Social Media or Scripture?
The Surgeon General recently released a mental health advisory regarding social media. One website reviewed the advisory, entitled “Is Social Media Driving Young People Crazy?”
Knowing how to respond as a Christian to such an advisory is difficult because so many competing factors are involved. There is no doubt that social media is causing a mental health crisis—which is just another way of saying a spiritual crisis. It is not just a problem for young people but for people of all ages. At first, I wondered if the advisory would be a pretext for more censorship, but its recommendations focused on limiting social media access for children and had recommendations for governmental policy-makers, tech companies, families, and young people themselves.
Anyone who works with young people on any level knows that this generation’s young people are a mess. There are some kids who are doing well, but they are the children whose parents worked hard to provide a healthy spiritual environment during the COVID crisis and guarded their children against the rise of social media domination. Those who regularly consume social media, and that is most of them, are in crisis.
I would assert that the social media crisis is not limited at all to young people any more than drug addiction, tobacco, or alcohol problems are limited to young people. This is a crisis of humanity. Not only are our minds being turned to mush, but our thinking is transforming in subtle ways that we do not understand. The algorithms of TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube keep feeding us just the types of things we want to see in very short but extremely effective doses. They keep us flipping images without regard to time, sleep, other responsibilities, or even relationships. Typical young people and adults view thousands of reels a day.
I am not writing this to make Christians feel guilty, I am writing to appeal to the wise, Spirit-filled process by which we make life decisions. After all, we only have this one life to invest for eternity.
Here are the key questions Christians should be asking regarding consuming social media.
Where do you get your counsel? How much time do you spend on TikTok, YouTube shorts, Instagram, or other forms of quick-turn social media? Is it cutting into your sleep time? Is it cutting into your work time? Is social media taking away from the time you should be spending with people like your spouse, children, co-workers, church friends, people should be discipline, and more? How is your social media impacting your view of the world around you, your view of God, and your view of others? Are you feeling anxious, depressed, or angry more than you normally would? Do you spend more time on social media than in personal Bible reading and prayer?
The Bible has an answer to the social media crisis—almost as if scripture were written for this moment.
It’s about your sleep.
Psalms 63:6-8 says, When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.
I am convinced that one of the most basic impacts of social media is that people are so addicted, that they keep swiping when they should be sleeping. The lack of sleep results in depression, anxiety, weight problems, lack of productivity, anger, and much more. The Psalmist found peace in meditating on the Lord at night as sleep would come. Psalm 4:8 indicates that focusing on God, rather than social media, at sleep time is an important and truly renewing spiritual discipline.
It’s about your time.
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3)
We need to be thinking about God all the time. We should be in a constant spirit of prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The algorithm-based social media experience keeps us from focusing on God for long periods. I am not trying to be legalistic here. I don’t see anything wrong with reading a book, watching a game, or other healthy entertainment for a believer. But the present social media experience is almost all-consuming. Like alcohol for the alcoholic, many use it to disengage from the discouragements and disappointments of reality. Others use video games the same way. The problem is that, just like alcohol, the “cure” makes the condition worse.
It’s about the unique content it feeds you.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2)
It’s not just about time but it is also about the type of content we consume. Social media algorithms are uniquely designed to feed the flesh. The flesh, that remnant of sin within me that represents the old man, makes me linger a few seconds longer on an inappropriate image or video. That hesitation triggers the algorithm to feed me more and more of the content most uniquely tempting to me. It focuses on my most tender spiritual weakness.
The nature of modern social media is a perfect storm of personalized content designed to drive me to mental and spiritual confusion. I am not saying it is all evil, but is viewing it as we do wise?
Paul told the Thessalonians to put everything to the test.
Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Paul told us what we should think about.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8
For the audio version of this article, click here: Social Media or Scripture? – the Proclaim & Defend Podcast