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At the risk of sounding overly alarmist in an area of interest to me, I seriously think that the divides, blinders, and idolatry perpetuated by the curated content we constantly consume on social media will be a major fight for the local church for the foreseeable future.
For the better part of a couple of decades, I have heard pastors bemoan the ways "cable news" affects the minds of some of their congregation. The environment created by the social media is basically that but to a far, far worse degree of severity.
In 2005, a pastor preaching to a room of 200 may be preaching to three different groups of people experience three different "realities." Now, in a room of 200, the pastor is probably preaching to a room of dozens of different "realities."
The social internet used to act as a sort of "online version" of our offline selves, acting almost as a sort of parallel virtual reality that often mirrored, but was sort of "distinct from" our offline lives. Two versions of life, looking quite alike, but somewhat independent.
Now, we are so consumed by the social internet that it DETERMINES who we are offline. Instead of being an online version of an offline reality, it has become the LENS through which we perceive our real lives offline. This is a problem.
It is a problem because instead of being a parallel reality to our offline lives, it has consumed our offline lives. This is why conspiracy/falsehoods are so damaging. Fake news found online in '05 would be fact-checked w/ something offline. Now it SHAPES how we view all life.
People ask why I stay working in social media when I think it has such a dramatically negative effect on...everything. It's because I think the most effective way to wage war against minds that are consumed by what they see on the social internet is to use the social internet.
It's a common cliche, but the internet really is a spiritual battleground. And we aren't going to win the battle by forcing people to leave the battlefield. "Get off social media" is good, but often ineffective advice. So weaponize social media for good instead!
This is why, last year, I gave to @TGC's efforts to fight the battle for the mind through search engines. You can find out more about that here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/search-bar-spiritual-battleground/
Also read this from @brettmccracken for more: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/churches-battle-form-christians/
Also read this from @brettmccracken for more: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/churches-battle-form-christians/
