Social media has quickly become a major part of our society and of our personal lives. It has an enormous impact on how we perceive ourselves, making our lives much more open for the public. Social media breaks down barriers between people which can be positive or negative depending on how you look at it. It can be a way to share knowledge, ideas, and information. It can even be a way to spread positivity and love with others which can help us grow in unity. But at the same time, it can be an exposure to negative aspects if not used properly.
It is essential to ask yourself, what message do you want to send to others? What is the purpose of what you’re posting? St. Paul responds to these questions very clearly and says, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify” (1 Corinthians 10:23). Everything that we pursue should bring peace and cause edification that is brought forth to God. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Social media is very capable of good, yet even more capable of destruction if we are not careful with what we are exposing ourselves to. For example, YouTube is a powerful form of communication that is full of many sermons, but is also full of many music videos which can cause us to fall into sin. Each and every one of us are called to be servants. The pictures that some of us post compromise the dignity of being a Christian. We must always present ourselves in His image and in the meantime, beware not to be a stumbling block for others.
Social media is very time consuming, creating almost no time for any family or friends. Time is the only resource we cannot increase or replace, as we can with other resources. The only way we can “redeem” time is to maximize its use. We should use our precious time on what we value the most, with what allows us to grow and be edified. Many of us spend hours on social media, and although it may not be intrinsically sinful, we will still be held accountable by God for every minute we waste. Many hours on social media takes away precious time from attending church and from God Himself. It can lead us to become distracted from God, from finding God, and from transforming and growing our personal relationship with God. It is very easy to waste many hours each day. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). How we set our priorities and how we spend our time will reveal to us where our hearts are. If God and our families are at the top of our lists, then we should be able to easily spend time with them.
Be careful not to seek people’s likes, the numbers of friends, and the number of comments to gain self-validation through the way people comment on our posts. We must ask ourselves do we seek to please man or God? “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
Every social media can lead us to a path of destruction. It can cause jealousy, lusting, gossiping, and judging. It can make us fall into sin quicker without even realizing. Social media has become a place of venting anger and hurt feelings. “Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back” (Proverbs 29:11). We also become exposed to controversial topics that can cause great confusion and divisions in the Church itself if not handled appropriately.
Just like all addictions in life, it can have a very negative impact on our life which can cause us to fall back behind in our studies or work. We can easily become addicted to checking social media sites and messages. This can lead us to turn away from God, due to us being in an endless cycle of checking our newsfeed and messages every second. Social media can be used, but it must be used properly.
So what is a solution? One solution is realizing that boredom leads to an increased social media use. We use it to provide us with a sense of interest. If we do not have other things to turn to, then we become bored and will turn to social media just because it is the easiest means of getting interest in our personal lives. Yet, this will only give us temporary satisfaction. Knowing God and living life with God will give us eternal satisfaction with a sense of interest and purpose. We must always keep in mind, that above all else, what matters is our choice to love God, and to love others. We are called to focus on our salvation, the salvation of those around us, and to spread the gospel through our actions and love. “Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:35-39) We must ask ourselves, what are those things that hinder us from obeying the great commandment?