social media

Posting Easter Sunday  — A Young Person’s Reflection on Life Lived Through Social Media

Social media trains us to see life through a camera’s lens. Our experiences start to feel unimportant, even intangible, unless we document them online.

I noticed this about myself almost a year after I quit social media, when I went skydiving. Five seconds of freefall followed by twenty minutes of parachuting down from dizzying heights, it remains the most thrilling experience of my life.

I caught myself brainstorming Instagram posts to mark the occasion within minutes of hitting the ground. In that moment, the joy I felt skydiving didn’t matter unless I could tell everyone else I had done it.

I was saddened last weekend to see so many believers falling into the same trap.

On Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I watched dozens (yes, dozens) of people whip out their phones to film worship. I watched them take meticulous photos of the church’s “Welcome to Easter Sunday” banner, each with a slightly different angle and zoom. I watched them line up to take pictures against a plain white background with black block letters reading, “Jesus.”

I know these kinds of pictures well. They are posted to Instagram or Snapchat stories with little to no context.

Their implied message?

“Just in case you forgot, I’m a Christian.”

There’s nothing inherently wrong with proclaiming your faith on social media. Nor is it unusual for people to use clothing or other external signals to identify themselves as part of a social group.

But I think this is a different phenomenon, one driven by the constant “connection” imposed by social networks. It’s not about letting people know you are faithful, it’s about feeling as though you are not faithful unless you post something online.

That, my friends, is not biblical.

Jesus and his disciples were never particularly concerned with what other people thought of them. Jesus frequently went out of his way to subvert religious norms that did not glorify God.

In Matthew 23:1-6, Jesus castigates the Pharisees:

The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice … They do all their deeds to be seen by others (ESV).

In verses 27 and 28, He continues:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

I’m not suggesting that everyone who posted about Easter is a hypocrite — far from it. These verses illustrate how problematic it can be to curate our lives for others’ consumption and approval.

And that’s social media’s business model.

Jesus does not command us to demonstrate our faith by wearing certain clothes or posting certain pictures. The mark of our salvation, Galatians 5 tells us, is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Paul concludes the chapter:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Accordingly, I encourage fellow believers to take stock of themselves and their families — how much control does the camera lens exercise over your life? Do you feel odd, even wrong, for letting a Christian holiday past without letting followers know you celebrate?

These could be signs that your relationship with social media needs to change. I’ve been there, and I’m grateful to say recovery is possible. There’s freedom in enjoying your life as you live it, instead of when you post about it.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13)

New York Prepares to Restrict School Smartphone Use

New York could pass a statewide, “bell-to-bell” ban on smartphone use in schools within the month, multiple outlets report.

The policy, introduced by Governor Kathy Hochul in January, is one of many rolled in to the state’s 2026 budget proposal. It would allocate some $13 million dollars for school districts to purchase tools restricting school smartphones use.

Polling suggests most New York voters support all-day restrictions on smartphones in schools, but the specifics have proven difficult to iron out. Mayor Eric Adams stopped pursuing cellphone restrictions in New York City schools less than a year ago after encountering logistical issues.

Hochul’s statewide policy addresses three common objections to Adams’ failed district-wide restrictions:

  • It provides funding for schools to purchase equipment, like these lockable pouches.
  • It requires schools to provide at least one way for students and parents to communicate in an emergency.
  • It includes exceptions for students with learning disabilities and those who use their phones as translators.

But it’s not yet clear how much freedom districts would have to establish their own cellphone restrictions.

Some New York officials argue districts should be able to decide whether students can use smartphones during passing periods, lunch or other non-instructional times.

Hochul, on the other hand, supports what she calls a “bell-to-bell ban” — no cellphone use on school property during school hours.

“No smartphones, no earbuds, no cellphones,” Hochul told Telemundo 47 in March. “Here’s why: The mental health of our children, especially in middle school and high school is really declining.”

While introducing the policy, Hochul argued:

[Kids aren’t] developing the skills [they] need because they are distracted with the cell phones. Our teachers [are] trying to teach algebra and geography, and they’re competing with viral dances, and messages from their friends, and sometimes threats [and] bullying.

There’s no question that smartphone and social media use negatively affect adolescent’s development, mental health and academic achievement.

A 2023 study from Common Sense Media found 97% of teens use their cellphones during school hours, primarily to play video games, browse social media and watch porn.

Students that manage to put their phones down are lured back in with push notifications. The average American teen receives between 192 and 237 every day — about eleven every waking hour. This constant stimuli is so distracting, one study found, that the mere presence of a smartphone in the classroom, even tucked away in a backpack, decreases students’ academic performance.

Once students become distracted by their phone, a 2017 study from the Association of Consumer Research found it can take up to 20 minutes to recover their focus.

Constant distraction, or attention fragmentation, prevents adolescents from developing the parts of their brains responsible for self-control, decision-making and critical thinking, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt writes in his book The Anxious Generation.

Smartphones can also hamper adolescents’ social development. A 2023 surgeon general’s advisory on social media found excessive screentime hampers the development of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, the parts of the brain controlling “emotional learning, behavior impulse control, emotional regulation and ability to moderate social behavior.”

When Orange County school district in Florida instituted a total cell phone ban in November 2023, teachers and administrators saw improvement in kids’ focus and behavior. One teacher told The New York Times that students seemed “more talkative and collaborative.” Others found students made more eye contact and seemed more engaged. A principal claimed bullying decreased because students could no longer film embarrassing or harmful videos of their classmates to post on social media.

The surgeon general’s advisory cites studies supporting Orange County teachers’ experiences. A small study of college-aged kids found the severity of subjects’ depression lessened when they reduced their social media use to just thirty minutes a day.

Another small study found young adults and adults who abstained from social media for four weeks reported higher levels of subjective wellbeing, like happiness and life satisfaction. The improvements were equivalent to between 25% and 40% of benefits from other mental health interventions like therapy.

New York legislators are still finalizing the city’s 2026 budget — more than two weeks after the April 1 deadline. But outlets like Politico report the school cellphone policy isn’t causing the delay.

If the policy makes it into the state’s finalized budget, as expected, it will become the tenth state to restrict or ban school cellphone use at the state level, joining Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia, Louisiana and South Carolina.

To learn more about how you can protect your kids from the harmful effects of social media and excessive screentime, check out the articles linked below.

Additional Articles and Resources

Parent-Run Groups Help Stop Childhood Smartphone Use

Four Ways to Protect Your Kids from Bad Tech, from Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt

New York City Passes on School Cellphone Ban — For Now

Surgeon General Recommends Warning on Social Media Platforms

Social Psychologist Finds Smartphones and Social Media Harm Kids in These Four Ways

The Harmful Effects of Screen-Filled Culture on Kids

Survey Finds Teens Use Social Media More Than Four Hours Per Day — Here’s What Parents Can Do

Florida School District Bans Cellphones, Gets Results

‘Big Tech’ Device Designs Dangerous for Kids, Research Finds

Plugged in Parent’s Guide to Today’s Technology

Do Your Kids Have Healthy Phone Habits

Video: Seven-Year-Old’s Confidence Soars After Ordering Chick-Fil-A By Himself

A heartwarming video of a mom sending her seven-year-old into a restaurant to order by himself shows kids can still learn independence and responsibility in a technological age.

The short clip, circulated by conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, begins with an unnamed mother watching her small son walk into a Chick-Fil-A alone, cash clutched in his fist.

“I just finished the Anxious Generation,” she told the camera, referencing social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s book exploring the effects of smartphones and social media on childhood.

“At the end, they challenge you to let your kid do something age-appropriate on their own [to build their] confidence,” she continued. “So, all of my kids came up with an idea that they wanted to do that they could do alone.”

Seven-year-old Wells decided he wanted to order Chick-Fil-A — so off to Chick-Fil-A they went.

In the Anxious Generation, Haidt argues smartphones and social media deprive children of the face-to-face, unsupervised group play they need to develop social skills and resilience. He presents research showing screens ruin the sleep kids need to learn and grow, eviscerate their attention spans and prime them for addiction.

Haidt quotes Anna Lembke, an addiction researcher at Stanford University:

The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation.

To mitigate these dangers, Haidt recommends parents allow kids to complete more tasks independently. He knows this is hard ask — not necessarily because the child is incapable, but because it requires the parent to relinquish control.

Wells’ mom felt that anxiety first-hand.

“The worst part is I can’t watch,” she told the camera, chagrined. “Even if the blinds weren’t shut, I could just peek and see, ‘Okay, he’s okay. He’s next and line. He’s got this.’”

“[But] no,” she flashes a disappointed smile. “No phone. No way to communicate with me. I can’t see if he’s in trouble.”

Despite her discomfort, Wells’ mom seems to recognize his success hinges on completing the task by himself, with no parental safety net.

Her self-control paid off. Wells soon emerged from the store with more Chick-Fil-A than he could carry.

“I want to do that again,” he told his elated mom with a big smile, handing her the drink he chose to upsize.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, that is so fun.”

When his mom asked if the experience boosted his confidence, Wells replied with an emphatic yes.

Yeah, for sure. Like, my legs are still shivering. But yeah, that was so fun.

This video encapsulates so much more than a cute moment between mother and son. It proves parents can overcome anxiety for their kids’ benefit. It illustrates kids’ ability to do hard, uncomfortable things — and the joy they feel conquering them.

Most importantly, it shows that screens and social media don’t render parents powerless. It’s more than possible to raise resilient, independent kids in the technological age with love, time, courage and some elbow grease.

To learn more about the Anxious Generation and Haidt’s recommendations for parents, click on the links below.

Additional Articles and Resources

Social Psychologist Finds Smartphones and Social Media Harm Kids in These Four Ways

Four Ways to Protect Your Kids from Bad Tech, From Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt

Parent-Run Groups Help Stop Childhood Smartphone Use

The Harmful Effects of Screen-Filled Culture on Kids

‘Big Tech’ Device Designs Dangerous for Kids, Research Finds

Pornography Age Verification Laws: What They Are and Which States Have Them

First Lady Supports Bill Targeting Deepfakes, Sextortion and Revenge Porn

The House of Representatives is preparing to pass a bill targeting revenge porn, online sextortion and pornographic deepfakes, multiple sources report, following exhortations from America’s first family.

The bipartisan Take It Down Act (H.R. 633) makes it illegal to share, or threaten to share, nude images and videos without consent. It passed the Senate on February 13 in a rare unanimous vote.

First lady Melania Trump joined Speaker of the House Mike Johnson at a Congressional roundtable Monday to support the bill.

“I am here with you today with a common goal — to protect our youth from online harm,” Mrs. Trump began, continuing:

In today’s AI-driven world, the threat of privacy breaches is alarmingly high. As organizations harness the power of our data, the risk of unauthorized access and misuse of a person’s information escalates.
We must prioritize robust security measures and uphold strict ethical standards to protect individual privacy.

Johnson echoed the first lady, acknowledging “laws need to keep up” with the “unspeakable evils” spawned by the “dark side of tech.”

“We are anxious to put it on the floor in the House, to get it to President Trump’s desk for his signature, because we’ve got to do what we can to stop [nonconsensual sharing of explicit images],” he said.

The president highlighted Melania’s support for the bill in last night’s wide-ranging joint address to congress, calling it “so important.”

“Once it passes the house, I look forward to signing it into law,” he said, thanking Senate Majority Leader John Thune for shepherding it through the Senate.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce must approve the Take It Down Act before the House can vote on it. Chairman Brett Guthrie said Monday a committee hearing on the bill will occur “very, very soon.”

How It Works

The Take It Down Act addresses three of the most common ways bad actors weaponize nude images online.

Revenge Porn

The first, and perhaps most familiar, way people exploit nude photos is “revenge porn” — when explicit images are shared to harm someone mentally, financially or reputationally. It is most closely associated with aggrieved ex-boyfriends leaking once-private, sexual images of former girlfriends.

The Act makes it illegal to publish sexual images that were:

  • Created or shared with a reasonable expectation of privacy, like those sent to a romantic partner.
  • Shared to cause harm.

Violators would face up to two years in prison for sharing images of an adult, and up to three years for sharing a minor’s.

Deepfakes

The same penalties apply to what the Act calls “digital forgeries” —  images and videos edited to make it appear as though a person is performing a sexual act. They are more commonly known as deepfakes.

Elliston Berry (15), who attended the joint address to congress with the first lady, is one of the many victims of pornographic deepfakes. When she was just 14 years old, Berry discovered a peer edited one of her Instagram posts to make it look like she was posing nude.

Berry told Monday’s congressional roundtable how the violation affected her life:

Fear, shock, and disgust were just some of the many emotions I felt.
I felt responsible and began to blame myself. I was ashamed to tell my parents, despite doing nothing wrong.
As I attended school, I was scared of the reactions of [people] or [that] someone could recreate those photos.

The Take It Down Act imposes the same penalties on people who share deepfakes as on those who share real photos, consistent with the real damage doctored images do to victims like Berry.

Online Sextortion

Threatening to leak explicit photos can be just as harmful as actually exposing them. Since 2021, at least 20 teenage boys have reportedly committed suicide after falling victim to sextortion.

Online sextortionists create fake social media accounts to convince users to strike up a romantic exchange of nude images. Once they get their hands on a someone’s explicit photos, the scammers ask for money in exchange for keeping the images quiet.

In 2022, Gavin Guffey, a 17-year-old from South Carolina, ended his life less than two hours after being contacted by a sextortionist. His dad, Representative Brandon Guffy (SC), is one of the bill’s biggest supporters. He described his experience in an article for The Hill.

As a father, I believe it is my job to protect our kids. Since Gavin took his life, I have been focused on continuing to use my voice to advocate, help victims, fight child online sexual abuse and focus on teen mental health. Our children’s safety is an issue that transcends party lines.

Under the Take It Down Act, sextortionists would face up to 18 months in prison for targeting an adult, and up to 30 months for targeting minors like Gavin.

A Pathway to Take It Down

H.R. 633 would also require websites and social media companies to remove explicit images within 48 hours of a victim’s request.

Representative Maria Salazar (FL), who sponsored the bill in the House, said of this provision:

The act, finally, is sending a very big message to Big Tech that they have to bring down these images within 48 hours. No more time than that. No more excuses. If not, Big Tech will be just as guilty as the aggressor.
Why It Matters

The internet is not a safe place for kids. At the very least, the Take It Down Act demonstrates Congress’ desire to help parents protect their kids from exploitation.

That’s something to celebrate.

Additional Articles and Resources

Teen Boys Falling Prey to Financial Sextortion — Here’s What Parents Can Do

Meta Takes Steps to Prevent Kids From Sexting

Instagram’s Sextortion Safety Measures — Too Little, Too Late?

Zuckerberg Implicated in Meta’s Failures to Protect Children

Instagram Content Restrictions Don’t Work, Tests Show

‘The Dirty Dozen List’ — Corporations Enable and Profit from Sexual Exploitation

Taylor Swift Deepfakes Should Inspire Outrage — But X Isn’t to Blame

Utah Family Vlogging Bill Passes Committee After Franke Family Testimony

Utah legislators advanced a bill protecting child performers and social media stars this week after members of the Franke family testified to the harms of family vlogging (video blogging).

House Bill 322 requires parents of child performers, including children featured in family vlogs, to deposit 15% of their child’s income in a trust. The legislation also establishes a pathway for adults to remove social media content they starred in as kids.

The House Business and Labor Committee unanimously approved HB 322 after hearing from members of the Franke family.

Kevin and Ruby Franke posted daily videos of themselves and their six children to YouTube for years. At its height, their channel, “8 Passengers,” boasted more than two million subscribers.

The Franke’s carefully curated family image shattered in August 2023 when police arrested Ruby and her business partner, Jodi Hildenbrandt, for mistreating Ruby’s youngest children. Both women are serving prison sentences for aggravated child abuse.

In the two years since Ruby’s arrest, Kevin and the Franke children have become prominent critics of family vlogging.

“Had [this bill] been in place when my family was doing YouTube, my mom would not have been able to withdraw all my savings from doing YouTube,” Kevin read a statement for the Business and Labor Committee on behalf of his daughter, Julie. “This bill will prevent other kids from having to go through the pain of realizing that the compensation for years’ worth of time and effort is suddenly gone.”

Representative Doug Owens, the bill’s sponsor, emphasizes that HB 322’s financial protections only apply to family vlogging channels making more than $150,000 a year, like “8 Passengers.”

Dave Davis, a lobbyist for family vloggers, says his clients won’t oppose the legislation.

“They can make it work if it’s the will of the body to move forward in this direction,” he told a local news station.

While the Franke’s eldest daughter, Shari, supports all restrictions on family vlogging, she warns that money doesn’t compensate for growing up in a more invasive iteration of reality TV. She was eleven when “8 Passengers” started.

“If I could go back and do it all again, I’d rather have an empty bank account now, and not have my childhood plastered all over the internet,” she told the Business and Labor Committee in October. “No amount of money I’ve received has made what I experienced worth it.”

Often, she recalled, money was used to entice her and her siblings to film increasingly embarrassing and vulnerable videos:

Payment was usually a bribe. For example, we’d be awarded $100 or a shopping trip if we filmed a particularly embarrassing moment or an exciting event in our lives.

Kevin, for his part, wishes he could turn back the clock.

“Vlogging my family — putting my children into public social media — was wrong, and I regret it every day,” he told the committee. “Children cannot give informed consent to be filmed on social media, period.”

Focus on the Family’s Plugged In helps families navigate our technological age. While not all family vlogging channels are exploitive, it cautions parents against using children for content and revenue.

Growing up is tough enough. Growing up in the public eye is exponentially tougher. While lots of wonderful families live out their lives on YouTube, it’s inherently dangerous to commoditize those lives for public consumption.
Kids should be kids first — not entertainers, and certainly not employees.

The Franke’s youngest daughter, Eve, articulated a remarkably similar thought to the Business and Labor Committee on Tuesday.

“I’m not saying YouTube is a bad thing,” she wrote. “Sometimes it brings us together. But kids deserve to be loved, not used by the ones that are supposed to love them the most.”

HB 322 will be brought before the Utah House of Representatives for a vote in coming months. If advanced, the bill will go to the state Senate for approval.

Additional Articles and Resources

Plugged In

Plugged In Parent’s Guide to Today’s Technology equips parents to navigate the ever-shifting tech realm.

Horrifying Instagram Investigation Indicts Modern Parenting

TikTok Dangerous for Minors — Leaked Docs Show Company Refuses to Protect Kids

Teen Boys Falling Prey to Financial Sextortion — Here’s What Parents Can Do

Instagram’s Sextortion Safety Measures — Too Little, Too Late?

Kid’s Online Safety Act — What It Is and Why It’s a Big Deal

Instagram Content Restrictions Don’t Work, Tests Show

Zuckerberg Implicated in Meta’s Failures to Protect Children

Surgeon General Recommends Warning on Social Media Platforms

‘The Dirty Dozen List’ — Corporations Enable and Profit from Sexual Exploitation

Four Ways to Protect Your Kids from Bad Tech, From Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt