social media

Cultural flashpoints seem to be occurring with increasing frequency, undoubtedly facilitated and exacerbated by the explosion of social media. Situations and issues are quickly magnified and exploited — and more and more people seem to have opinions about all kinds of things that once upon a time would have been well off their radar.

Although arguable, social media’s overall downsides do have their upsides. Included on this small list would be the way the medium reveals an individual’s worldview, for good or bad.

It was Mark Twain who said, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” This philosophy is ignored by too many people out in cyberspace, many of whom weigh in on issues well beyond their expertise. They epitomize King Solomon’s stinging observation:

One man who is the antithesis of this is Dr. Del Tackett, a former senior vice president here at Focus on the Family and the creator and host of “The Truth Project” — Focus on the Family’s award-winning Christian worldview curriculum. Many of us here at Focus had the privilege of sitting under Del’s teaching before the lessons were put on film. 

At the heart of Dr. Tackett’s classes in this area is the conviction that Christians should be looking at every aspect of the world through the truth of Scripture.

“A worldview is a set of truth claims that purports to paint a picture of reality,” states Del. Biblical truth claims are unchanging and absolute while cultural claims more often vacillate with the changing times. In essence, our worldview is the lens through which we see reality.

One aspect of our worldview that seems to be overlooked involves how we tend to find what we’re looking for in this world. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus declares, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (7:7). 

If we’re seeking the negative and the hypocritical, it’s a given that in a fallen world, we’ll find it — and even among Christians. Conversely, if we’re keeping our eyes open for the pure and the true, we’ll find that, too. 

It’s always been a curious thing when Christians seem to relish pointing out what they perceive to be pharisaical behavior among other believers. “Iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17), but it is a destructive practice to gleefully run down another Christian. Correction, if necessary, should be handled carefully and soberly.

Yet another concerning dimension of a certain worldview approach are those who assume the worst of people with whom they disagree. Christian couples often have the Apostle Paul’s words to believers in Corinth read at their wedding: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7), but the sentiment is not just limited to romantic love.

Do we have a generosity of spirit when evaluating others? Simply because we don’t like someone’s politics or policies, must we nitpick and find fault? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow astutely observed, “We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” 

Scripture provides lots of evidence and encouragement for optimism (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 15:13) and passages that will resonate with a more pessimistic posture (Psalms, Lamentations). Yet, ideally, a balanced worldview appreciates that both are realities to grapple with and work through on a daily basis. 

Dr. Tackett correctly suggested, “The battle we are in today is not primarily political or social — it is a battle of worldviews.” That struggle is not just existential but also very personal and requires us to examine our own hearts as we navigate the complexities of culture.

Australia began enforcing the world’s first social media ban on Wednesday.

The novel policy, which the Australian legislature passed last year, prohibits people under 16 years old from accessing social media. Platforms including Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube must verify their users’ ages or face millions of dollars in fines.

“It’s a profound reform which will continue to reverberate around the world,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reflected.

The results of Australia’s social media ban will determine whether other countries adopt national limitations on minors’ social media use — an approach dismissed by some as too extreme, impractical or difficult to enforce.

But a social media ban need not be perfect to be effective, Jean Twenge, a leading scholar and professor of psychology at San Diego State University, argues in a piece for Generation Tech.

Twenge uses underage drinking laws to illustrate her point. The U.S. law requiring people be 21 years old to consume alcohol does not prevent kids from getting fake IDs, she acknowledges. It did, however, almost immediately decrease alcohol’s popularity with teens. Car crash deaths fell, too.

“The government got better at enforcing the law, and then social norms took over and made it less acceptable to drink while underage,” Twenge explained, predicting:

Bans like Australia’s also solve a major collective action problem for parents, who often worry their child will be left out or left behind by abstaining from social media.

“Australian parents will be a lot less likely to hear their kids say, ‘But Mum, all of my friends use Instagram! If I’m not on it, I’ll be left out!’” Twenge notes.

The commencement of Australia’s social media ban comes as Americans clamor for more federal laws protecting children online.

This year, Congress considered:

• The App Store Accountability Act, which would require app stores to verify their customers’ ages.
• The SCREEN Act, which would require pornography companies to verify the ages of their viewers.
• The Kids Online Safety Act, which would require social media companies to maintain certain safety standards for minors and communicate more transparently with parents.

The judicial branch signaled new willingness to adjust outdated tech regulations in June, when the Supreme Court declared state level pornography age-verification laws constitutional.

American legislators disagree over how the federal government should regulate social media companies — but none argue social media benefits children and teens.

Mountains of evidence correlate increased screen time and social media use among teens with:

• Increased feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness.
• Lower life satisfaction.
• Poor sleep and performance in school.
• Shortened attention span.
• Low self-esteem.

Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recommended mandatory health warnings appear on social media apps in June 2024, citing evidence showing excessive social media use inhibits development of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex — the parts of the brain responsible for self-control, social and emotional maturity, critical thinking and decision making.

In his 2024 book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt found excessive social media use stunts children’s relational development by depriving them of opportunities to resolve conflict, set boundaries, absorb rejection and make eye contact.

Social media companies, meanwhile, strive to maximize the time young people spend on their platforms.  In his analysis of a 2023 poll showing more than half of American teens spend at least four hours a day on social media, Gallup’s Dr. Jonathan Rothwell concluded:

Parents don’t need to know everything about America’s shifting legislative position on social media to protect their kids, so long as they remember this critical fact: Social media is bad for children and teens.

The Daily Citizen urges parents to think twice before allowing their child access.

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