Time spent online for many has skyrocketed as people replace the time usually spent on social events at home, quarantined. With the increase of screen time, so has the exposure to informational content. Humans consume news for many reasons, but one of them is the pursuit of knowledge. We want answers. News, by definition, is information about recent or important events. Digitally, we have access to more information than is possible to parse between fact and fiction, and content creators can use that to their advantage. People make (or like, share, or retweet) news that may or may not be true. Many do this unknowingly.

As mentioned in the introduction video, today the focus is social media and how it can lead to destructive consequences. The primary resource by Destin Sandlin of the Smarter Every Day video series highlights how to consume news and social media more wisely, but to look at how specific platforms respond to media manipulation, check out the Exploring Deeper resources below.

 

THIS WEEK’S RESOURCE: VIDEO

 

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Do you review the source and validity of content before sharing it online? Why or why not?
  2. What do you think of Chris’ comments about “being as wise as serpents”? Do Christians have different responsibilities when consuming social media?

EXPLORING DEEPER:

Watch these other videos by Destin Sandlin about social media platforms:

Facebook (22:33)
YouTube (20:21)
Twitter (28:59)
Reddit (26:07)

A blog post from JB about consuming news (not just social media) well.

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This week’s worship music:

“Angels and Spontaneous” by Bethel Music

“O Come To The Altar” by Elevation Music

“Hungry” by Kathryn Scott

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Interested in sharing other resources, verses, and songs you find? Please email us at tempusdivum@somagames.com.