The State of The Church (Part 3): Media and Tech

At The Bridge Church, one of our teenagers was recently baptized. In the lead-up to the baptism, we talked about the same topic of these newsletter articles- the state of the church, especially among millennials and GenZs. She talked about how so few of her generation are alive in Christ. I asked her why. Her answer was quick: social media. A few days later, a few families from the church at a fast food lunch after our worship service. A major point of conversation was the world of screens/technology/social media and the presence of these forces in our kids’ lives. Is it unavoidable? Should we be doing everything we can to delay it as long as we can? Could anything good actually come of it?

The introduction of the smart phone (around 2007) was a huge epochal moment in our world. And I am convinced that it was not necessarily for the better. Yes, of course, many things have become easier. I no longer have to print off directions ahead of a drive somewhere. Making plans with a group of people can be done by a quick group text. If I want to know something, I google it on my phone wherever I am. There’s an app for everything, right? And hey, you’re reading this very article digitally. Social media and digital communication is a big part of how we communicate with our church and how we present our church to our community. We neglect these gifts and opportunities at our own peril. And of course the same technological advances that have made smart phones possible have also led to revolutions in all kinds of areas of life: medical care, governance, education, and so on. 

However, despite all of those undeniably positive aspects, I also believe that what this whole tech revolution has done to our society, our relationships with each other, and our own mental state is disastrous. I believe the negative impact is at least equal to whatever positive benefits exist. So yes, I might be a millennial who has grown up with a lot of this as it emerged. However, sometimes I just want to cut all of this tech out of my life, move our family out to some rural location, and establish a more “primitive” Christian community devoted to simple, faithful living. If only I knew anything about farming or had a single practical skill!

You might have watched a documentary that came out on Netflix a couple of years ago called The Social Dilemma. It woke a lot of people up to the danger inherent to screens and social media, especially among emerging generations. The film talked about how social media has impacted the mental health of teenagers. It emphasized the addictive nature of these technologies. It showed us Silicon Valley execs, the ones who invent and peddle new devices, who refuse to allow their own kids access to them and send their kids to schools that fanatically prohibit them. Which should tell us something, right? 

But you don’t need a documentary to tell you the dangers of screens. You can see it with your own eyes. When you’re in a restaurant, or on public transit, or in a waiting room, or sitting at a park, take a look around. It’s not just teens. It’s almost everyone. We live our lives unable to pass 5 seconds in silence or solitude. We are addicted to our phones. Conversations between strangers are incredibly rare because everyone is immersed in whatever super important thing they’re watching on TikTok or Instagram.

In connection with last week’s topic, COVID has accelerated these trends. Studies show that the use of screens almost doubled among adolescents in the months after the pandemic began. That wasn’t because of virtual schooling. Recreational screen time among American teenagers skyrocketed from something like 3.8 hours a day to 7.7 hours a day. Almost 8 hours a day! How is that even possible?

The question is, what does that have to do with Christian faith? How has the state of the church and Christian discipleship been negatively impacted? Four thoughts:

1. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Our addiction to screens has wired our brains in a way that actually sitting in silence is almost impossible. And that’s a problem because it is often in silence that God meets with us and speaks to us. God speaks to Elijah in a quiet whisper (1 Kings 19:12). Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16). No mention of an iPhone that he took with him to pass the time. I know from personal experience that God has spoken to me most clearly when I have cleared away other distractions from my life. Our addiction to screens prevents us from hearing God’s voice.
2. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14). Very much connected to the first point is the need not only for silence, but time. Discipleship requires our time. It takes time to see the world as God does. It takes time to be strengthened in being set apart in the world. It must be a priority. And there will be seasons where it requires lots of time. But our screens prevent that. If you are spending almost 8 hours a day on your phone (I hope that’s extreme), in addition to whatever else you’re doing, there just isn’t very much left for what is actually the most important aspect of your life- your relationship with your Savior. I heard a Christian leader recently suggest that for every hour you spend watching content online, you need to spend an hour in Scripture unlearning what you just watched. You need to be more formed by Scripture than by Netflix. How many are able to break free of their screens that long?
3. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). In connection with point two is that the content we consume itself tends to be a hindrance to Christian discipleship. It is incredible how much of the stuff on Netflix or Prime is for “mature” audiences (as if maturity equates to glorification of every kind of evil). I’m continually amazed that a culture that sees itself as moral and progressive as ours does has at the same time a ravenous appetite for violence, vulgarity, and sexual immorality. This stuff shapes us. And it does not shape us in a way even resembling Christ-likeness. It does not shape our worldview in a way even resembling one informed by God’s word.
4. “So God created mankind in his own image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). We were created in God’s image, to represent Him and look like Him. And as part of that, God created us to be in relationship with one another. We are created to live God-honoring, God-reflecting lives in community (“it is not good for the man to be alone”, God says in Genesis 2:18). Despite the promises of social media and the benefits of video calling, our new technology tends to divide and cut us off from one another. It convinces us to stay on the couch instead of worshipping together. It causes us to spend less time interacting with people. It drives us inside, living insular lives. A lot of our new technology is actually dehumanizing. In contrast, being a Christian is all about living as we were created to live. It’s about the restoration of God’s image in us. If we’re not careful, screens/media/tech actually work against that.

So what do we do about this? A few more thoughts:

1. Ensure that to whatever extent you must use phones/internet/social media, that you master them and are not mastered by them. As a church, we want to make sure that our utilization of these things are tools that serve the end goal of bringing people into relationship with Christ, and with one another in Christ. All of us have to ensure that these tools remain tools, not dependencies. And if it has become a dependency or addiction, take whatever radical steps you need to in order to reverse that.
2. If you have children, do whatever you can to limit their use of these devices. It is a formidable challenge for adults to moderate their screen time. How much more for teens and children who have much less natural ability to be self-controlled? Establish this as early as you can, and hold the line. Once you have given ground to devices in your home, it becomes really, really hard to win that ground back.
3. As you cut back time from devices and screen time, give that time to what is authentically human: quality time with your family. Recreation. Being with friends and neighbours. And most of all, drawing near to God as you meditate on the Scriptures and speak with Him through prayer, listening to worship songs or sermons. (As I’ve tried to emphasize throughout, some of that can involve technology, but in a way that it has been mastered as a tool). And again, if you have kids, model this. Show them what it looks like to live a life that is authentically human, as God created us to live it.

Our world isn’t going to stop hurtling in the direction of ever-increasing digital lives. I mean, have you heard about the Metaverse? But followers of Jesus are called to be counter-cultural, to be set apart, to be salt in the world. Breaking our addictions and dependencies on screens/media/tech is one way to do that, and it can start now. Our emerging generations are desperate for it, whether they know it yet or not.