technology has been leveraged to keep families and communities connected in a time of forced isolation. I admit that my weekly screen time message is not a number I am proud of and I can easily mindlessly scroll, I have also participated in good that has come from a visible life. Just this week, I announced the return of my cancer diagnosis \u2013 and within hours could see and feel the gift of how a global community can rally towards support, love, and prayer. Likewise, when my son was sick a few months ago, it was the social media platforms and my desire to be visible \u2013 to live in community, even if digitally \u2013 that provided an opportunity for brothers and sisters in Christ around the world to plead with the Lord on his behalf. Had it not been for the technology or the desire to be seen, these episodes could have ventured into isolating and hopeless.<\/p>\n<p>As I think of my NPO, it will require a heavy usage of technology to be effective, and in essence, is only possible because of the web-based programs available around the globe. What I think Busch misses in her work is that it is perhaps more of a question of where our heart and desire align in regard to being visible or invisible by the world. At the same time as the motivation of pride or vanity propels someone to be seen, equally damaging can be the motivation of shame for the one that desires to fade into the background. I strongly believe as a follower of Christ that we were created in community and for community. While that looks dramatically different today than it did when I was just a teenager, I don\u2019t think either end of Busch\u2019s spectrum of lifestyle can be deemed all good or all bad. I think we would be better off to ask where the good is in technology and where the good is in disconnection from it and strive to actively engage in those. The fullness is likely found in an integration of both nature and society, in the same manner that Jesus did during his ministry. Deeply connected and intentional in the being seen and known, he was equally driven towards solace and communion with the Father. Just imagine how many lives have been positively impacted during COVID by the rapid presence of the church on the web, allowing so many who did not have previous access to a physical location to engage with truth, hope, and His promise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to Disappear by Akiko Busch provides a manual of sorts for the reader, walking into how to embrace a life that is less outwardly seen and more inwardly at peace. Using personal experiences of how embracing nature and a less digitized world has impacted her life in various avenues, Busch advocates for less engagement [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2125,2123,2004,2137,779],"class_list":["post-27987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-akiko-busch","tag-how-to-disappear","tag-lgp11","tag-nature","tag-society","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27988,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27987\/revisions\/27988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}