I recently listened to a podcast on business that talked about marketing trends. One trend that is selling hot right now is making private information public.
“Think about LinkedIn. Yes, they turned job promotions and unemployment announcements into assets that you share with everyone…. What about Twitch? They took gaming from a solo gamer activity to a spectator sport. And TikTok, they turned journaling and confessions from something very private into a public act for your followers to see. Robinhood [the investment app] [will make] a feature so that you can really easily share your portfolio and your trades on Instagram, TikTok and X. (https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/123997427).
Social media has hedged its bet for success on the need for humans to consume the private information of other humans. It is viral. We all want to see the awkward, squirmy, and squeamish moments that made others suffer, while enjoying second-hand embarrassment (or humor) from afar.
In Genesis 9, there is an interesting story of Noah and his son’s. After emerging from the ark after 110 days at sea, Noah got drunk. And then he got naked—in the privacy of his own tent. But one of his sons wandered in and found him. And then that son went and told his two brothers what he saw. The two brothers entered the tent, and, walking backward so as not to look upon their father’s nakedness, covered their father so he was not exposed. After coming to his senses, Noah cursed his son who had looked upon him naked and told his brothers.
It is an interesting story. And is has a valuable lesson today. We all love salacious gossip. Tea is what my daughter calls it—because someone ALWAYS spills. But, having just received some news about someone I dearly love, I can honestly say, some things are simply meant to be private, AND REMAIN THAT WAY!
What has become of us as humans that we revel in the debauchery of others? We acknowledge, support, and encourage the godless, and often pagan practices of the unrighteous around us. One’s sexual desires are a private matter. We as a culture have made this public. One’s personal failures are not an opportunity to hail the bravery of the offending party. These are personal issues that should be so embarrassing they are never spoken of. But that is not what we have become. We have so often cheered the public declaration of private matters that we have heaped shame upon ourselves. God forgive us for being so self-centered that literally EVERYTHING is about US!
Recently, I met a professor for coffee to discuss some opportunities in the education field. At no point did I wonder what gender he REALLY was, or what gender he preferred to have sexual intercourse with. These are private issues that simply DO NOT enter the thoughts of public discourse….unless we simply want to make them the central part of ALL public discourse. And that is exactly what social media has created. If you start losing followers, share some horrible private darkness from the darkest corners of your mental closet, and maybe your followers will stay. Sad really. We grasp at anything to keep control of the social lie that is our lives.
In days past, there were things deemed private enough they were never to be discussed in public. Gone are those days. “Transparency” beckons us to bear all. It is viewed as “being real” or “authentic,” when in reality it is just foolishness.
We all struggle with some sin, somewhere. Let the struggle remain, but don’t make it a public conversation.
The great Jewish thinker, Chofetz Chaim once said, “If you must sin, then dress in black and go to a distant city and sin to your hearts content. But do not profane the name of the Most High in the presence of His people.”
If you must sin, then sin. Just don’t make us all watch it. And may God have mercy on you and us all.