Chris Martin has written an important book: The Wolf in Their Pockets: 13 Ways the Social Internet Threatens the People You Lead. According to Martin, social media changes how we think and feel, and also influences what we believe.
“Our relationship with the social internet is profoundly changing us, often away from Christlikeness, not toward it,” he writes. “The stories I have heard from pastors, parents, and other Christian leaders are heartbreaking. Pastors are watching church members turn into different, unrecognizable people. Parents weep as their children slide into addiction and distress, and they watch their time with their children slowly slip away.”
It’s not hard to spot the problems with social media. Our use of social media can become compulsive and lead us to distraction, FOMO, and feelings of distraction. It can easily become a battleground. I’m often discouraged when I witness the nastiness of tweets and comments, particularly those written by people who claim to follow Jesus.
In the States, the Surgeon General has issued an advisory about the effects of social media on youth mental health. Social media can carry “a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents,” he warns.
Social media is here to stay. We won’t be able to escape it, but we must learn to manage it. It’s perhaps one of the greatest discipleship issues of our day. If Martin is right that the social internet tends to move us away from Christlikeness, we must pay attention to how we use this technology.
Social media should come with a warning label: using this technology may distract you, harm your mental health, expose you to hatred and abuse, and lead you away from Christlikeness.
Despite this, I’m still mostly grateful for social media, at least when we use it well.
My wife used to work for a great company. Every year, they gathered smart people in a room and shared ideas. My wife would come home excited and energized by the quality of ideas shared by really smart people who gathered to discuss big issues.
When she left that company, she felt like she’d left something special. How could she ever find a collection of really smart people sharing important ideas, and then be able to interact with them?
At its best, that’s what the social internet offers us. In her first email to employees, the new CEO of Twitter writes, “Have you ever been talking with someone particularly insightful and thought, You’re brilliant-everybody should get the chance to hear this. Or, I’m learning so much from you-can we do this again?” I understand that she’s writing as an apologist for Twitter, but her email is on to something. At its best, social media allows us to find brilliant people, learn from them, and interact with them — providing we find the right people.
But there’s a shortcut. Find a great, godly person you respect, and follow them. Then look at who they follow, and follow some of them. Gradually you will build a network of influences who are helping you become more godly. At the same time, ignore and block those who distract or pull you away from Christ.
I opened Twitter today and looked through some tweets I’ve liked recently. I found a link to the best article I’ve read this year, a quote from Augustine, a warning against leading a frantic, busy, and noisy life as a pastor, and a lesson from a godly old man. Each one of these is good for my soul.
Social media is dangerous. It can lead you away from God. But, used well, it can also lead you to godly, smart people who love God and can help you follow him well. You don’t have to use it, but if you use it wisely, it can serve you well.