Too often, pastors rely on empty anti-tech cliches. “Get off social media and get in your Bible,” can only be said so many times.
Some people should get off social media, but not all. Social media can harm users, increasing distraction, anxiety, and depression, so abandoning it makes sense for some — but not for all.
In your church, you might have someone like Wes Huff, whose videos defending the historicity of the Bible have recently gone viral. People are commenting on these apologetics videos, saying that they have begun following Jesus thanks to him. His recent rise in popularity started with short-form vertical reaction videos that are now taking people to more substantive content. You likely want Wes to use social media more, not less.
However, posting content is different from consuming it. As Andy Crouch argued in Culture Makers, the best form of Christian activity for influencing others is creation.
But we need more than a simplistic “all or nothing” approach to the web, as if you must adopt a posture of either a digital Luddite or a digital missionary.
We must respect every Christian’s conscience, their freedom in Christ, and even the goods (albeit lesser goods) of digital distractions.
Should Christians spend more or less time on the social internet? It depends. It depends on how you answer these questions.
What Time Of Day?
Our moral virtue rises and falls depending on the time of day:
In a series of experiments, Maryam Kouchaki of Harvard and Isaac H. Smith of the University of Utah found that people were 20% to 50% more likely to lie, cheat, or be otherwise dishonest in the afternoon than in the morning.1
People are less likely to be morally upright in the afternoon. And this isn’t just a one-off study.
Many sages observe that morality is best practiced in the morning. To be sure, not the first thing in the morning. In one of the more humourous proverbs, we learn a good blessing should wait:
If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse. (Proverbs 27:14)
So, one aspect of social media advice is based on the time of day you use social media. Given how screens before bed negatively impact sleep and that poor sleep negatively impacts self-control, you probably shouldn’t have your phone right beside your bed. Likewise, in the middle of the afternoon, you need to be extra vigilant in guarding yourself from slacking in slothful scrolling.
One question I’d ask—whether to a 20-year-old student or a 35-year-old apologist—is: when do you use social media? What context do you find yourself in?
As I’ll describe later, people turn to technology to fill deeper relational needs with God, others, or the church. In what moments do you scroll?
What Are Your Goals For Social Media?
If you don’t have a goal for using social media that aligns with Scripture, you should likely delete your account. I’m serious.
Jesus Christ died for you. Through his work, your old self died with him, and you have now been raised in new life in Him. You have the power of God in you: a spirit of self-control, not sloth (see 2 Timothy 1:7).
So, act like it, in every moment of your life. Some use social media to get news, connect with friends, or for a quick laugh. While social media can’t give you the fullness of each of these goods, it can still be a place for such things in moderation.
Take some time, right now even, to write down what your goals are for each of the social apps on your phone. Do those goals align with Scripture? Perhaps in this process, you will realize you should unfollow some accounts and follow others. Perhaps you will realize you need to be more active online. Or perhaps you will realize that the stress and sinful temptations in these apps are not worth it.
Are You Growing in Virtue?
Do you increasingly practice self-control? Wisdom? And a natural inclination toward doing good? Do you exemplify courage, the denial of self, and the love of your neighbour across your daily life? If you have developed these virtues by the grace of God, then I am much more likely to recommend social media to you.
Short-form video content, such as YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels, tends to negatively affect me, so I avoid it. But Bluesky Social and Twitter (or “X”) have been more positive than negative: I’ve met Christian scholars, received feedback on ideas, and accessed information I might not have otherwise.
That said, I shouldn’t assess my growth in virtue alone. As Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Study after study has shown that people overestimate their moral virtue.
In other words, you likely think you’re better at using social media than you are. We must be wary of false self-congratulatory social media use. Are those one or two (or five) hours per day honestly helping you grow in virtue?
To guard against your naive heart: ask your spouse, friends, and at least one of your pastors/elders. Ask what they think of your social media habits. Ask for their honesty and trust their guidance.
Are You Building Relationships?
The Apostle John recognized that his joy would not be complete unless he met with his audience “face to face” (see 2 John 14). Some individuals naturally isolate themselves. They leave church immediately after the benediction, they do not stop to chat with their neighbours when shoveling snow, and they wear headphones in the grocery store.
These isolating individuals will still desire relationships, as all people do, but they might numb this need through online avenues. The social internet connects our natural interests to others. But it is not a fully human encounter when the only thing we touch is a screen. Embodied relationships provide deeper joy.
Last year, there were 1.6 million searches for “AI girlfriend.” Many people feel isolated from the world and have grown accustomed to digitally mediated interactions — turning to inhuman machines for relational bonds. Social media has a similar pull. While there are real human beings in your feed (at least some of the time), an individual who only has digital relationships is fooling themselves if they say they are not alone.
You can use technology to build relationships. The Apostle John did this through letters. He wrote so that “our joy may be complete” (see 1 John 4). We can communicate truth and love through digital mediums and grow our joy in one another. But that must not be our only medium. We were made in the image of God, and God’s preferred medium for communication is human flesh.
Are You Worshipping God?
God wants you to grow in wisdom. He wants you to be fully convinced in your own mind with every decision you make. He wants your daily decisions to reflect your whole-life worship of him. Do not give God some of your life; give him every moment, even your time on social media.
As you reflect on when you use social media, why you use it, and who you use it with, your conscience will help guide you. And if you are growing in wisdom and love of others, you won’t be afraid to discuss your social media use with other Christians, and you won’t hesitate to ask God to guide you through prayer.
The worst mistake is using social media thoughtlessly, letting it use you. As Tony Reinke has said, we become like what we like — we are each growing into a kind of person, and our social media habits form us in certain directions.
Worship God. Thank him for the gift of technology. And ask yourself: how might I better grow in the virtues of Jesus in how I use technology?
[1] From this HBR article which is based upon this journal article. “This morning morality effect was mediated by decreases in moral awareness and self-control in the afternoon.”
