LESSON CONTENT
Social Media – the good and the bad
Social media is a phrase that we throw around a lot these days, often to describe what we post on sites and apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and others.
The 'social' part: refers to interacting with other people by sharing information with them and receiving information from them.
The 'media' part: refers to an instrument of communication, like the internet (while TV, radio, and newspapers are examples of more traditional forms of media). Social media are web-based communication tools that enable people to interact with each other by sharing and consuming information.
FOUR Cs to social media (courtesy: www.smartsocial.com)
GOOD parts
Connecting – when we use social media for connecting, we are growing our network of real people and helping to be more social. We are using social media as a tool to be more interactive with people. Communication – When we communicate (by direct messaging or emailing people) to invite them to events or ask them questions, we are interacting in a positive way and using our devices with a purpose.
BAD parts
Comparing – When we compare ourselves to others (the way they look, where they go on vacation or their popularity on social media) we are comparing ourselves to them. This causes anxiety and depression.
Consuming – When we have a spare moment in line at the bank, or we are bored in the passenger seat in the car, we might open our phone to check our Instagram feed. This is us filling the spaces by consuming other people’s social media with the endless feed on Instagram/Snap Chat/Facebook, etc. Consumption robs us of great ideas, interactions and makes us less focused.
Video 1: Are You Living an Insta Lie? Social Media Vs. Reality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EFHbruKEmw
Lesson Point 2: Traps of Social Media
Trap #1: Coveting & Comparison Trap – Coveting/desiring to have other people’s social media platforms, their influence & success, the number of likes, shares, comments their posts get, etc. You begin to look for validation or self-worth from the response of others to what you post. When we view ourselves through the perception of other people it can be called second-hand living.
While comparing your life to others’ lives based on what they post on social media, what you are doing is comparing your real life to their reel life. You only see the good moments or highlights of the other person’s life and you don’t get to see what their actual life is really like. So you get an impression that their lives are perfect because people usually only post their “highlights” and not their “lowlights”. And the devil will use this as an opportunity to make you believe that your life is bad. Your identity and worth should be found in Christ. Fake brittle popularity can leave you more vacant than before. Social media has also been found to be the cause of an increase in mental health issues in teenagers.
Trap #2: Venting Trap – Using social media to vent is not a good method in dealing with feelings. Proverbs.29:11 “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.” (NKJV) Just think about it – most of the “friends” you have on any social media platform are people you aren’t really that close to. And majority of the times they don’t genuinely care about how you feel and would not be able to offer you the comfort that a real face-to-face conversation gives. So you should avoid venting on social media. If you have a problem, you should consider sharing it with someone else who genuinely cares about you.
Trap #3: Time Trap – Social media takes up a lot of our time. We tend to waste a lot of time – hours in fact – scrolling through feeds, watching videos, posting photos, etc. And the Bible tells us to make the most of our time and to number our days. It is said that a teen spends around 7 hours and 22 minutes a day in front of digital screens. (Courtesy: www.commonsensemedia.org)
Ephesians. 5:15-16 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (ESV)
Psalms. 90:12 “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (ESV)
Constantly work on reducing the time that you spend on social media.
Trap #4: Distraction Trap – Social media companies hire attention engineers to make their platforms addictive. And using social media in an addictive fashion maximizes the profit that can be extracted from your attention and your personal data. The frequent notifications create a constant urge to keep checking social media regularly and you keep going back to it every now and then. You may think you’re good at multi-tasking but if you spend large portions of your day fragmenting/breaking up your attention checking on social media platforms, then it can permanently reduce your capacity for concentration.
It also distracts you from building meaningful relationships with friends and family. For example, if you go outside with your family odds are that most of the time you would be checking your social media accounts, clicking pictures to post on social media and not actually spending time talking with each other. And it could send a message to them that you value social media over them.
Trap #5: Addiction Trap - It was found that social media has the same effects on the brain that a drug like cocaine would have on the brain. Each time you get a ‘Like’ on your post or someone sends you a message the brain gives short bursts of dopamine (the happiness hormone). But this is an unnatural way for the brain and body to be receiving dopamine and it causes the brain to be altered so that you would constantly feel the need for it. This is how an addiction works.
Trap #6: Co-signing Trap – Everything you like or share is not just an image of you but it is a reflection of your family, Church and even Christianity as a whole. 2 Corinthians. 5:20a “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.” (ESV) So if you like/share something that is not in agreement with what the Bible says then you are indirectly sending a message to others, especially non-Christians, that you agree with what is said even though you didn’t write and it is likeyou have put your stamp of approval on it. And that may cause somebody to believe that Christianity as a whole is in agreement with the idea conveyed in the post because we are part of a bigger group of people and represent that group to others outside it.
Lesson 3: Handling the Social world
Time management
o Turning off notifications on apps so that you don’t have the urge to constantly keep
checking your phone.
o Set specific time in the day to check social media.
o Signout of social media platforms and only sign in during that time you set to check it. And sign out again once you’re done.
o If you feel that you are not able to stop yourself from checking a particular social
media platform then just uninstall it!
Staying Safe: The internet has become a place for many predators. Even the social media companies themselves cannot be trusted as they are known to sell personal data to third parties.
Some things you can do to keep yourself safe online:
o Don’t add people you don’t personally know, other than on social media, to your friends/followers.
o Don’t make your personal information and photos public and always set the privacy to “Friends”. It is best not to put up any personal information on social media platforms. Also try to avoid sending your photos to anyone, including friends.
o Turn off the option to personalize your Ads on all social media platforms.
o Don’t share your location or travel plans on social media.
o Don’t respond to messages from strangers. They may seem nice but you never know their real intentions.
o Be cautious about what information you post online or share with someone. Compare it with what you would do if the same information was asked from you in a real-life, offline scenario and if it is something you wouldn’t be comfortable doing then it shouldn’t be something you do online either.
Video 2: It’s not you. Phones are designed to be addicting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUMa0QkPzns
Lesson 4: Using Social media well!
1 Timothy 6:10a “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” (ESV) According to this verse, it is the love for money that makes it evil and money in itself is not evil. Money is amoral meaning it is neither good nor bad and it depends on how you use it. The same goes for social media which inherently isn’t good or bad but it can be either depending on how you use it.
Be nice. People can be downright nasty on social media as they get to hide behind a screen and not be held accountable for what they say. Colossians 4:5-6 “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (ESV)
Be an encourager. Let things you post build others up and benefit them. Congratulate people on their accomplishments. Also remember to be genuine in your compliments. Ephesians. 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (ESV)
Remember you are Christ’s representative online. We debate new laws, point fingers in the aftermath of tragedies and feel the need to defend or attack every political tweet. We would be better off representing Jesus with dignity and charity than having a meltdown over whatever the headlines were that day because most people don’t care about any of it beyond a few days.
Check before you share. People are quick to share anything and everything that they see without even ensuring if there is a grain of truth in it. And often this has resulted in bad things happening – people panic and react too soon. It has even resulted in people getting killed(lynched) on account of some fake news spread about them. So it is wise avoid posting things which may cause people to panic and in case you do post something always check the credibility of what you post. If you are unable to find out about the credibility of the post then just don’t share it – better safe than sorry!
Be purposeful while using social media. Harness it for good.