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Francine Stein passed away at the age of 83, and her daughter was worried no one would come to the funeral service so she put out a request on social media, inviting strangers to come. About 30 people responded to the call for help and became the mourners and pallbearers at her funeral. Rabbi Elchanan…

When a person dies there are laws covering how their property is passed on to relatives. The growing use of social media has made some issues of inheritance more confusing. Companies like Google and Facebook contend laws approved decades ago that prevent them from releasing electronic memories unless…

Do you want to conquer envy and covetousness? According to a study from Denmark’s Happiness Research Institute, maybe you could give up Facebook. The study found that people who gave up Facebook for just one week reported suffering less envy and being “more satisfied with their lives” than those who…

According to the Center for Disease Control, since 1999 the suicide rate increased about 1 percent each year before accelerating to 2 percent annually from 2006 to 2014. Suicide increased among all age groups. Besides economic troubles, the increased “social isolation” due to family breakdown and divorce…

With opportunities for the public to comment on the quality of public services through social media and feedback apps, restaurants become accountable to the general public. They also can be victims of undeserved bad reviews. While it is usually impossible to prove a bad review is not deserved, the restaurant…

In an effort to allow a greater range of responses, Facebook has added new emojis for users in some countries to use. In Ireland and Spain, users can now use a throbbing heart for “love,” a fuming face for “anger,” a teary-eyed “Sad,” and others. Facebook calls the new symbols “Reactions” and modeled…

Jesus told His disciples to take the Gospel to the entire world. Two thousand years later, the world is connected like never before, but hundreds of millions of people still do not have access to the Gospel in their heart language. Louann Hunt, who works with a ministry called Faith Comes By Hearing…

According to a new government report, 50% of U.S. homes do not have or do not use a landline, relying on their cellular phones. That figure increases to 60% among young adults. The study, will aid the Center for Disease Control adapt its data collection program. The CDC was using data collected exclusively…

Nine out of ten younger millennials, aged 18 to 24, check their phones at least once an hour, if not “constantly.” The Bank of America mobile trend report says the same group is more likely than any other age group to sleep with their phones next to them in bed. The report found an interesting contradiction…

The cell-phone video of a woman paying for diapers for a cash strapped young mother went viral after another shopper who witnessed the act of kindness and put it on his Facebook page. Carol Flynn had just paid for her purchase and was preparing to leave the store, when she overheard a young woman behind…

Utah Valley University is providing students a lane designated for texting while walking. The lanes are painted neon green on the stairs to the gym and were intended as a light hearted way to brighten up the space and get student’s attention. A picture of the lanes marked for runners, walkers, and texters…

A study by the University of Illinois has found that Christians are happier and more socially connected than atheists are on Twitter. The team that produced the study says they looked at data from almost 2 million tweets from 16,000 users, and looked specifically at the differences in the way the two…

A study conducted by Kent University in England suggests that people who constantly check their cell phone are not busier or popular than everyone else, they are probably just dealing with anxiety. Researchers polled 500 students about their phone usage and found that when the respondents spent more…

In study published in the online journal PLOS ONE, suggests that when using social media, people need to be aware that the prevailing mood online is likely to influence them. The author of the study, James Fowler, professor of medical genetics and political science at the University of California says…

In Flickering Pixels, Shane Hipps writes, “Digital social networking inoculates people against the desire to be physically present with others in real social networks—networks like a church or a meal at someone’s home. Being together becomes nice but nonessential.” --Flickering Pixels, 115 Acts 2:46…

A new survey indicates a growing number of people are less attracted to social media sites such as Facebook. The poll conducted by Reuters and the Ipsos research firm found roughly a third of social media users are not excited about the experience, and the sentiment seems to be growing. The survey found…

In The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, Skye Jethani writes, “The appeal of social networking sites is the ability to simultaneously have hundreds of “friends” without actually risking the emotional investment of a real human relationship. As a result, relying on these…

Applications for cell phones serve many purposes. Now, apps can help a user avoid an unwanted conversation, or get out of a bad date. A survey by the Pew research group found that 13 percent of cell phone users reported deflecting awkward conversations by faking phone calls. A new app called, Fake-a…

Yahoo video clip news revealed that a postman threw a parcel box into the addressee's house compound and the antique contents were damaged. His negligence is on display for the world to see. The same happens when we make an angry post on Facebook. What we do in the privacy of our living room suddenly…

Cutting age technology has delivered to us a world that is perpetually connected. Now any person at any time can potentially update every one of their friends about their most current activity. Facebook and Twitter have opened the floodgates of electronic socializing. The Rev. Franklin Graham has even…

An author claims that if famous author Jane Austen were alive today, she would more than a best-selling author. She would be an avid blogger, active on Facebook, and possibility even tweeting every day. Laurel Ann Nattress, editor of a collection of Austen-type novels says she has studied the famous…

His church uses social networking websites to reach people with their worship services, but Pastor Kerry Shook recently lead thousands of people around the country to observe a fast from Facebook and Twitter. Shook said he wanted to do something drastic to wake people up, and knew many would find going…

PRAYER Alon Nil was surprised to see how effectively Iranians used the social networking site, Twitter to share information and photos with the outside world during the post election unrest in that country. Nil thought there must be an infinite number of ways to use the site, and benefit the people of…

EVANGELISM Ever since Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples, they have been working to use available technology to spread the gospel. It began with word of mouth through preaching and witnessing. Later, the printed word, radio and television became tools to tell the good news. Now the technology…

HAPPINESS A recent study of the activities of happy people contains a result that may be surprising to many. The study collected data from the last 34 years on social activity and media usage. What do happy people do? Well, they read, they socialize, and they go to church. That is not surprising to those…