Should a Christian use social media?

(Image courtesy of http://massimo-group.com.)

Here's a good debate: Should a born-again Christian use social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram?

I'm sure your first response is either defensive or an immediate no.

But let's think about this a little deeper than just the surface, emotional level.


Is there anything wrong with social media in and of itself?  Of course not.  They are computer-generated programs developed by people with the basic principle of connecting people with people (and making money will doing it...).  In addition, Paul writes in I Corinthians 10:23 that "everything is permissible for me to do, but not everything is beneficial."  That means that we have permission to do whatever we want; we are not robots.  But we must be aware that not everything we choose to do is beneficial for us.

For us... for me....  That, perhaps, is the biggest issue regarding social media: Me.

This generation has been labeled the "Me Generation."  How is social media playing into this belief?  (Images courtesy of TIME magazine and New York magazine.)

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other forms of social media are all about me - the user.  I am the king (or queen) of my universe.  What I post must be "liked" by others in order for me to feel special and loved.  I must be "followed" by at least one hundred people otherwise my pride will suffer and I will know that I am not popular.  I post things about my day and upload pictures of me with my friends because I want everyone else to know what I am doing.  Me, me, me.  It's all about me.

When we cut to the chase, isn't that what is really going on here?  Isn't it all about how much I can gain from my social networking experience?  My name is next to everything I post, every picture I am in, every comment I write.  The more people "know" me the more popular I am.  Does anybody really care about anyone else anymore?

Perhaps I'm not the best person to talk about the issues around social media.  After all, I have a Facebook and that's all.  I created a Twitter account a year ago, but I'm still in the egg stage.  And Instagram is too confusing for me.  Nonetheless, I do know this: We were created for intimate, personal relationship with each other.  But also that this life is not about me.  And as soon as I get outside of myself and look to other people, my anxiety level goes down, my stress level plummets, my worries grow dim, and I feel genuinely better.

It is by God's design that we should consider others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3), encourage others and build them up (I Thessalonians 5:11), and get outside of ourselves (Philippians 2:4).

If you've been paying attention, you've noticed that the question of "Should a Christian use social media?" has not yet been answered; and I'm not entirely sure it will ever get answered.  The answer lies between you and God.

My challenge, then, for you (and me) is this: remember it's not about you.


"Be kind to all, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle" (Pastor Lee Eclov).

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