A response to the dilemma

This week I watched the Social Dilemma on Netflix with students. I deleted my Instagram app immediately after.

On Friday I watched it again with a group of students and we had a discussion afterwards. Here are the questions I posed to them and how we can respond as Christians.

(Watched movie and asked them to put their cell phones on airplane mode while we watched).

A summary of students answers are highlighted in pink.

What really stood out to you?

• “Social media is scary?”

• “I didn’t realize how much they were tracking us.”

• “The three guys behind the scenes were sketchy.”

• “This doesn’t really apply to me and the way I use social media.”

3 Key Takeaways:

We are users.

• “There are only two industries that call their customers 'users': illegal drugs and software.” They are selling our information to the highest bidder. We are the product being sold.

They are playing on our biology.

• It has created an addiction. The refresh button is like the slot machine in Las Vegas. Pull it down to refresh and always get something new.

• Social media is not a tool. A tool waits for you to use it. An addiction demands you to use it and pulls you in.

• Social media has the ability to create and destroy a brittle and false identity.

What is truth?

• Everyone is given their own version of truth. They manipulate information and what you are viewing.

• Promote false news.

• There is no trust and division among people.

Questions:

1. What are you favorite social media apps and why?

• Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, Pinterest

2. Which one would be hardest for you to delete?

• TikTok, Instagram, YouTube

3. Where do you get your news and information?

• My parents because I can’t trust the news.

4. Do you feel like the world is in chaos?

• “2020 was a year! There was so much chaos.”

5. Do you agree that it’s hard to find truth?

• Yes, I never know what to believe. I feel like everything I see on social media is fake.

• There is only one truth we can trust and that’s the Bible and we need to put everything else up against it.

6. Have you experienced the girl’s emotions from likes or comments? Good or bad?

• I’ve never experienced mean comments online, I feel like people are too afraid and they know they will get caught. I usually only get positive comments online. But I have experienced negative comments in person.”

7. Do you think it’s important for everyone to have the same set of facts?

• Yes because otherwise we are all believing and thinking something different.

8. What are some ways you might disconnect and focus on meaningful connection?

• Put my phone away when I am hanging out with friends.

In the movie they ask the question, “What is the problem?” Do you remember the answer?

Crickets... Trick question, because there wasn’t really an answer. The people being interviewed didn’t know what the problem was, but we do. Sin. Sin has corrupted something that was good into something that is bad.

We have seen this since the beginning of creation, where things created to be good are corrupted and become broken by sin. This is just another example.

What is our response as Christians?

1. Who are we becoming? The goal of our lives as Christians is to become more like Jesus, loving God and loving others. Sin makes us love ourselves. We need to ask if social media is making us look more like Christ or more like sin.

• 1 Corinthians 10:31 - So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

2. We need to be wise! We do not need to fear social media, but we do need to practice discernment about what we are watching or looking at and for how long.

• Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

3. Where do we find truth? As Christians we believe that God’s Word is true. Everything else we see and hear has a slant, and we need to test it all against the straight line of God’s Word to decide if we are going to accept it or reject it. Are we looking to our phones first or to God’s Word to tell us what to think about God, who we are and the world?

• Psalm 119: 105 - Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path

Action Steps:

1. Turn off your notifications.

2. Delete apps or set boundaries for using them.

3. Listen to other viewpoints and people who disagree with you. Talk with people who disagree with you. Find reliable sources.

4. Watch out for the “explore” section or “recommended” on Instagram and TikTok.

5. Set guidelines for your screen time.

6. Take a day off from your phone. Don’t take it with you to hangout with friends. Put it away.

“I have loved the times I have gone on retreats or to camp and couldn’t take my phone. I felt so much more peace knowing where it was and that I couldn’t look at it.”