Caribbean style
Quite often the conversation, either on or off-line, turns to the toxic nature of the digital space. Last year I was asked about it on Premier Radio, and said what I always do – namely that if Christians want the digital realm to be more positive they need to stay there and make it so. (You can here some of that interview here)
It would seem that the Caribbean island of Grenada, with its tiny population of under 100,00, was there ahead of me. In June last year they passed a law making it illegal to slander other people on Twitter or Facebook. However, they have also made the law enforcers accountable in the digital sphere. As you can see from the smiling photo of the police officer below, each member of the police force bears their Twitter name on their uniform (and also on the side of their police car).
Image: globalpost.com
There is a lesson here, I think. Those of us who call for an ethical, authentic Christian presence online must be prepared to stand up and be counted. I have had one or two new followers recently whose bold claims in their profiles beggar belief. One particularly notable one was the self-portrait as a “one man wrecking machine, amateur theologian, overthinker, ambitious and ready to take it to the man.” In the end it is our Twitter stream, rather than our Twitter profile, which shows people who we really are.
I used to love the Malibu adverts with their silly depictions of a laid-back Caribbean lifestyle. The one below seems especially dated now, given the number of people across the world, doubtless including Grenada, who have the latest mobile phones. Maybe, though, they have a better idea how to use them responsibly than the rest of us? Enjoy…
