Social Media

Ah, social media, the obsession of the modern age. Addictive and compelling, so many of us check it every day, several times a day, not just on our computers, but on our phones everywhere we go. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, LinkedIn; we just don’t seem to be able to leave it alone. So many of us compulsively access it often, lest we miss something since the last time we checked. Add to this our favorite online news sites, and traditional news sources such as newspapers, radio and television, and we get a steady diet of information about what is happening in the world: tragedies and travesties from around the globe.

Some world leaders increasingly recognize the news obsession, and behave in attention-seeking ways, and it’s working: people are glued to their media sources, fascinated and appalled about what the leader might say or do next, or what people might say or do in opposition. On top of this, various well-founded concerns about the state of the world feed apocalyptic scenarios of global disaster. Anxiety levels are high, and the various consequences of anxiety are starting to show: frustration, anger, paralysis, and depression. Is this what Jesus wants for us: to be glued to our phones, computers and televisions, aghast and upset by things we can do nothing about?

The church suggests an answer, every year: Lent, a blessed time when we are reminded to pray, give alms, and fast. Can we not learn from Lent to take the opportunity to fast from our addiction to news and social media, to generously share ourselves and our resources with others, and spend quality time with Jesus? The world will be the no worse off because we are not following the news. But we will be all the better for focusing on Jesus rather than social media, better because we are filling our hearts and minds not with the world’s news, but the Good News. Jesus is the one who deserves our attention. Let us give it to him.