Resources/Articles
What You Need to Know about Social Media
A parent may have some great concerns about their child being influenced by what is shown on TV and in movies. A greater concern should be what a child may hear and see from a phone, iPad, computer, Kindle, etc.
Social media, just like many of the other connections to the internet, started out as a simple effort to connect people with friends and family. A person can spend time together when they cannot be physically together. Harmless, right? It was viewed as a good alternative to in-person, one-on-one conversation.
Now social media has become a constant, continuing, daily effort to not only connect, but to view your “likes,” gain approval, hear the latest news, express your frustrations and joys, etc. The popularity of this medium has vaulted into first place as THE source of a person’s measure of existence, purpose, and future. Here is what has also happened:
One of a family’s primary means of communication is social media.
Messaging a person’s location, what they are doing, discussions about a certain topic, or request to pick something up at the store all come through social media (Deuteronomy 6.4-9).
YouTube is the most popular social media platform.
It shares images and videos with friends and family, with the expectation of a response or reaction. It is also where you can “meet” others across the globe and engage in video games, conversations, or to share ideas. A major priority in a family is knowing who is speaking and how they are speaking into the heart of your family (Proverbs 4.5-9).
Teenagers have more than one social media outlet.
This segment of the population is smarter than we give them credit. They can find things a parent does not know exist. They can “live” and “survive” in a social circle that isn’t known to their parents. If a parent finds them on one social medium, they will cancel that one and move to another. An adult can do the same thing and hide conversations from a spouse or friends. Someone can act one way in a circle of associates, then turn toward another group with another profile, different interests, and presenting a different personality. This is such a prime example of what multiple social media outlets provide - the height of deception and hypocrisy. All of this begs a serious question: Do you know where members of your family are socially as well as physically? Always keep in mind: As a person uses social media, he or she is never alone. There is always someone watching, reading, listening, or engaged in another person’s life - yours (1 Corinthians 15.33).
A LOT of money is being spent to win your heart.
Seventy-one percent of U.S. businesses have been using Instagram since 2017. That may mean little to you, but it is a big deal for businesses. Folks, BUSINESSES ADVERTISE! They PROMOTE! They SELL. They PERSUADE. They present pictures in hopes they are shared and liked. Young people are the greatest buyers of “shares” and “likes.” They pull the money out of the pockets and purses of parents and buy the products advertised. What they buy are fashions, tickets, songs, etc. Some of these ads may be for legitimate products and services, but some of the products are set to the tune of sexuality, immodesty, and selfishness. Each ad presents a style, a statement, or a belief they want you to purchase in order to win your heart (Luke 12.15).
Identity is being formed by visual and verbal messaging.
Cyberbullying is a behavior on social media where a person expresses his or her ugliness, cruelty, and scorn toward another. What do you suppose the response is from the people on the receiving end of those types of messages? They feel scared, worthless, or lonely. They are unfriended, unfollowed, and ignored. Socially, they feel unaccepted and unwanted. Their behavior changes because their identity comes from what other people say, not God.
Social media also provides identity in the form of visual, sext messages. Sexual and seductive images of friends begin to appear on a person’s phone or computer. A person sees the attention it gets. Your attention. The attention then drives the desire to send a similar image to others, especially since the friend’s image received so many “likes” and “hearts.” One’s identity is then formed from the approval of the images sent to others. The more sexual we look, the more we are “liked.”
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The words and images we send out do identify us. They identify us with the world or as a follower of God. In order to be recognized as a follower of God, we must first let our hearts be given identity as God describes us. We want to please Him (Hebrews 11.6). Faith in what God says about us should be our identity, not the world’s “likes” or “hearts.”
It is clear there is danger in every social media platform. We need to monitor and manage ourselves. Parents need to monitor and manage its use at home. Do not become passive about it. Have open conversations about what is being seen and read. Be alert to who you and your children are connected with most on social media. How much more your children know than you about social media should not scare you. Fear not. You need to use it with wisdom. Eliminate it if necessary. Just give your children good guidance and wisdom in using it (Hebrews 5.12-14).
