Consuming or Consumed
Social media and its amazingly powerful algorithms carry far more influence on our lives than we might think.
Alarms are sounding in most every corner of society concerning the ways powerful forces reconfigure the ways life is lived, from the halls of power to the church or schools or families and individuals. These systems work by relentlessly funneling more and more of what I search for direct to my device. This data dump into my mind forms echo chambers of narrow thinking and beliefs where dialogue is discouraged, debate morphs to zero-sum games, and compromise becomes sin.
John Mark Comer asserts not whether or not we are being formed by outside influences, but by what and into what. Formation happens to each of us and we slowly, inexorably, come to resemble whatever in which we marinate. That has always been the case, but with the immediacy of the internet and algorithms, there is less time to understand what is going on inside me as I go.
Pete Greig has this to say about formation through media.
Inevitably the media I constantly consume starts to consume me. It realigns my neural pathways, amplifies my prejudices, and embeds unhealthy dependencies. The culture in which I swim inevitably shapes my most fundamental perception of reality. In the words of Romans 12:2 it “squeezes me into its mold.” This can sometimes be positive. For example, when I inhabit an encouraging environment, I become more encouraging. When I spend time with prayerful people I become more prayerful. But of course it can also be deeply destructive. Cynicism is contagious. Consumerism is unfulfilling. While as a follower of Christ I am called to be a catalyst in culture, affecting change, I am more like a chameleon merely mirroring the colors of my environment and blending in. But I am called to be different, to be holy, to be prophetically distinct.
The passage Pete refers to in Romans 12 deserves an second look.
With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands, and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
While scrolling through endless reels on whatever platform might appear harmless and random, a darker reality drives the bus. Bouncing from one voice to the next that reinforce one line of thought quietly molds me. Every click I make is analyzed and more related content steers in my direction and my formation continues. Also, outlets like Twitter/X blast every issue at a level 10 in all caps, further cementing positions.
As I consume I am being consumed without ever noticing changes in my thinking and acting. It all is designed to be as addictive as any street drug, created to leave the user yearning for the next hit.
For example, in politics, if I love what the president is doing through his office, a steady “amen chorus” of material flows onto my screen, and anyone opposing his policies are immediately cast as deceived, deranged, and even an enemy rather than just a person with a different point of view. The converse is just as true if you believe Trump is running the country into a ditch. Name your topic and the algorithm will shovel endless affirming content your way, all screaming a one-sided message. It doesn’t have a dog in the fight, it only wants to consume you and your attention.
One outcome of this is silo-thinking and litmus tests for friends and fellowship. Cross an ideological line and risk losing contact, possibly forever.
The key element of any healthy community (neighborhood, church, town, or group) lies, in part, in its ability to have conversations, even heated ones, and work toward compromise. Silo-thinking cuts that down at the starting gate. It seems to this geezer that more and more our country, relentlessly driven by talking heads, social media, and influencers clicking away from their mom’s basement, see issues as a zero-sum game they are not willing to lose, or even give an inch.
Today’s note is a call for me and you to check our inputs. It’s worth asking what messages are forming your positions? Who speaks with authority into your life? How much time do you invest in your silo? My mind runs to all kinds of ideas to ponder, some of which chafe a bit.
With the time I spend online, am I becoming more compassionate, welcoming, slow to anger, merciful, or something else?
Am I able to separate issues of disagreement with others from them as individuals, or do I increasingly view them negatively because of their positions?
Based on how I talk and behave, is there enough evidence to convict me of being a “red letter Christian” (one who takes Jesus’ words seriously and acts on them)?
Is my table growing longer or are my fences being built higher, and might my media diet be the cause?
If we aren’t careful we might be being squeezed into the world’s mold a little bit each day, and that mold could have Jesus on the label but look nothing like him coming out. Again, we are all being formed, and the great gift of being human is the choice as to who forms me into what I will become.
Let’s each and all choose wisely and make the necessary changes to freely allow God to re-mold your mind from within, so that you my prove that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands, and moves toward the goal of true maturity.
Music? Sure thing…
Bad Jokes…we got ‘em
One Sunday morning when my son, David, was about 5, we were attending a church in our community.
It was common for the preacher to invite the children to the front of the church and have a small lesson before beginning the sermon. He would bring in an item they could find around the house and relate it to a teaching from the Bible.
This particular morning, the visual aid for his lesson was a smoke detector. He asked the children if anyone knew what it meant when an alarm sounded from the smoke detector.
My child immediately raised his hand and said, "It means Daddy's cooking dinner."
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A woman goes to the doctor for her yearly physical.
The nurse starts with the basics. "How much do you weigh?" she asks.
"120," the woman says. The nurse puts her on the scale. It turns out her weight is 150.
The nurse asks, "Your height?"
"5 feet, 8 inches," she says. The nurse checks and sees that she measures only 5 feet, 5 inches.
She then takes her blood pressure and tells the woman it is very high.
"Of course it's high!" she screams. "When I came in here, I was tall and slender, and now I'm short and fat!"