Social Media and The Christian: Why Worldview Matters

It seems like the days of face to face conversations are almost vanishing. With the ongoing pandemic, even times together feel much less “together.” But this peculiar trend did not start with Covid-19.

 Over the past several years, social media has given distant friends a common “space.” Families separated by job relocations can now see each other’s faces and be a part of each other’s lives even from a distance. The technology that has made this possible is a wonderful thing at times, but it has also brought some unexpected distancing.

More and more of our lives are being “lived” on social media platforms and electronic devices. More and more of our interactions are less and less physical. What is a Christian to make of all of this? I don’t believe the answer to that question is simple. I certainly have no intention of giving a “how to” on social media and the Christian. However, I do believe there are at least a few things that need to shape our thinking. 

 Most of us don’t realize that we are viewing our world through a particular set of lenses. There are certain values and ideas that have been instilled in us—either by our parents, teachers, friends or others—and these values and ideas are like lenses through which we see the world around us. Understanding this reality will help us as Christians to face unprecedented change.

3 Basic Questions of Any Worldview

These “lenses” I am referring to are often called one’s worldview. There are 3 basic questions that shape our worldview or understanding of the world around us: 

1. Who am I?

2. How do I know?

3. What do I do?

These questions summarize everything you believe about your existence and the existence of God. They reveal what we believe about the source of truth and the way in which we come to “know” anything at all. They also get to the bottom of the moral or ethical implications that frame our daily decision making. That might sound like a mouthful, but it is really important that we try to chew on this a bit.

 Who am I?

First, and foundational to the others, is the question: who am I? Embedded in this question is one’s beliefs about the existence of God. For example, an atheist may answer this question by saying that she is a conglomeration of cells that are the magnificent by-product of a “big-bang” in the cosmos. As a Christian, what would be your response? I am not going to answer that for you here but let you chew on it. Take a moment now to do just that…

How do I know?

Second, the question must be asked: how do I know? How did you come to answer the first question? On what did you base your response? What is your standard of truth and how do we examine that basis? To respond from the perspective of an atheist, you might cite the physical world around us and the order that is present within it. You might reason from science and say that science itself is the standard. As a Christian, what would be your response?

What do I do?

Finally, having come to the conclusions about who we are, why we’re here, and having stated our basis for truth and knowledge: what do I do?  How now must we live? What kinds of values come from these first two responses? For the atheist, appeals may be made to feelings and what seems best for all. But as a Christian, what would be your response?

Why Worldview Matters

If I have not lost you up to this point, you might be wondering what all of this has to do with social media. Well, to put it one way, social media and the many apps and streaming services of today have become an immense source of the current pop-cultural worldview. It is amazing what kids learn and how the lenses of their worldviews are being shaped through these various media platforms. You might even call them little lens factories! This is no insignificant matter for the Christian.

Because more and more of our lives are being “lived” on social media platforms and electronic devices, our own ways of viewing the world are changing. Because more and more of our interactions are less and less physical, our view of actions and their consequences have become distorted at times. Our lenses have become warped and our worldview is thus changed.

How would it shape our thinking about social media and other uses of technology if we were to ask these 3 basic questions of ourselves? How would it shape the kinds of things we share or post? How would it affect what we are viewing or at least the way that we are seeing things? 

When it comes to social media and the Christian, these questions need to be asked. If you are like me, however, the burning question is this: what does God’s Word have to say about all of this? That is a good question, and I am glad you asked. We will tackle that in the next few articles as we walk through each of these questions and begin to form the basis for a biblical worldview.