By now it’s clear that social media has significant power to shape us: what we love, what we hate, and what we believe. A year like 2020—when quarantine forced us to spend even more time online—has removed any doubt about the often disturbing formative power of online media. One of the insidious ways social media forms us is by setting our agendas. When we see enough of a sentiment, theory, debate, or outrage online—often compounded by algorithms that tend to feed us more of the same—it’s natural that we too become consumed with it and feel the need to weigh in.

This is problematic for Christians for a number of reasons. One of the biggest concerns is that we wake up everyday with a passive and distractible posture, opening our smartphones for no reason and letting our social feeds dictate where the energies of our hearts, minds, and words are funneled. Not only can this lead us in all sorts of foolish and unhelpful directions (spending hours engaged in Twitter battles when we could be doing any number of more productive things), but it also distracts us from the Christian mission that should animate us more powerfully than the various social media kerfuffles and breaking news headlines that quickly come and go. As Kevin DeYoung writes in the post below, it’s problematic when the world’s priorities dictate what the church is most passionate about. It’s problematic when we spend more time sounding off about the Thing Everyone Is Talking About than we do speaking up about Jesus and the gospel.

Are there times when commenting on timely events or current political debates is important for Christians? Yes. But we should also heed DeYoung’s words when he says, “Brothers and sisters, it’s OK to have an unarticulated thought. It’s OK to go about our lives in quiet worship and obedience. It’s OK to do your homework, read your Bible, raise your kids, and make your private thoughts prayers instead of posts.”