The Dangers of Social Media to the Christian Walk

 

Social media has been in my life since I was about 12 years old. In my opinion it was a mistake to get into social media at such a young age, and honestly at any age. It has added nothing beneficial to my life, but rather it has wasted precious time that could have been used for something greater. It is a huge distraction when it comes to the Christian life. I see myself spending more time with these apps than I do with God. The Christian videos can only do so much, but truly it is up to me to spend quality time with the Father so that I can become the man of God he wants me to be. I am calling myself out because it is a very dangerous state to be in, and millions of people are in the same situation. Looking to be social on social media only leads to dissatisfaction because nothing can replace the in person interactions. 

The Dangers: 

Social media has lost its social aspect and replaced it with an algorithm that feeds you absolute slop. The majority of online posts are the highlights of a person's day and do not show the hardships they may had to endure. This leads people to envy a fictional reality and compare themselves into utter despair. (2 Corinthians 1:9) The posts you see may not be coincidence because social media uses the algorithm to push controversial content in order to get a reaction out of you so that you spend more time on their app. It can lead to toxicity, the joy of Christ being stolen, and un Christlike tendencies. Especially in the Christian online sphere, I see numerous examples of people bashing on one another because of which tradition they belong to. This behavior leads to division within the body of Christ and it lacks love. It becomes easy to negate the person behind the screen and live a double life, one in person and one online. We seem to forget that God hears and sees everything.

Another danger would be online services and social media personalities replacing church and personal spiritual growth. The internet can never replace personal community, the sacraments, or pastoral care from a pastor. I have met many people who only get their spiritual food from online apologists and online pastors; it is a sad thing to see because they can only grow so much. 

Social media when used in moderation can be healthy and good, but it is easy to slip down into the risks I talked about. Avoid spending too much time on the internet and realize that not everything seems as it is portrayed. May the Lord keep you, bless you, and shine his face upon you!