Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.
A 2023 Forbes study reports the number of people currently using social media is 4.9 billion. [1]According to Worldometer, the total world population is just over 8 billion. [2]That means over 60% of the world’s population is using social media. In six more years, forecasts predict an increase of 26.2%, totaling 86.2% of the world’s population. The United States alone owns 302.35 million of those users equaling 90% of the US population.[3] The typical user spends 2.5 hours per day on media equaling 864 hours per year.
If that hasn’t blown your mind, consider the average person who begins using social media at 16 years of age and lives until the average age of 72 years. That user will spend 5.5 years on social media! [3] Is your mind blown now? Mine sure is.
So, you may be wondering where I am going with all this data. If I were to say, people spend a lot of time on social media, we would all agree but not necessarily be impacted by the statement. However, when we look at the facts, the statement becomes more significant. In the span of five years, a baby is born and attends their first day of kindergarten. A senior in high school has completed a bachelor’s degree. Two US Presidents are (re)elected for a four-year term. Five and a half years on social media is a long time! We may not believe our time scrolling is a big deal but if we were to add up our time doing so, how many years would we be on social media? Without realizing it in this instance, humanity has been reconditioned to be controlled by the ways of the world.
When Paul wrote letters to Christians in Rome in 57AD, humanity was lost in the ways of the world and needed to be reminded of the foundation of following the ways of Christ. Paul’s letters did not cast criticism on the people of the time but rather warned them of the dangers of conforming to the world’s customs. He reminded them of God’s plans for their life. His plan to be transformed, to be more like Christ.
I am not saying social media is bad, however, what we do with it and what it does to us can make it unhealthy. When our minds are consumed with the ways of the world, our thought process is blinded to what God’s plan is. His plan is good, pleasing, and perfect. Why would we want anything else?
Paul’s warning still holds true today. We must acknowledge what we are doing with our time to ensure we are not being distracted and blocking God’s plan for our life.
Let’s learn to be intentional, to free our minds of the standards of the world. Let’s stand out, swim against the current with joy, knowing we have paved the way to spending five and a half years, and the rest of our life enjoying our perfect plan.
[1]https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/social-media-statistics/
[2] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
[3] https://www.statista.com/topics/3196/social-media-usage-in-the-united-states/#topicOverview
[4]https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-october-global-statshot
