Stewardship of God’s Gift of Internet: Wisdom in a Smartphone World
Passage: 1 Samuel 13:13-14; I Chronicles 12:32; Romans 12:2
Do you know what is the most frequently asked question today? What is the question we are asked more than any other question? “Did you see this online?” “Have you seen this meme, this video, this reel, this TikTok, this YouTube?”
I like a funny video clip as much as the next guy, but what is this steady diet of funny fail videos and dashcam crashes and crazy dances doing to our souls?
Who shows video clips that build up our faith and encourage our walk with Jesus?
Thank God for people like Randy Small who bless us almost daily with stunning pictures of God’s creation here in Whatcom County. They are cause to give God glory and edify our souls.
I want to challenge our thinking this morning about the internet world and how we can be better stewards of God’s gift of technology, how we can be wise in a smartphone world.
Do you know who is the greatest influencer in the world today? It’s not who you think it is. It’s not Taylor Swift or Elon Musk or Lionel Messi. Actually, it is not any athlete or Hollywood star or politician.
The greatest influencer in the world today is algorithms, social media algorithms. Algorithms are the invisible hand guiding what you see and in what order on every social media platform. Algorithms are the scientific and mathematical computer rules that take into account everything you do on your computer or smartphone.
This is why when you look at something to purchase, all of a sudden there are all kinds of ads for that product no matter where you go on the internet. Some of us wonder if just thinking about it causes it to appear.
Algorithms watch everything you click on, where you search, what you post, what you like or share, what images or videos you watch, how long you stay on a page. Then using all your information and past user behavior, it determines what content to display, in what order and how often. These algorithms in Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter all have one purpose, one goal in mind. To keep you interested and engaged on their platform as long as possible.
The internet world we all live in is being personally, expertly crafted to wield influence over our lives and thinking and behaviors and choices and decisions. The world you see online is different than the world I see whether we are talking about what we buy or the news we see, or the entertainment being offered.
This is why we all have the experience of getting hooked and drawn along and suddenly realizing we just wasted two hours binging and scrolling. Algorithms are meant to keep us engaged and connected online. Algorithms create this world that is all about us, feeding us just what we want. To say it another way, it is constantly tempting us through our desires and felt needs, and then addicting us to want even more. In a real sense social media algorithms expose before our eyes the desires of our hearts. Who can resist?
Instead of “driving under the influence” we are onlining and scrolling under the influence. This is how we become what we scroll. So as Christians how do we navigate this technological world and keep from becoming what we scroll? God’s Word is eternal and eternally relevant and speaks to our hearts and modern world.