The "Fade" - Evaluating A New Phenomenon

by slimboyfat 18 Replies latest jw friends

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  slimboyfat

  To what extent has the growth of the "fade" been facilitated by Internet forums such as this?

  Sure there were people who chose to fade in the pre-Internet era, simply by withdrawing themselves, gradually involving themselves with non-Witnesses to a greater extent, or getting in touch with other ex-Witnesses covertly through the convention system/telephone and mailing support network that used to be more important before the advent of the Internet. So the "fade" is not an invention of the Internet era, not en entirely "new phenomenon".

  But I think it is a fair proposition to suggest that forums such as this have encouraged more to do the "fade" than was previously the case. Whereas someone might have kept going to the meetings after no longer believing simply due to a lack of alternatives, nowadays the possibility of opening up new social networks with ex-Witnesses via the Internet has probably encouraged a few in that position to stop attending meetings altogether who might not have otherwise done so.

  Conversely there are those who reach a point where they would leave regardless of whether they enjoyed online support or had to go it alone locally as in the pre-Internet era. However, whereas such ones may have disassociated publically in the days before the Internet, I would suggest that many in such a position now don't see any need to put themselves through that experience of disassociation when they witness how others have successfully "faded" on forums such as this.

  There is also the other group of unintentional faders who just find themselves drifting out of the Witnesses over time without any kind of strategy involved. It also seems reasonable to suggest that this category of faders are more likely to come into contact with information critical of their former religion than those who drifted in the pre-Internet era. Does this mean that fewer such ones are likely to return, and what effect might such ones be having on those active Witnesses with whom they still have occasional contact?

  So the burning questions are:

  1. To what extent has the Internet increased the incidence of the intentional "fade".

  2. What effect is this having on the efficacy of the apostate movement?

  3. And what effect has the increase in the incidence of the "fade" had on local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses?

  Just casting around some ideas...

  Slim
• 

  troubled mind

  Well if you want to take a count I'll raise my hand . If it were not for websites like this I would have never known there were others that had thoughts like me . I would still be miserable, attending the KH.
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  CyrusThePersian

  3. And what effect has the increase in the incidence of the "fade" had on local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses?

  Not so much the increase, but the quality of the fade is what's important. In the old, pre-internet days, a fader was almost certain to come back into the fold at some point. The old "Where else can I go?" philosophy. That's all changing now, thanks to the internet. There ARE other places to go now. Not only do Ex-JW meet-ups and internet groups offer therapeutic encouragement but they also give advice on social alternatives so that these lost souls who have been stifled, sheltered JWs all their lives can now open up to the big wonderful world out there.

  CyrusThePersian
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  blondie

  I don't think I have ever seen it stated that doing "the fade" was a new phenomenon with JWs. But the internet can facilitate it with helpful suggestions by people who know from experience and perhaps how elder bodies work internally. People find out more quickly that they are not the only one. It is more anonymous to contact ex-JW groups and to read information online.

  Blondie
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  kid-A

  We see the start of a precipitous drop in growth around the early 90s, when the internet truly started to become a global phenomenon. However, it is impossible to interpret this in the context of "fading". First, the WTS has not and will never release stats on faders because they dont represent a homogenous group. Some fade by not attending meetings at all and no service, some are partial faders who still make the odd appearance in field service and report hours.

  Finally, we cant know for certain the underlying factors for fading. For many, its simply a matter of boredom and apathy with the JW lifestyle, not any crystallized intellectual opposition to the teachings or history of the JWs. For these faders, who may, in all possibility, represent the majority of faders (and we have no way of knowing this), the internet is not likely to have had any role in their fade out. For the other class of faders, who actively oppose the teachings of the dubs and are disturbed by the history of the WTS, the internet of course has been extremely beneficial.

  Having said that, my fade was sped up by doing good old fashioned research on my campus library and reading the works of Ray Franz and the Bottings, long before I had ever discovered the info on the web.
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  done4good

  I have a good friend of mine, (still a jw), who was inactive back in the '80s, for about 8 years. Even after returning to the org, he still had many ideas that did not agree with the society, to say the least. I was relatively new to the org, (recently baptized), at the time, and I remember finding much of his beliefs at the time to be a bit "off" compared with the jws. Anyway, if we fast forward about 20 years, he's an elder, and I'm out of the org. Much of the seeds of doubt were planted in me during those days. If he had the internet available to him at the time, I am 100% certain, he would not be in the org today.

  j
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  metatron

  What I find interesting about your graph is the almost linear decline since 1985. You could almost draw a straight line

  through the stats.

  metatron
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  jayhawk1

  That graph showing negative growth between 1975 and 1980 is a beautiful thing to see. Hopefully as we near 2014 negative growth will happen again as people realize 100 years since Jesus' invisable return has happened and Jesus has still not released the 4 winds or let the 3 other men of the Apocolypse go riding around or whatever Revelations says needs to happen next.
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  Anitar

  The internet has had a big influence that I've seen. It may not change the elderly congregation, but for school students and JWs who have a desk job, and have daily exposure to the internet have a much greater chance of researching the watchtower.
  
  The trick is to show them how to go online for practical use at first. JWs are taught the internet is a dangerous thing to be avoided, when in reality, it's just like any other source of information. The more you look, the more you learn. Show them how to find neutral information they can trust, that won't hurt anyone. Then when they're sure they can think for themselves (quite the oxymoron), they can start using Google, and the rest is history.
  
  Anitar
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  moomanchu

  1. To what extent has the Internet increased the incidence of the intentional "fade".

  2. What effect is this having on the efficacy of the apostate movement?

  3. And what effect has the increase in the incidence of the "fade" had on local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses?

  1. Don't know. Speaking for myself I was very apprehensive, scared, paranoid

  to even click on a con JW web site.

  2. ? Can't hurt.

  3. Hasn't the WTS published mags. recently because of concern of it happening more