It is remarkable to surf through social medial sites and realize how many connections exist from one person to another. As a newbie to the wide world of social media – I was awestruck by the numbers and the attention the connection quantity number receives. It almost seems like one big marathon of collecting and looping names. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone was in relationship or at least exchanged one email between each other other than an invite.

I am intrigued by this phenomenal daily as I continue to meet people who tell me they are connected with hundreds of cyber friends, but they never talk to them personally. In fact, they don’t even know most of them. Or even more extreme, it seems many are inviting people to be their friend just to build their connection or friend numbers. Candidly speaking, I think everyone has probably invited a friend here and there they had a desire to meet. We sometimes invite friends indirectly through professional networks. However looking at the bigger picture, it seems meaningless to have a 1000 faceless names of friends unless you are pitching a business or seeking a specific purposes.

Social media is an epic giant living in our devices that is mind boggling. It enables us with the unique ability to stay in touch with the huge world we live in and all who live here. We even have the ability to adjust and distance others as acquaintances or closer friends – whatever is more comfortable for us.

The only thing better than this is the ability to reach out and be in a real life personal relationship that might involve one on one face time. The importance of sharing experiences together must not be archived, but be intentional. Friendships and relationships help us to keep the hope in humanity alive and strong. Without the human factor, we are simply limited in the depth of how strong our relationships can grow and how they may impact our life.

We were designed by God to be relational. It’s our nature to want to connect and find friends. Not to have real friends is lonely and depressing. It may take more deliberate effort on our part, but it will be worth it. Asking ourselves the hard questions are essential to our growth as a person. Who are my friends and when did I speak to them last? How can I serve my friends and relationships better? Decide to be real and not a faceless name on someone’s list. Chances are – you have been thinking about this before you read this blog