Handling Social Media (2025 version)

In this blog which I find myself returning to after 3 years, I am pondering my relationship with social media. I am searching for some principles to guide me in online interaction. Some online spaces seem somewhat grimmer - it is tempting to press delete on the whole thing - but that would rid me of the possibility of staying in touch with the distant and the chance to make professional connections in the day job. So here are 3 principles drawn from my faith perspective and 3 practical steps.

3 Principles

1. Human Nature is rich and complex: and as a result so is the online space. We are increasingly tribal and we are quick to place people into two categories: heroes (who agree with us) and villains. This is not an insight that the Bible recognizes. We are according to Christianity, all made in the image of God, all human beings (even those we don’t like) have a dignity… Yet we are also fallen beings. There is within us something deeply troubling that causes us to regularly shoot ourselves in the foot. The Bible terms this sin. It inconveniently raises its head each time we are tempted to put ourselves or someone else on a pedestal. Our social media output reflects this. We are capable of great things and also great stupidity; we are a mixed package both online and in real life.

2. Repentance and change: most of us who are of a certain age are mildly relieved that Facebook and Twitter were not around when we were younger. I am sure every one of us has said things that we are now deeply ashamed of; unfortunately for many people, there is now a permanent digital record. But Christians believe that people can and do change – not always and not as much as we would like – but the possibility of repentance is there. Repentance is more than just saying sorry (the Greek 'metanoia' means a complete change of heart and behaviour). It is important to recognize that some people do grow up and change. And we also need to look at the large log that is in our own eye, what aspects of our own identity that we need to work on?

3. Forgiveness and grace: the other side of the coin. The danger of cancel culture is that we put ourselves in God’s place and deliver an everlasting judgement. That is not to say that there isn’t such a thing as wickedness but if we can, let's leave the door open and be gracious to those who mess up both in real life and in their social media posts because there but for the grace of God etc. The idea of grace might also extend to how we read others. Communication is twofold: what is said and what is heard. Likewise in the virtual world – what is typed and what is read. The possibility of misunderstanding others increases when we cannot see facial expressions or read body language. Before becoming offended, ask yourself – am I reading this post with as generous an interpretation as I can? Before responding or correcting, is what I am about to post motivated by love or a desire to be right?

3 Practical Steps

In order to protect my own wellbeing, I am adopting a few steps. Perhaps you feel inclined to join me

1. Press PAUSE: Social Media platforms are not really suited to complex political or philosophical issues – they can’t be solved in a soundbite or meme. Attempts to do so generate more heat than light and oversimplify issues. Everyone just ends up getting annoyed. There is a time to speak but there's also a time to be silent. So I will press PAUSE in this regard. If I feel I have anything interesting to say in these areas I will write a blog, or put in a book proposal.

2. Be POSITIVE: If and when I post, I will try to keep things POSITIVE with the aim of being helpful, kind or amusing. Before posting I will ask myself how people will feel when they read this post. Will it do good or at the very least, will it avoid causing harm? I will also try to be genuine and honest. Being positive does not mean giving the false impression that life is wonderful all the time

3. PROTECT myself: I will curate my timeline and PROTECT myself from material that upsets or angers me. So I will be muting and blocking more if I see things that are racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, Antisemitic, homophobic etc. People have the right to say such things but they do not have the right to impose it upon those who do not wish to read it.  

And of course it goes without saying that posting and commenting is not compulsory. We do not have to have a reaction to everything that is going on. Just as the Bible warns that the tongue is a tiny part of the body that causes all sorts of trouble. So too in the digital age, our fingers - tiny though they are - cause all sorts of mayhem on the keyboard. Do I really need to say this? Is this helpful? These are two questions that it is worth asking ourselves. They might save us some trouble.