Social Media Is A Spiritual Distortion Zone

New article at The Gospel Coalition

I have a new article about social media that was published at The Gospel Coalition last week. You can read it here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/social-media-spiritual-distortion/.

What I wanted to do in this article was to state plainly a truth that I wish more people understood: social media is inherently deformative. That doesn’t mean all is lost, but it certainly means that it isn’t neutral. The less aware we are of that, the more danger we are in. With that being the case, what are some categories Christians can think in terms of that can help us engage with social media more intentionally? That’s the aim of the article.

One analogy that didn’t make it in the article but I think is helpful is to think about the content that we create on social media as digital vaccines to the viruses of misinformation and digital deformation. Every vaccine contains small doses of the virus it’s trying to counteract. That’s why the answer to bad content, in many ways, is more content. Just as a vaccine uses the virus and subverts it for the good of the person receiving it, it’s important (and possible!) for us to use social networks and methods of content creation to subvert the internet and use it for good.

There is, of course, much more to say about this than what I wrote in this article. If you’re interested in this kind of writing, all I can right now is: stay tuned. I’m working on something with Patrick Miller right now that will provide space for more content like this, which will allow this newsletter to stay much more faith-focused and less technology-focused.

If you find that article interesting but have questions or stories that are related to it, let me know! The project we’re working on would be a great venue to explore those things.