(RNS) Being active on Facebook and Twitter, I find, is like standing in the middle of Times Square and actually hearing what the crowds are saying. Or at least trying to hear.

It isn’t exactly voyeuristic — who expects public venues like Facebook and Twitter to be private? — but it certainly means hearing comments, thoughts, interests and vexations that were just background noise before.

It’s probably like the noise that government snoops capture and try to filter for signs of danger. Or like the global rush of prayer that ascends to God, which we hope God sorts into action items.

Who knew that people had all this on their minds? Anyone who thinks all people are alike, or that we come in just a few standard packages, or that all Republicans think this and all Democrats that, or that there is such a thing as a “gay community” or a “black community,” or that even the narrowest slice of humanity is remotely uniform, need only spend a few hours wading in the relentless torrents of “News Feeds,” “Status Updates” and “Tweets.”

There was, for example, the Facebook “friend” who went ballistic during the selection of host cities for upcoming World Cup. He began frothing at the evil of Qatar, and when I ventured an observation that I hadn’t found Qatar that way, he blasted me with a dozen Tweets of escalating venom.

Or the English woman who has an unquenchable grudge against the staff at The Huffington Post. Or the priest who condemned to hell anyone who took down their Christmas tree before Epiphany; the proud father who keeps us abreast of his son’s football team; dozens of people posting personal-health alerts; and the daily chatting of people who share common interests.

The variety is astonishing. After the occasional 10 minutes of perusing posts, I come away smiling, grimacing, confused and encouraged — all at once.

When I made the decision last summer to get active in social media, I figured I would need to learn a new language, but that I could master tools, conventions and lingo without much difficulty.

Was I wrong!

There is no single paradigm for using Facebook or Twitter. All I can do is find my voice and make sure I speak my way, not the way of the last five posts I read.

In a conformist and fearful age, I applaud the broad determination I see to be unique, to speak candidly, to resist being stifled. I’m sure the control-minded will try to shut it all down — in the guise of preserving freedom, no doubt — but for now people are wonderfully ornery.

My list of “friends” and “Tweeps” tends toward liberals and active Christians. So I am not hearing from anti-Obama “birthers” and conspiracy buffs or from places like Arizona where the last restraints of civilization are being cast off.

If I truly heard it all, I’d have trouble sleeping.

I will say this: as confusing as the mix can be, I’d rather hear it than not hear it. I’d rather know who my neighbors are than not. I’m pleased to see that humankind’s push toward freedom is as strong as ever.

(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus” and founder of the Church Wellness Project. His website is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com. Follow Tom on Twitter @tomehrich.)