social media

Twitter has suspended the group that published the home addresses of some conservative Supreme Court justices.

In America, users of Facebook spend 58 minutes per day (325 hours per year) on the platform, while users of Instagram spend 53 minutes per day (297 hours per year) viewing its content. And the people and organizations we follow on these platforms influence us more than we might realize. It is my hope that most mature Christians spend less time on these platforms than the average cultural consumer of media. But the truth is, we all spend time with media of some sort every day. In fact, except for personal conversations, prayer, and meditation, there is little that we learn and interact with every day that doesn’t come through media of some sort. (Even the Bible is a form of traditional media — a book.)

A well-known Christian actor is bemoaning the way believers treat one another on social media and encouraging them to "return" to Christ-centered love.

Let’s face it—social media plays a pivotal role in nearly everything we do, so why should church be any different? If we’re honest, it isn’t. When we look closely, it’s easy to see ways in which social media can hurt our local churches and, ultimately, even our individual faith.

But remember—there are two sides to everything. Social media may be a saving grace to some people, particularly folks with special needs or limited mobility. Watching sermons online, supplementing your Bible study, and connecting with other people are not inherently bad; on the contrary, they can be valuable and important parts of spiritual life.

Read on and see if these statements have made their way into your own conversations (or thoughts!).

Photo credit: Pexels.com

Businessman Elon Musk said Tuesday he will lift the Twitter ban on former President Donald Trump after the deal for purchasing the company becomes final, saying a permanent ban on users is morally wrong.

Elon Musk's $44 billion purchase of Twitter was widely applauded this week by Christian and social conservative communities, with many expressing hope that the acquisition will lead to a more free and open exchange of certain ideas that – in the past – have led some individuals to be banned.

From 2009-2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent. [This] is the highest level of teenage sadness ever recorded. [Almost] every measure of mental health is getting worse, for every teenage demographic, and it’s happening all across the country.

More younger Americans are leaving some social media sites, a survey from the investment bank Piper Sandler found.

Yesterday we began discussing Jonathan Haidt’s illuminating Atlantic article analyzing the impact of social media on our culture. He notes the degree to which “a democracy depends on widely internalized acceptance of the legitimacy of rules, norms, and institutions” and shows how social media is undermining such acceptance as polarizing and often false content becomes increasingly pervasive and influential.

Elon Musk has made an offer to buy Twitter Inc., saying Twitter has “extraordinary potential” that he would like to “unlock.”