I have a lot of feelings about social media. (You may be nodding your head as you recall my detox journey from a few years ago.) I guess I’m mainly talking about Instagram because that one still seems to be the one that occupies most of my attention. Lately it’s been feeling hard and heavy, broken and burdensome. And I don’t want to disengage and shut down completely, but I’ve been taking a few steps back in hopes of shifting my gaze back to the goodness and sovereignty of God.
Sometimes I genuinely love all of the connection it brings—keeping up with friends/their jobs/babies and stumbling across a page of like-mindedness that reminds you, “I’m not alone in this.” As a lover of design and photography and words, I’m a big fan of the creativity and inspiration I often find there. I love discovering new theology resources and sermons filled with Biblical wisdom. In those encouraging and connecting aspects, I can feel the “social” part of it pretty well. I can glimpse the good stuff.
But then sometimes the yucky stuff seems to bombard me—the comparison and the name-calling and the shove-it-down-your-throat sort of opinions that make me want to throw my phone off a cliff. Like most people I know, I hate that feeling of being left out when I see a photo of my friends hanging out without me (I'm forever grateful that we didn't have social media while I was in middle school.) And I often run from that feeling of stubborn annoyance when I see other people succeeding in the tender areas I just failed in. I feel deeply sad for the state of the world and am often overwhelmed by the brokenness of it all.
…
I’m reminding myself that these apps are literally designed with our addictive natures in mind, seeking to pull us in with endless scrolling and dopamine hits and social outrage—whatever keeps us coming back. The tech powers want us to spend hours upon hours immersed in their world while they rake in the dollars. They don’t really care if we suffer emotionally or waste our lives in the meantime. (*Edited to add: I should clarify that thankfully there are many employees of these companies who truly do care about the people that use their services. While these are still businesses running with financial incentives, there is nuance in this conversation—which I should have pointed out originally.)
So what do we do about all of this as followers of Christ? The Bible doesn’t specifically address living in the digital age, of course (could you imagine the disciples walking around with iPhones??), but there are a few verses that I come back to when thinking about and praying through this issue (go and read the full passages for context; if you’re familiar with these passages, you’ll probably recognize the various hyperbolic, poetic, and epistolary natures of these verses):
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell (Matthew 5:29-30).
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer (Psalm 19:14).
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger (James 1:19).
…
In a world full of instant gratification, I think it’s important to step back and check our intentions and thought patterns at the Bible’s door, over and over again. Although I wish there was a Matrix-like pill I could take to automatically filter everything through, we must repetitively study and obey the Word of God in all aspects of our lives. We must use Spirit-led discernment and discipline to do so.
As for practical application, I don’t think I have the answers for how to handle it all, but I am learning that less is more. Like anything that can lead to destructive tendencies, we need boundaries and space and guidelines when it comes to our devices and (especially) social media. Let’s habitually check in and ask:
Is this leading me to be more sinful or more sanctified?
Am I approaching this in a self-centered way or others-centered way?
Am I using this to glorify myself or glorify God?
Some of us may need to log out of that time-sucking platform for good. Some of us may need to take consistent weekly breaks or longer breaks away from social media. I think all of us need to limit our screen time in some way, but I don’t know what the specifics of what that looks like for you.
For me, I have found a few boundaries that have helped when it comes to my phone. I don’t do these things perfectly and am still learning to pivot as needed. Also, this list entails my personal guidelines. Yours may look very different based on your convictions or tendencies. Here are my guidelines right now:
o one day off social media every week (we typically choose Sundays)
o one month off social media every year
o limit Instagram screen time every day (Settings>Screen Time>App Limits)
o don’t allow myself to look at social media before I have spent time in the Word (every week day)
o keep notifications turned off so they don’t prompt me to open the app (Settings>Notifications>Choose the app & slide the “Allow Notifications” to off).
o the comment section is not a place for my arguments. Sometimes I do provide pushback in direct messages if 1) I know the person in real life 2) I’ve thought a lot about this issue/post/problem 3) I am sending out of love and not ill will. If my message doesn’t meet these criteria, then I don’t send it.
o if I am repetitively feeling negatively toward a particular person’s content, I either: mute their stories/posts or unfollow them. (This is not necessarily their fault, and a mute/unfollow is nothing personal. My less-than-godly feelings aren’t anyone else’s fault but my own, and hitting that unfollow or mute button is a good way to keep those negative emotions in check.)
I’m really trying to break the Instagram-scroll habit when I’m waiting in lines or just have a bit of down time. I’ve found that the Kindle app helps a ton with this; I can just open up the book I’ve been reading instead of mindlessly scrolling. I’ve also gotten really into listening to podcasts to keep up with news, current events, etc. These apps can be vices, too, of course, so I’m not off the hook in these arenas and there are times when I need to unplug completely. But generally, they tend to be more life-giving/less soul-sucking than Instagram or Facebook for me.
Honestly, I’m still working on being content in stillness and silence. I’m learning to be fully present in those in-between moments where I often reach for my phone as a numbing distraction. I’m continually reminding myself that a comment or “like” does not replace real, face-to-face conversations or community. I’m finding that it’s okay not to snap the picture every time or google the question I’m asking. There are times for that, of course. But there are also times to lean in and appreciate the moments in real life. There are times to let the Lord guide you through those thoughts instead of asking the world’s opinion.
…
All of that to say—there are obviously problems with social media, but we should also acknowledge there are some good things there and what man meant for evil, God can use for good (see Genesis 50:20). If we engage with the right mindset, we can learn from others. We can encourage others. We can share the love of Christ with others. We can rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, while pointing us all to the Only One who can save souls. We can have grace for ourselves and others when we don’t do it all perfectly.
This good stuff is why I keep showing up there and why I don’t plan to cut out social media completely. Maybe I will one day, but for now I will keep going back in hopes of connection and laughter, authenticity and inspiration.
And as I stumble through it, I will continue to implement boundaries and Biblical truths until it’s safe to return in a God-glorifying way.
I would love to hear your thoughts about social media—do you have boundaries in place? Do you find the good outweighs the bad or vice versa? Did you delete it altogether or are you still showing up on all the platforms?
P.S. Here’s a list of recommended resources about our devices & how we engage with them:
o The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch
o 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke
o Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport (I’m currently reading this one; it’s not from a Christian perspective, but it’s super interesting so far)
o The Social Dilemma (Netflix Documentary; also not from a Christian perspective)