The world we, and our teenagers, live in is fraught with competing voices, addictive algorithms, and an overabundance of information. How do we help disciple teens to develop good habits and make good choices about what they intake online? Some say we should reject social media and technology altogether. However, I propose that through utilizing God’s wisdom in the Scriptures, we can help our students engage with technology and social media with digital discernment, using it to make disciples of Jesus for the glory of God.
Not “If,” but “How?”
Before discussing how to practice digital discernment, we should address the elephant in the room. Social media and technology in general are not neutral, at least not to the people who designed them.
Most social media designers have admitted that they have designed their platforms to create dependence and addiction among their users. The popular documentary “The Social Dilemma” highlights how many of these companies view their users as products they seek to sell to sponsors. Because of the unique nature of modern digital technology and its subtle, powerful, conforming, and addictive features, it inherently has a dominion aspect. Thus, we must help our students ask not “if social media is affecting me,” but “how is social media affecting me?”
In short, social media and technology are discipling our students. But are they using these platforms to cultivate holiness and help them grow in Christlikeness? Or are they being conformed to corrupting influences and patterns within culture?
Philippians 4:8: a guide for digital discernment
The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, provides guidance on what to consume and dwell on to help us grow in our walk with Jesus. In Philippians 4:8, Paul says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Drawing on the wisdom of this passage, I want to offer three diagnostic tools you can train your students to use to practice digital discernment: truth, goodness, and beauty.
Diagnostic Tool #1: Truth
Paul first says that we should think about and dwell on what is true. As Christians, we know that God has revealed what is true about himself, ourselves, and our world through the Scriptures. According to God, truth corresponds to reality and is livable because God designed the world to function within a system of absolutes. As such, we want the question “Is this true?” to be the first question students ask about the reel they are watching or the post they are making. Distorted reality and AI-falsified media have become extremely prominent over the last few years. This is especially concerning when many teens form their worldviews about politics, religion, and lifestyle from the latest YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram influencer.
However, as guides, we must help our students learn to ask, “What worldview is this person portraying in the content they produce? How does it align with a Biblical worldview? How does what they say align with the truth of the Bible about God, creation, humanity, sin, salvation, and eternity?”
Also, we can encourage our students to ask whether what they post or their responses to posts are truthful and in line with the Bible. Are they portraying a genuine image of themselves and others in the pictures they post? Are they seeking to live out the Bible verses they quote? Helping students assess their hearts and intentions behind certain posts is vital to training them in digital discernment.
As Paul said in Galatians 1, we should not seek to please others but to please the Lord. Hence, we should encourage our students not to portray perfect, airbrushed images of their lives. Rather, the should tell the story of how God, by his grace, transformed their broken lives into a beautiful masterpiece for his glory. Encouraging students to dwell on and promote social media content that aligns with God’s truth from God’s word will help them walk as beloved children and imitate their heavenly Father as they impact his world with the hope of the gospel.
Quick diagnostic question: Does this content align with and promote God’s truth revealed in the Bible?
Diagnostic Tool #2: Goodness
Second, Paul says we should consider what is just and pure. Scripture teaches that what is good is righteous, holy, and in accordance with God’s design. When God finished creating the universe, he said it was “very good”. It was perfectly designed for the purpose for which God intended. Something is “good” if it promotes righteousness and helps us grow in holiness and Christlikeness. Evil is the opposite of good.
When considering social media, we can help our students discern whether the content they consume is good, pointing them and others toward God’s goodness, or evil, leading them and others away from God’s goodness. Does watching the reel help the student grow in holiness and increase their love for God and for others? Or does it fuel envy, anger, slander, malice, and bitterness?
Another question to help our students consider is whether social media is helping our students steward the good gift of time well. Time is a good gift of God’s grace. Ephesians 5:15-16 commands us to be wise in how we use our time and to “redeem” it because the days are evil. Too often, social media and technology steal precious time from our lives that could be used to enjoy and further God’s good design for our relationships. We need to teach our students to assess how much time they spend on technology and social media and discern whether these activities are taking them away from their responsibilities as Christians, sons/daughters, students, teammates, and friends.
Lastly, it is good to counsel our students to consider whether they are promoting goodness in their posts. Does their post encourage someone in their faith or tear them down? Does their reel point people to Jesus and promote righteousness and prudence, or does it propagate promiscuity and licentious pleasure? As God’s beloved children, it’s our privilege to encourage our students to be imitators of God and be holy, as he is holy. We regularly remind our students that God has saved us by his grace, and in response to his grace, out of love for him, we should seek to walk in obedience to his commands to show his goodness and holy character to a lost and dying world. Thus, if digital content conforms them and others to the world instead of the Lord, it should be replaced with things that are just and pure, which promote godliness.
Quick diagnostic question: Is the content I am consuming and promoting helping me and others grow in Christlikeness?
Diagnostic Tool #3: Beauty
Third, Paul instructs us to meditate on what is “lovely, commendable, and worthy of praise.” In short, are we helping our students discern true beauty?
Drawing on the work of Jonathan Edwards, beauty is seen in two types: primary beauty is true virtue, or spiritual beauty, reflecting the character, nature, and will of God. Secondary beauty, which reflects primary beauty, is physical beauty and what most people think of when they think of beauty. God’s glory and majesty are another way we can think about what is beautiful. In connection with goodness, which is understood by the desires, beauty is something pleasant that is experienced by the senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, etc.).
Therefore, when connecting the concept of beauty to technology, we can help our students discern whether the content they consume and promote aligns with God’s majesty and glorifies his name. We can model and encourage our students to post reels and videos that make the gospel appealing and attractive. We can spur them on towards content that stirs their affections for Jesus and reminds them of the glorious grace he has lavished upon them. Our Triune God is the epitome of beauty. Let us call our students to use social media in ways to better behold his majestic beauty and reflect it to others who have not yet experienced it.
Quick diagnostic question: Is the content I am consuming and promoting helping me and others see Christ and the gospel as attractive, appealing, and glorious, helping me live into the new life I have in Jesus?
Don’t Defiantly Escape but Discerningly Engage
In closing, there is one caution youth leaders should consider regarding technology and social media. Instead of practicing digital discernment, there has been a trend in the church to simply deny all use of technology. The often call it “of the devil,” and try to hide under a rock. My plea to my fellow youth leaders reading this article is not to take this route. As I said at the beginning, we cannot keep our students from using technology and social media in the age we live in. It’s going to happen. Therefore, we need to engage with technology discerningly so we can learn their language, understand their culture, and better reach them with the gospel.
This also includes involving parents in the discipleship process. We need to encourage our students to ask their parents for wisdom and guidance in navigating social media, as parents know their teens best. We can also ask parents to assess how social media is affecting their teens. If their teenager’s interaction with social media is not helping them grow in Christlikeness, they can take the most loving step of preventing them from accessing platforms or content that is forming them in ungodly ways.
Cultivating digital discernment is a vital part of the discipleship process in today’s context. One simple way I have taught our students digital discernment is to take a song, movie, reel, or post and assess what worldview the person or artist is promoting. We examine what is good, true, and beautiful about the content. What about it does and doesn’t align with a biblical worldview? And how students can use this content to open doors for gospel conversations with their friends at school? Not only will your students be engaged in these sessions because of their relevance, but they will also see how the Scriptures are alive and still speak into our lives and culture today.
God created us to have dominion over his creation, ruling and stewarding it for his glory, including technology and social media. Therefore, don’t let your students be dominated or manipulated by technology and social media; rather, teach them digital discernment so that with God’s truth, goodness, and wisdom, they can exercise dominion over these tools and leverage them for the glory of God.
Looking for more? We have compiled a helpful list of resources relating to digital discernment on our website.
