It seems everybody notices that something is wrong with the world lately. And it may be difficult to put our finger on the cause of the problem, perhaps because there are multiple causes. However, I’d like to bring up what I suspect to be one of the problems: social media and its accompanying algorithms.
MY BACKGROUND ON THIS
Last year, I noticed that after I looked at videos about weight loss and how to do proper pushups and sit ups, Facebook and YouTube decided that the only thing I was interested in was workout videos. My account was flooded with reels of abs and gyms. Eventually, after I was educated on how to exercise properly, I didn’t need those videos anymore. So, I started clicking “not interested” in the top right corner.
That caused the opposite of its intended effect. Because I was clicking on the videos (in many cases to block them) the algorithm decided that I needed to see even more videos like that. Eventually, my feed would show me little else. The only way I could get rid of the workout videos was to “fake out” the algorithm by clicking on other reels. But the problem continued, only with some other topic. There was a month where it showed me almost nothing but Seinfeld clips. Then there were a few weeks where Nate Bargatze came up constantly.
Anyway, what I am trying to say is: there seems to be almost no way to get the internet to treat you like a well-rounded individual. It’s going to inundate you with something, and you (sorta’) get to pick the something. But, regardless of what you pick, if you are a very online person, you almost have no choice but to constantly be in some kind of echo chamber.
That caused the opposite of its intended effect. Because I was clicking on the videos (in many cases to block them) the algorithm decided that I needed to see even more videos like that. Eventually, my feed would show me little else. The only way I could get rid of the workout videos was to “fake out” the algorithm by clicking on other reels. But the problem continued, only with some other topic. There was a month where it showed me almost nothing but Seinfeld clips. Then there were a few weeks where Nate Bargatze came up constantly.
Anyway, what I am trying to say is: there seems to be almost no way to get the internet to treat you like a well-rounded individual. It’s going to inundate you with something, and you (sorta’) get to pick the something. But, regardless of what you pick, if you are a very online person, you almost have no choice but to constantly be in some kind of echo chamber.
AN ONLINE INFLUENCER POINTED THIS OUT TO ME AS WELL
Recently, I was paying attention to a person who I follow online. She mentioned that the first few times she went onto Instagram it showed her some reels of conservative Christian African American ladies who support Trump’s current immigration reforms. Because she “liked” a few of them, her feed is now full of these videos.
Meanwhile, she mentioned that her husband rarely goes on Twitter/X, but apparently there was a time when he watched a video of a black woman beating up a white woman. And he said that those are now shown to him every time he logs on.
The woman who is married to that guy went on to make an important point. She said, “If I didn’t know any better, I would think all black women support ICE and have had it with the liberal agenda. And if my husband didn’t know any better, he would think that black women are always beating up white women. And all I’m saying is, these algorithms are tearing us apart.”
Meanwhile, she mentioned that her husband rarely goes on Twitter/X, but apparently there was a time when he watched a video of a black woman beating up a white woman. And he said that those are now shown to him every time he logs on.
The woman who is married to that guy went on to make an important point. She said, “If I didn’t know any better, I would think all black women support ICE and have had it with the liberal agenda. And if my husband didn’t know any better, he would think that black women are always beating up white women. And all I’m saying is, these algorithms are tearing us apart.”
IF YOU ARE ONLINE, THIS AFFECTS YOU
Every Christian who spends time online needs to be aware of this phenomenon. If you look at something pornographic (even something mild like an advertisement for bras) you aren’t just going to see it one time. That temptation is going to keep coming to get you. Even if you use self-control to click away, it’s still going to keep coming for you. It probably won’t stop until you’ve watched 100 videos on beekeeping.
But it’s not just porn that is a problem. Any echo chamber that makes you think that “everyone is saying this” or “everyone believes this” is not going to be good for you, because that’s not true in the real world.
For instance, lately I’ve been wondering how there could be so many people who believe in a flat earth. I mean, we literally have pictures from space that show it is round. The instruments that pilots use to navigate aircraft would not work if the curvature of the earth wasn’t spherical. Every plane flight is a testimony to a round planet.
And yet, there seems to be more people (at least in my circles) who are becoming flat-earthers. I didn’t know any flat-earthers growing up, however a couple of years ago there was a guy who tried to get me to preach about how the earth is flat, and I had to firmly tell him no.
So, here’s the question: “How do these people (some of whom travel on airplanes!) become so dogmatic about something universally disproven long ago?” Well, I think I discovered it. They clicked on a video. And then another. And after a while, they couldn’t see anything else.
I would imagine, that if a person is highly online and lacks a diverse swath of real-world friends, it would only take a few months before that person could say, “Nearly everyone I know says that the earth is flat.”
For instance, lately I’ve been wondering how there could be so many people who believe in a flat earth. I mean, we literally have pictures from space that show it is round. The instruments that pilots use to navigate aircraft would not work if the curvature of the earth wasn’t spherical. Every plane flight is a testimony to a round planet.
And yet, there seems to be more people (at least in my circles) who are becoming flat-earthers. I didn’t know any flat-earthers growing up, however a couple of years ago there was a guy who tried to get me to preach about how the earth is flat, and I had to firmly tell him no.
So, here’s the question: “How do these people (some of whom travel on airplanes!) become so dogmatic about something universally disproven long ago?” Well, I think I discovered it. They clicked on a video. And then another. And after a while, they couldn’t see anything else.
I would imagine, that if a person is highly online and lacks a diverse swath of real-world friends, it would only take a few months before that person could say, “Nearly everyone I know says that the earth is flat.”
CONCLUSION: THE ALGORITHM IS NOT A CHRISTIAN
This is just a warning. I believe that the people who designed these algorithms and platforms are not Christians, and they are not trying to leverage this technology for the glory of God. Therefore, while I don’t believe social media use is sinful, as a pastor and a concerned Christian, I advise making most of your social interactions in the real world, and not allowing the internet to take up more than a slice of your life.
