I’m a little late to the party, but the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma was making waves when it first came out about the dangers and damage that social media can cause. While there are certainly issues with how social media can influence democracy and affect how people face discrimination, the issue that personally spoke to me was how it’s impacting mental health. Between 2009 and 2017, rates of depression among kids ages 14 to 17 increased by more than 60% with other adolescent age groups experiencing increases nearly as steep.
I feel I have a unique perspective growing up right at the rise of social media as we know it today. When I started high school Instagram, Snapchat, and even Facebook messenger didn’t exist yet. I got my first cell phone right around the beginning of high school and it was one of those cool ones with the slide-out keyboard; a dumbphone. I can remember a specific time in high school where I had a crush on a girl and since I was interested in her I got her phone number and texted her on my sweet slide-out keyboard. I can contrast that directly to a later memory in high school when I was caught up on my smartphone checking different social media apps to see who a girl’s best friends on Snapchat were and how long of a “streak” (how many days in a row you’ve communicated without a break) we had or if she liked my last Instagram picture. In hindsight, I can see how all of these social media platforms complicated what is already an awkward and difficult time in people’s lives. Today’s kids don’t even have the contrast that I had of simply texting a girl on my dumbphone.
“We are a sad generation with happy pictures.”
The quote above is one that I have seen frequently as younger generations, myself included, have become aware of the downfalls of social media. In a lot of ways, social media has robbed us of living in the moment with friends and those around us and replaced it with thoughts of how you are going to share the cool thing you are doing with others on social media so that you seem cool or more fun. We try to seem fun instead of having fun. So much emphasis has been put on our outward appearance that we forget our inward identity. The Latin phrase “Ease quam videri” means “to be, rather than to seem.” I find a lot of beauty in that saying because it’s a reminder that your identity isn’t based on how others see you, but our identity is based on who we truly are and what we believe. That’s why I think it is imperative that, especially adolescents, understand what their beliefs are and how God sees them rather than how Instagram sees them. They need to understand their value is based on their inward identity as a follower of Christ. That’s my biggest piece of advice to those growing up and figuring out who they are in this social media era.
“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”
Philippians 3:4-7
Trying to control your image, through social media and even before it existed, breeds a sense of superiority since it is most often done out of pride. It doesn’t matter that Paul seemed like the perfect follower of God because what he actually was was something different. Paul rejected Jesus as his Savior and even persecuted his followers. To the world he seemed like a righteous man, but it was the opposite in God’s eyes. It wasn’t until on that road to Damascus that Paul’s eyes were opened and he saw Jesus’s love. His identity had completely changed as, through God’s grace, he turned from his old identity to a new one as God’s servant. When I consider how God treated Paul, a persecutor of his own Son, I am in complete awe. If God can take someone who was completely against him and use him instead for his plan of salvation than how much more could use your or me? Consider that when you think of your outward identity. Just as Paul’s persona as a righteous man would have led to hell, in the same way the amount of likes or comments on your post can’t save you either. However, are a child of God and his tool in this sinful world with the opportunity to share his love to advance his plan of salvation regardless of how many followers you have or likes you get. Know you have your true identity in Jesus!
People say that life was simpler before social media and the internet and I tend to agree, but that doesn’t mean that those platforms are evil. If we start to feel as though our identities are being defined by social media then that is a good opportunity for us to look at how that compares to our true identity in Jesus. Social media may very well be a platform for us to continue Gods plan of salvation by sharing his love, but that is the perspective we must continually be considering when posting and browsing through content. It is so easy to get caught up in how we want to appear and to get caught peering down the rabbit hole of worldly living as we browse, but social media is not what we are. It’s a shallow outward appearance without depth. It is so often the highlights and never the bad times. So next time you go to use social media remember that you don’t have to “seem” a certain way because you know who you are; a loved and forgiven child of God.
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
1 Peter 3:3-4
Recently I have felt so convicted by times I was chasing after what other people deemed as important and by my own selfish living that I rejoice that God has brought me to this spot in my life. 2020 was not an easy year for me, as for many, but it was through these struggles that God put me on my back so that I could finally start looking up. God is showing me that His plans are greater than mine and that he has a reason for everything. Through all these struggles I have been praying more than I have ever had. I hope to continue that in the new year and, in line with this post, I also hope to use social media less and more intentionally when I do. I pray that you remember how Jesus sees you rather than how social media does. God bless!