Religion. Age. Race. Economic status. Facebook?

On Jan. 22, author and activist Shane Claiborne spoke at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro about “Tearing Down the Walls” that divide us.

During his presentation Claiborne  delivered poignant stories from the Palestine/Israel border, the U.S./Mexico border, and from his ongoing fight for the rights of the homeless in Philadelphia. Through these examples he challenged listeners to fight against the countless physical and social barriers that separate humans from one another. This is a lesson most have heard many times before and will likely hear again.

But then Claiborne made an unconventional move that struck a chord with the majority of the college students in the crowd. He explored social media as a new wall that can generate detrimental effects in today’s society.

Sure, some evidence proves that social media can act as a catalyst for change. The Egyptian revolution in January 2011 reportedly started with a simple Facebook post and picked up steam with the use of Twitter and YouTube. Recently, thousands of users on blog and social networking sites successfully joined together to stand against and stop PIPA and SOPA from being signed.

Though these extraordinary circumstances are worth mentioning, it’s important to also consider the value of our daily uses of social media. Time spent on sites like Facebook and Twitter inhibits the actualizing of genuine relationships and radical change that can only occur away from the computer.

We’ve grown to believe that the Internet is the ultimate gateway into a world full of possibility, but it’s important to realize that it can also yield the reverse effect.

It’s a lot easier to “friend” someone on Facebook or “like” an organization’s page than it is to actually develop and nurture a relationship or to go out and offer your time and skills to an organization. If we’re not careful, our dependence on the Internet and social media platforms can diminish the impact that we all can have, whether it be on one individual, the Guilford community, Greensboro, or the world.

Here at The Guilfordian, we’re working to establish a bigger online presence with a brand new website (www.guilfordian.com), increased activity on Facebook (TheGuilfordian) and Twitter (@theguilfordian), and a social justice blog (http://guilcosojo.wordpress.com/).

While we certainly aim for our readers to engage and interact using these online platforms, we do not intend for this interaction to be confined within the walls of the World Wide Web. Instead, we hope that our articles, videos and photos encourage you comment, “like” or “retweet,” but also further compel you to step out from behind the computer and make a difference using more than a mouse and keyboard.