As Christians, we have a responsibility to make sure everything we're allowing into our lives is not only helpful to us and enriching, but also pleasing to God. However, the words we often use to describe our relationship to social media are revealingly passive. “I’m on Instagram. I have a Twitter account. I look at Facebook.” We hardly ever say we use these things.
Much of the usefulness of social media is lost in the noise. We miss the good things people create because we’re drowning ourselves in pacifiers. Social media becomes a place we go to turn off our minds rather than improve our experience, grow, or even socialize in a meaningful way.
How can we begin to use our socials and stop them from using us? One thing I’ve found helpful is taking Twitter and turning it into a channel of information that inspires me or gives me access to things I can learn from. So instead of following news sites or accounts that post jokes and memes, I follow people that I can learn from, or who build me up mentally and spiritually. This is just one way of turning something that would otherwise be a waste of time into a worthwhile and helpful tool.
We have to curate the stream. Here are some things to ask yourself as you re-evaluate the people and things you follow on social media.
– Do I let this in, or do I just scroll past it without stopping?
– When I let this in, is it worth the time it takes from me?
– If I didn’t let this in, am I really missing out on anything?
– Am I learning or growing from this?
– Does this align with my values and beliefs?
– Does this add value to my life?
– In what way does this thing help me?
– In what way does this thing help me to help others?
