We seek to share our enjoyment with others, a natural pull that stems from our innate design to live in community with one another. We see it, snap it and almost simultaneously share it. Before the moment has even passed, we’ve invited hundreds of people in to experience everything from our daily latte, to our 30th birthday party, to a getaway in the mountains, to the birth of our third child.

My motto for online engagement has always been “to each his own.” Some share lots, some share never. I’m in no position to run around judging. I share a lot. For me, it’s a creative outlet. It’s a way to engage, share important moments with friends and family, talk about the good happening in the world and hopefully somewhat inspire others.

I even use social media for my job, and I have seen posts encourage, inspire and even bring people together.

But we all know the potential downsides of social media sharing: oversharing with Facebook “friends” who don’t really know us, obsessively curating our Instagram posts to make our life look ideal, not enjoying the moment because we’re too busy sharing it with those who aren’t there.

Some of the most beautifully publicized moments are not as “authentic” as we try to make them seem. Why? Not because these perfectly posed snapshots are inherently evil, but because these moments we share are transient, and some of them, no matter how well ‘liked’ they may be, they have no eternal value. We’ve traded authenticity for approval, and these moments are quickly being glanced at, scrolled through and left to fade away into the abyss of Internet no man’s land.

Where is the balance in what and how we share online? While sharing good with the world can be a wonderful thing, I find that designating some moments to remain secret and sacred just for those who were there adds a greater luster to my life than sharing them ever could.

You know, those quiet, unseen moments where it’s just you and another person? The moments where you hear a still, small voice whisper “This experience is meant for you to be fully present. Put your phone down, treasure this time and give all the love you have.” When we experience these moments where we feel the pull of the Holy Spirit speaking through us, or vise versa, we are left with an awe inspired humility, which no photo could ever come close to depicting. These secret moments are a gift to be experienced fully, treasured and carried inside of our hearts.

We must be intentional about finding these moments and keeping them close, or we might eventually cease to recognize them. It could be an act of kindness—given or received, or a time in which someone unexpected is used to breathe life in to your soul. Maybe it’s a 3 a.m. feeding with your newborn, or time spent alone with the love of your life, maybe it’s a moment spent in the splendor of creation, time given to the poor and needy. These are the moments in which we are eternally transformed. It’s why the Bible tells us to do really beautiful things like fast and pray and give in secret.

“So that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:4).

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).

“But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:17-18).

In his book Love Does, Bob Goff writes: “Maybe Jesus wants us to be secretly incredible instead. That was His plan for self-promotion. Secretly incredible people keep what they do as one of God’s best-kept secrets because the only one who needs to know, the God of the universe, already knows.”

The God of the universe sees every single good thing we do, and these things honor Him because he gives them! We must believe in the power of becoming secretly incredible. We must begin to savor these secret moments, because the unseen is eternal. To enter in, to love, to give to the world, without feeling the need to tell everyone about it, this is sacred secrecy.

Sharing is wonderful, and I will continue to do it, but what if we put as much emphasis on the secret things as we did the shared? What if we lived for the unseen and let the quiet moments dictate our days? When we’re pushed to be fully present, when God speaks through the unlikely, when He pulls us to connect personally with another human, let’s pull up a chair, listen and engage. The gift of presence is what the world needs, now more than ever.

We are constantly facing opportunities to love and give—to make an eternal impact. So much of our efforts on this earth will fade. The secret things are shaping us, and we’ll carry them with us, all the way home. Let’s guard them.

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

A new report from the Barna Group found that 77% of pastors believe God can use AI to connect with humanity. That’s a big difference from churchgoers, who are much more skeptical about God using AI. Only 31% say God can work through artificial technology, while 46% said there was no way God was using AI.

AI has been a major concern for all areas of society over the last several years, with fears growing exponentially since OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022. U.S. adults are evenly split on their feelings about AI: 32% say it’s exciting, 33% are scared of it, and 41% say they’re “concerned” about AI.

And while a majority of U.S. pastors agree AI is something to be concerned about, they also see its potential for good. Three in four pastors (76%) believe that AI can be used to empower individuals with disabilities, and nearly three in five (57%) see its potential for making advancements in healthcare.

Brian Paige, vice president for IT at Calvin University, spoke with RELEVANT about the various ways that AI can impact our personal faith as well as our churches. 

“When it comes to AI, or any technology, I think it’s good to be discerning, but we don’t have to be scared,” Paige said. “I think there’s a lot of media hype at this point that’s playing into fear. But for every dark side of technology, there’s a lot of positives, too.”

This doesn’t mean we should dismiss any worries, Paige said. Rather, it should cause us to question why we’re afraid, or exactly what we are afraid of, giving us the opportunity to grow in our relationship with Go.

“If God is in control and God is not fearful of this, what is causing this fear?” Paige said. “Is it because somehow I’m not in the right relationship with God, or am I not in the right relationship with technology?”

Just nine months after Elon Musk hooked up a remote Amazon tribe to the internet, there have been some troubling issues — mainly the community’s young men developing a porn addiction. (Perhaps they’ve been spending some time on X.)

The Marubo tribe’s elders spoke to The New York Times about their experience with internet access. While it was initially a huge celebration for them, things have taken a dark turn and caused some of the previously chaste tribesmen to display “aggressive sexual behavior.”

One tribesman, Alfredo Marubo, shared that some men are sharing explicit videos in group chats, and he’s concerned they will mimic the graphic content they’re seeing on screen.

And it’s not just porn that’s causing the elders to worry. Young children are playing violent video games, chatting with strangers online and getting addicted to their phones for hours.

According to another tribesman, Tsainama Marubo, young people are also becoming “lazy” and adopting “the ways of the white people.”

Despite these issues, the tribe shared that access to the internet has also made positive impacts for the remote community. They’ve been able to reach out for help in emergencies, connect with family members who moved away, and access education resources.

So, pretty much their experience with technology is just like the rest of society’s.

“This dramatically changes things,” Moore wrote. “I’ve so not wanted to leave this site because of the community we developed. Dialogue. Insight. Hilarity. Silliness. The praying for one another. Celebrating victories and mourning losses. What shall we do?

“One thing that worries me is that we surely have numerous people in our community who’ve struggled with [porn],” she continued. “Is it irresponsible of us, then, to stay? If I were a recovering alcoholic, for instance, I’d very much wish my friends would think of a different place to meet up than a bar. Get what I’m saying? On the other hand, will we ultimately have this issue wherever we go? Are there settings here we can change?”

Moore has grown a large following on X over the years, letting people in on everything from her daily activities to deeper thoughts on faith and theology — which has made her name a trending topic on more than one occasion. She’s stuck around through lots of changes on the platforms, but it looks like Musk’s latest move could be the final straw.

“Some of y’all reading this will not understand why we’re making such a big deal of it — I mean, just move to Threads and be done with it — but many of us can tell you we survived some of the worst seasons of our lives together here,” Moore concluded. “Disrupting the community we found here — new friends we made who are now important to our well-being — will be like leaving our hometown.”

Some further thoughts: the p0rn is very offensive to me but it doesn’t tempt me. I’ve had a lot of issues but I’ve not this one. One thing that worries me is that we surely have numerous people in our community who’ve struggled with it. Is it irresponsible of us, then, to stay?…

— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) June 4, 2024

In a new update to its official usage policies, X said users can “share consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behavior, provided it’s properly labeled and not prominently displayed.”

“We believe that users should be able to create, distribute and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed,” X says in the update. “Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression. We believe in the autonomy of adults to engage with and create content that reflects their own beliefs, desires, and experiences, including those related to sexuality.”

To be clear, X has had NSFW content for a few years now. Back in 2022, an internal review found that adult content made up 13% of all tweets. Before, users could flag adult content and get it removed. Now, creators have Elon Musk backing their content. We can only imagine how much worse the X experience is going to be from now on.

Last week, Google unveiled AI Overview, the company’s latest technology that is intended to help answer people’s questions quickly. However, social media users have pointed out that the new technology is generating incorrect answers instead, including recommending glue as part of a pizza recipe or ingesting rocks to boost your immune system.

Google describes AI Overview — its biggest change to its search engine in years — as “letting Google do the Googling for you.” The new technology pulls snippets from sites around the web to generate an answer. It can even cite its sources but doesn’t know when that source is incorrect — or in the case of an article from The Onion, is being humorous.

“Google invented the transformer they will win the AI race”

Google AI: pic.twitter.com/dLquFIBRWS

— Dr. Parik Patel, BA, CFA, ACCA Esq. (@ParikPatelCFA) May 24, 2024

Google shared the system was designed to answer more complex and specific questions than regular search. But, like most things on the Internet, things went awry, and users posted screenshots of baffling responses to social media platforms like X.

As long as it’s non-toxic pic.twitter.com/VIv6ozVwQN

— Jeremiah Johnson (@JeremiahDJohns) May 26, 2024

“smoking while pregnant” pic.twitter.com/egFgmupYvW

— Jeremiah Johnson (@JeremiahDJohns) May 26, 2024

“train eight days a week” pic.twitter.com/xlDkOQEKo8

— Jeremiah Johnson (@JeremiahDJohns) May 26, 2024

Looney Tunes moment pic.twitter.com/dzqgv55J0F

— Jeremiah Johnson (@JeremiahDJohns) May 26, 2024

“how long can I stare at the sun” pic.twitter.com/Q22V490f6F

— Jeremiah Johnson (@JeremiahDJohns) May 26, 2024

A survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Lenovo found that 46% of Gen Z feel like they live a “double life” online. Nearly half of Gen Z admitted they their personality online is much different from how they present themselves in the real world. That’s much higher than other generations who feel the same way with 38% of millennials, 18% of Gen Xers and 8% of baby boomers claiming to live “double life” online.

Respondents shared that they feel more comfortable expressing themselves online. Fifty-three percent of Gen Zers admitted it’s easier to be vocal about their opinions online — whether it be political takes, fears and insecurities, dreams and ambitions. Additionally, Gen Zers said that their online persona has much clearer likes/dislikes, different likes/dislikes and more controversial opinions and values than their real-life personality.

For a generation that supposedly values authenticity, something’s not adding up.

Gen Z — emerging adults and adolescents born between the years 1997 and 2012 — is the first generation to grow up surrounded by smart devices. You Gen Z’ers use social media around four hours a day and realize it’s bad for you. You’re also at risk for mental illness — though of course, I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of that.

And if you’re one of these young digital natives struggling to attain mental health and choose to turn to the internet for help, you will find apparently endless resources offering you conflicting and possibly unhelpful information. You will encounter page after page of possible diagnoses, complemented by hundreds of internet personalities trying to sell you a solution to the problem you think you might have.

In fact, there are strong links between precisely this relentless froth of information and mental illness itself.

Smartphone saturation and heavy social media use have diminished attention spans, increased body dysmorphia and depression, weakened in-person social skills and blurred the boundaries of our identities. Smartphones even disrupt our sleep. And all of us, without regard to age, are bombarded with news around the clock — much of it bad!

The same place many of you would seek answers is the very place where you could be the most deeply harmed. It can be discouraging and lonesome to try and heal alone, adrift in a sea of meaningless and contradictory digital noise.

In addition, mental health, just like mental illness, is a complicated and deeply personal phenomenon. None of the labels the internet might offer you can adequately describe any person’s mental illness or help people attain mental health without the relationships, stability, professional insight, and emotional integration humans need to truly flourish — particularly during adversity.

And your generational cohort has a lot to contend with at the moment.

You’re facing one of the most important transitions of your life, from childhood to adulthood. But you’re navigating it while burdened with more digital access than your still-developing brain could effectively handle. It’s natural to become anxious, lonely, depressed. Maladaptive coping behaviors often emerge.

Don’t blame yourself. You’re stuck trying to survive when you should be learning to thrive. Healthy, mentor-like relationships can help.

A recent Young Life study underscored the felt urgency of this need: Gen Z as a whole still values close relationships and face-to-face interactions above digitally centric ones. You’re digital natives, certainly, but you are still human. You need and want guidance, love, and security every bit as much or more than you did as children. Sometimes other generations need to be reminded of this, though I doubt you do.

After all, we humans need, and have always needed, healthy relationships to help us discover and understand ourselves. Gen Z is no exception — and the internet is no surrogate for community. The internet offers complexity and diversity where simplicity would serve us much better, at least to start.

Take the gendered differences we can observe in the expression of mental illness as an example. Men and boys tend to struggle with mental illness with externalizing types of behavior: Anger, aggression, and the like. Women and girls, on the other hand, tend to struggle with mental illness with more internalization; they withdraw, and become anxious and overly scrupulous.

But scrolling through even hundreds of articles on the internet can’t really help you dissect your mental health. The articles and research we often read as a form of diagnostic care don’t even account for things as simple as effective stress relief, let alone as complex as family dynamics, trauma, community stability, and innate talent or predisposition. So we can’t start with the internet when we want to heal.

We have to start by reaching out to those nearest and most important to us. We need to reflect on ourselves, as we are right here and now. More specifically, we can cultivate the trust, transparency, time, and talent we may or may not already have in our lives.

Cultivate authentic relationships with older mentors. Foster openness and genuine concern, in yourself and in your most important relationships. Allow yourself to trust people who are worthy of it.

Commit to transparent communication. Share your life experiences — both triumphs and challenges — no matter how difficult it might seem at first. Through transparency, you will develop both a richer community and greater self-awareness.

Invest your time in things that will nourish and support you. Don’t let distractions steal your days. Deliberately spend time with people and things that uplift, guide, and improve your heart and mind. Defend this time fiercely, no matter how easy it might seem to give it up in favor of work or distraction.

Learn how to accept yourself — particularly your talents. Learn to acknowledge, value, and nurture your unique talents and gifts. Seek out and rely on mentors who will provide opportunities for growth, development, and realization of your capabilities.

These four elements of trust, time, transparency, and talent will look completely different from one person to another. We’ve been made marvelously and each of us placed in different circumstances, with different adversities and advantages to contend with.

That’s why there are as many ways to find mental wholeness and healing as there are people. God made us unique, and He delights in our differences. He calls each of us to an unrepeatable journey of suffering, healing, grief, and joy.

Life is uncertain. You can feel uncertain about how God will show up. But you can be certain He always will.

Find the well-being and health He made you for through purposeful relationships and mentorship rooted in Christ.

Dr. Julie Yonker is a psychology professor and the public health program director at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

It is the most serious threat yet to TikTok’s future in the U.S., but don’t expect to see any changes to the app just yet. Here’s what we know:

Is TikTok shutting down?

No. The law states that ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, must sell its stake in the app within 12 months otherwise it will be banned in the U.S. According to the bill, ByteDance has nine months to divest and find an American buyer for TikTok. After that, the president can push back the deadline by an additional 90 days.

In the meantime, users will likely not experience any changes on the app.

How long until the app would be banned?

While it’s unlikely, a potential ban would probably be several years from now. The earliest it would shut down is one year from now, assuming ByteDance doesn’t find an American buyer.

However, ByteDance previously said if the bill passed, it would block the implementation of the statute, which means any ban would be paused while under judicial review by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Once the court issues its ruling, whichever side loses is likely to request a review by the U.S. Supreme Court. That would lead to a further pause in the ban by another year, meaning nothing would likely go into effect until 2026. (And that’s only if ByteDance refuses to sell.)

Following Biden’s announcement, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chow posted a video response, calling it a “disappointing moment” and reiterating the company’s commitment to legally challenge the law.

“This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court,” the company wrote in a Wednesday statement on X following Biden’s signing. “This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans.”

If ByteDance does sell, who is most likely to buy TikTok? 

The bill states that TikTok can continue to operate in the U.S. if ByteDance sells the app to a U.S.-approved company, which means there are a wide array of options. Major U.S. tech companies like Microsoft have been rumored to have interest, but the Biden administration has stated they have no interest in expanding the already massive power and influence of such companies.

This leaves room for outside groups to jump in. Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, for example, has sought to make a bid, and has already put together an investor group. The Wall Street Journal also reported that former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was looking for potential partners to pursue it.

It comes down to who will have the right price point. ByteDance is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, but TikTok would fetch less than that, experts say — especially if it is sold without its powerful recommendation algorithm. And that’s assuming ByteDance agrees to sell at all.

How did we get here in the first place? 

U.S. lawmakers have been concerned about TikTok for several years. In August 2020, President Trump signed an executive order that tried to ban the app after TikTok users used it to coordinate disruptions to his campaign rallies.

In the years since, Congress worried that TikTok could be pressured by the Chinese government to hand over personal information of its American users, potentially facilitating targeted misinformation campaigns or providing China with intelligence targets.

“How can we ban TikTok among ourselves and not ban it for our children? That is the moral question of today and of our time,” said Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul. “TikTok is a modern-day Trojan horse of the [Chinese Communist Party] used to surveil and exploit Americans’ personal information… In other words, it’s a spy balloon in your phone.”

The current law was passed so quickly because it was tucked into a larger spending bill providing emergency financial aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The Senate passed it on Tuesday evening, and Biden signed it into law on Wednesday morning.

Scalable Ensemble Envelope Diffusion Sampley, or SEEDS for short, uses the power of AI to generate numerous weather forecasts in a short amount of time. This in turn allows researchers to analyze a wider range of possible weather outcomes, and can even predict natural disasters days or weeks before they happen.

“Accurate weather forecasts can have a direct impact on people’s lives, from helping make routine decisions,” Google wrote in a blog post. “The importance of accurate and timely weather forecasts will only increase as the climate changes. Recognizing this, we at Google have been investing in weather and climate research to help ensure that the forecasting technology of tomorrow can meet the demand for reliable weather information.”

Current methods for weather prediction are often expensive and can miss critical details about impending weather catastrophes. SEEDS data is capable of capturing even rare events that current models could miss.

“This technology opens up novel opportunities for weather and climate science, and it represents one of the first applications to weather and climate forecasting of probabilistic diffusion models,” Google explained.

Natural disasters kill tens of thousands of people each year. Current technology is able to predict weather patterns only a few days in advance, at the most, which gives civilians a short window to make a safe and efficient exit strategy. In 2023 alone, 3.1 million Americans were displaced from natural disasters and were unable to prepare for the disaster.

SEEDS predictions can accurately forecast weather more than a week ahead of time, given people in potential disaster areas more time to evacuate, and ultimately saving millions of lives around the world.

First, we must recapture a theology of the incarnation. The digital life, with much of its communication absent of presence, can easily subvert the medium in which God speaks to humanity. The author of Hebrews writes, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (1:1–2). In both instances—that is, across God’s long history of speaking—He used people. Flesh-and-blood people. God’s communication was personal. Literally, incarnation means “becoming flesh.”

Our digital mode of communication undermines this way of communicating. Texting, social media, email—these all depersonalize communication.

Are social media forms necessary parts of communicating in our world? Most likely. But we must learn to recapture the incarnational approach to communication God repeatedly modeled for us through the Old and New Testaments. Being “in the flesh” really does matter. Without it, we are left to offense and misunderstanding. Even more, we are deprived of sight, touch, sound, laughter. Binary code cannot replace physical friendship.

In pastoral work, one learns that people will forgive mean or errant words. People will forget texts and voice mails. But people do not forget who shows up. When someone is in the hospital, texts and messages come and go in someone’s mind—but the person in the room with them is quietly written into their history forever. Incarnational or embodied speech is the highest form of communication. Words plus presence make a world of difference. People do not soon forget incarnational moments.

Second to reclaiming a theology of incarnation, we must recapture a lived theology of the imago Dei—the image of God. The digital explosion has enabled us to forget the intrinsic worth and value of actual people who are made in the image of God. When you sit and read your Facebook feed or catch up on your texts or Twitter feed, all you see are little thumbnails of profile pictures. It is way easier to hate a thumbnail than a person. And the breakdown of communication on social media is testimony to the fact that we less and less see others as created in the image of God, inherently valuable in and of themselves.

Increasingly, we love people for their ideas or hate them for their ideas. In our world of freedom and mobility, we can easily create community with the people we love while ignoring and overlooking those we hate—all based on what they think. We no longer see and love people. We see and love ideas that fit our desires and wants, and we embrace the people who subscribe to them. In short, we often love ourselves more than others.

C. S. Lewis received many letters in his lifetime. So many that during the holidays he and his brother would spend up to eight hours a day responding. Even though C. S. Lewis was a professor and not a pastor, he believed it was his pastoral duty to respond to everyone in order to dignify and fulfill his responsibility to them. So voluminous was his correspondence that photocopies of his original letters fill a whole room of file cabinets at the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College, and in the edited format by Walter Hooper, three massive volumes. A total of 3,274 of his letters have been preserved and an unknown number have been lost to history.

Looking at the body of people with whom Lewis corresponded is amazing. He wrote to men and women of every stripe. He wrote to stay-at-home parents, people in prison, those leading churches, those sitting in pews, and even extensively to children. This practice more than anything revealed something of Lewis’s theology. He didn’t just write to the thought leaders or elite of his day. Rather, he wrote to the everyman and everywoman, because he believed that everyone is made in the image of God. All people, regardless of race, creed, or perceived cultural value, were worthy of his time, energy, concern, and a letter.

Our relationships begin to change once we fail to recognize and remember God’s image in each and every person in this world. In fact, we must begin by remembering God’s image in all people as a rationale for re-engaging relationship. I (Ken) recall a conversation with someone at a Christmas party a few years ago. He was examining the loss of civility in politics—why the political sphere seemed to be more fragmented than ever. His theory was that everything started to go downhill when air travel became normal. It used to be that we would elect our congresspersons to Washington, D.C., and they would live there all year long. A trip home would be rare for them. So, they would work, live, and eat together. As a result, the members of Congress would develop relationships across the aisle—with “the other side.”

But then everything changed. Congresspersons were afforded the opportunity to fly home on the weekend. Today, it is actually common practice for congressmen and congresswomen to fly to their home districts on Thursday evening and return to Washington on Sunday evening. While it is good that they are in their districts spending time with their constituents, air travel has released them from having time to spend time with people of different viewpoints. They spend the bulk of their social time with constituents who elected them, and they do not socialize with those of another party. On this theory, some of the dysfunction in our political system is because Congresspersons ceased spending social time with their “enemies.”

In the words of Martin Heidegger, “the frantic abolition of all distances brings no nearness.”

We used to be a people who would grab drinks with the “other side.” Now, we do not even know them. Because we have increased mobility, getting away from the other is easier than ever. Before cars, planes, and buses, we were more obliged to love and engage those around us who were different.

This is why the blue states are getting bluer and the red states are getting redder. More often than not, our zip codes tell us how we vote—and we forget how to even speak respectfully of those with whom we disagree.

Nothing speaks more to what we believe about someone than how we communicate with them. And if we do not begin rightly with a strong understanding of the image of God in all people—as people of inherent dignity and worth—then we will never speak to them as such. When we forget the intrinsic worth of every person in the world, this is the result. We abandon the other. We leave them. Then we demonize them. This is the result of a culture that no longer sees the image of God in those “on the other side.”

We must recapture that image, for without it we have no reason to speak to those with whom we disagree. We need to begin to understand afresh how to communicate. In the end, our conversations are a piercing reflection of what we think of one another. Digital communication may reinforce our depersonalization of the other, but it doesn’t have to.

Taken from Redeeming How We Talk: Discover How Communication Fuels Our Growth, Shapes Our Relationships, and Changes Our Lives by Ken Wytsma & A.J. Swoboda (©2018). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.

Poking was one of the original features of Facebook, dating back to the platform’s beginning in 2004. But like all trends, poking eventually faded into obscurity, buried deep in Facebook’s navigation. However, in the ever-cyclical world of digital culture, what was once old is new again.

Facebook announced on Tuesday that it recently made updates to the poking feature, from improving the platform’s suggestions on who to poke and how to even find the poking page in the first place.

And guess what? It’s working. The company said these changes have led to a 13x increase in poking in the last month. In particular, Gen Z seems to be taken with the feature, as Facebook shared that more than 50% of pokes are coming from 18 to 29-year-olds — a surprising number considering most of them weren’t on the platform (or alive) when poking was at its peak.

As I got off my couch at 5:30 in the afternoon to eat “breakfast,” I realized I had played for six hours and the end was still nowhere in sight. I mowed the lawn to ensure I would at least accomplish one thing that day, ingested some much-needed real-world food and conversation, and at 7:30 promptly got back to my goal. At 11:30 p.m., I finished the game and triumphantly raised my fists above my head. I had spent 10 hours in one day playing a video game just for that one brief moment of exhilaration.

People who don’t play video games often wonder what makes them so engaging to others. What do video games provide that we’ll spend hours accomplishing tasks in a virtual world that usually doesn’t affect the real one? The truth is, we are all looking for meaning. And often—in ways that can be healthy and unhealthy—we can try to find this meaning in video games. I think there are at least four reasons.

1. Video Games Give Us Control Over Decisions That Matter

An increasingly common trait in video games is the ability to control what your character says and how they act. The Mass Effect series, The Witcher series, and Telltales’ rendition of The Walking Dead all allow you to make decisions that significantly alter the game. These choices give the player the illusion that the whole world is in their hands.

There are always things in our lives that we want to control, but can’t: our future, health, relationships, money and jobs, just to list a few. Video games are clear: Do this task this way and this will happen. Real life is messy. Sometimes you do everything right and still it all goes wrong. Especially in those situations, it can be easier to escape to a world where life can be controlled.

2. Video Games Let Us Live Vicariously Through Someone Else

As the band Twenty One Pilots explains it, “Between student loans and tree house homes, who wouldn’t choose the latter?”

When we have the option to be an adventurer who explores ancient ruins discovering long lost treasures or your average joe, who wouldn’t choose the first option? Video game characters do missions, jobs, tasks and quests that often are not even possible in the real world.

Even when playing games that are supposed to simulate real-life activities such as sports games, you can avoid all the activities that are required in order to actually master a sport. Instead of spending years mastering a three-point shot, you can play as people who have already put in the work.

Games also allow us to see places that would not be possible in real life in a hands-on way. At the end of the day, video games let us be someone cooler, bolder, and sometimes more or less moral than we are in real life. We can be and do whatever we want without the real-world consequences.

3. Video Games Makes Us Feel Part Of Something Bigger Than Ourselves

In our own lives, we can often wonder if our actions have any worth in the world. We can be plagued by the age-old question, “If I disappeared today, would it make a difference?”

Almost all games play on this desire to be a part of something bigger. In most video games, players work toward a goal way bigger than us, and most of the time, we are the integral part of the whole game. If you are not there, who will save the day? Without you, what will happen to the world?

Some games double up by allowing you to work with real strangers or friends through the Internet to accomplish a goal. With sports games, you can take control of your favorite team and lead them to the tournament victory they deserve.

4. Video Games Give a Sense of Personal Achievement

Whether it is playing excruciatingly difficult games like Dark Souls or getting a perfect score in Wii Bowling, video games have often induced a hefty feeling of accomplishment. It seems the brain doesn’t mind if the physical world is involved in our actions or not—as long as we put in effort, the brain will chemically respond to reward our endeavors.

Video games give you just enough gratification as to keep you playing but not enough that you feel ready to quit. Contrary to the thought that video games are a system of instant gratification, most actually get increasingly difficult and require tenacity and skill to win.

Finding the Balance

Video game players all come looking for something. Whether consciously or not, we seek these games out to fill specific desires and voids that only God can fill. Just like any form of entertainment, video games can be Band-Aids used to cover our real desires, issues and needs.

However, I don’t think that occasionally using video games to escape our day-to-day lives is necessarily always bad. Just like every other aspect of life, video games require balance. Obviously, we shouldn’t spend all our free time on them, but video games—like books, movies and all other types of stories—are a portal into a bigger world we could not access otherwise.

They can help us understand our inner character. How do we act in a world without consequences? How do we act in a world where our decisions drastically affect others?

Video games can be a great tool for a multitude of reasons, but when we start using them to find our purpose and meaning, we have a problem. If we would rather escape through a game to avoid real life responsibilities, it is time to put down the controller and spend some time working on our own lives. It can be hard to work on your own life when you could just be someone else, but at the end of the day, it is your actions in the real world that you will be remembered by. So, in the words of Mary Oliver, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

The move comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton targeting the site’s age-verification practices. Visitors attempting to access the adult content site are met with a statement from Aylo Global Entertainment (formally MindGeek), the site’s owners, explaining the reasoning for the block.

The legal dispute stems from a recent ruling by Texas officials to enforce a new law mandating age-verification systems on pornographic websites. This law faced opposition from Pornhub and other adult entertainment sites, who argued it was unconstitutional. Pornhub still moved forward with a basic age-verification system, but the Texas Attorney General’s office doesn’t think it’s system was doing enough.

Although — everybody breathe — that’s very, very unlikely to happen.

Congress has been floating the idea of banning or at the very least heavily restricting TikTok for years over concerns of privacy and security data. The core concern is that ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, is a Chinese corporation that could potentially be manipulated by the Chinese government to share user information.

The proposed law received a 50-0 approval vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 7, just two days after the bill was introduced. That’s a quick turnaround for a new bill, but that’s likely because U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials gave a classified briefing to lawmakers urging them to fast-track the measure.

The bill would require ByteDance to sell its U.S. subsidiary within six months of the law taking effect. Additionally, it grants the president power to prohibit foreign adversary-owned social media platforms from accessing U.S. users unless they break off from their overseas owners. These restrictions would apply to apps with over 1 million yearly users. For reference, TikTok has roughly 170 million American users.

The legislation is not intended to create a total ban on TikTok, as supporters have clarified. The goal would be a forced divestiture by ByteDance due to concerns that Chinese government officials have access to Americans’ data and could use that information to persuade public opinion. Several U.S. corporations have been rumored to be potential buyers, primarily Microsoft.

However, TikTok has repeatedly denied the claims of user data being shared with the Chinese government. Last year, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress in a meme-able hearing defending his company’s policies.

Despite TikTok’s protests, House lawmakers could vote on the bill as early as today, and experts expect it to pass with at least a two-thirds majority. The bill would then move on to the Senate, where it’s already gained support.

“I’m very concerned about foreign adversaries’ exploitation of Americans’ sensitive data and their attempts to build backdoors in our information communication technology and services supply chains,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee. “These are national security threats and it is good [that] members in both chambers are taking them seriously. I will be talking to my Senate and House colleagues to try to find a path forward that is constitutional and protects civil liberties.”

Previously, Airbnb allowed hosts to have indoor security cameras in common areas — aka anywhere but bedrooms and bathrooms — as long as the devices were clearly disclosed on the listing page and placed in visible spots around the home. But the cameras have been an issue for many guests. People have reported encountering hidden cameras throughout the house that were never disclosed. On the flip side, hosts have argued that indoor cameras are necessary to stop large parties before they become too out of control.

Now, Airbnb is listening to guests’ complaints and requiring all hosts to remove indoor cameras by April 30. After that, any host who violates the new policy could be removed from the platform.

Outdoor cameras are still permitted, so that means anyone hoping to throw a massive party should still be on the lookout for some retaliation from hosts. But anyone who’s looking for a quiet getaway won’t have to worry about anyone watching them.

Of course, you can also just stay at a hotel which is cheaper, easier to access, safer and never had indoor cameras to begin with.

Do they fight? You bet your Balaam’s donkey they do. Everyone fights on X, after all. But you’re not really going to understand what they’re fighting about if you don’t understand the various types, and that’s what we’re here for.

What follows is not an exhaustive list of every type of Christian X user. For one, that’d be impossible. For another, this is a culture in constant flux, so any definitive list would be outdated soon enough. But it’s a good primer on what to expect if you find yourself on Christian X, and might help you make a little more sense of who you’re talking to.

The Husband/Pastor/Father (HPF)

The Profile Pic: A smiley headshot.

The Bio: You mean other than “Husband. Pastor. Father.”? Possibly a sports team, “coffee enthusiast” or a seminary, but “HPF” is the main thing (order may vary).

Cover Photo: The whole family in white button-ups, lined up in some sort of field, smiley as can be.

Loves: Hashtags, selfies with the family, having a “great day!” in church.

Triggers: “Marxism,” “CRT”

The Ancient Church Enthusiast

The Profile Pic: An ancient painting of a Church father or theologian—the older, the better.

The Bio: Some Greek and/or Latin characters, graduate school info.

Cover Photo: A picture of some ancient texts or possibly a Lord of the Rings still.

Loves: Long threads and updates on their thesis project.

Triggers: Any time a Christian influencer goes on TV to say something like, “The Church has always believed…”

The Daughter of the King

The Profile Pic: Just a little too planned to be candid.

The Bio: Bible verse and/or Hillsong lyric

Cover Photo: A group shot with friends that, yep, still looks just a little too planned.

Loves: Simply Jesus <3

Triggers: Very few. Surprisingly resilient.

The Armchair Activist

The Profile Pic: #Justice

The Bio: A quote incorrectly attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Cover Photo: A protest they did not attend.

Loves: “This is NOT NORMAL.”

Triggers: Anything they can be involved in.

Weird Christian Twitter User

The Profile Pic: Deliberately unflattering photo

The Bio: Evangelical Thought Leader

Cover Photo: ’90s Christian Kitsch

Loves: Youth Pastor jokes (ironically), Amy Grant (sincerely)

Triggers: Podcast interviews where everyone realizes they’re actually pretty normal

Exvangelical

The Profile Pic: Selfie with visible tattoos

The Bio: Just says “exvangelical.”

Cover Photo: A protest they actually did attend.

Loves: Karl Marx, Brene Brown. Also Amy Grant (sincerely).

Triggers: Any time a Christian influencer goes on TV to say something like “The Church has always believed…”

The Devil’s Advocate “for Jesus”

The Profile Pic: Flattering selfie

The Bio: “Too conservatives for liberals, too liberal for conservatives”

Cover Photo: A library interior from Stocksy

Loves: Jumping into threads with a “Well, actually…” or trying to force an argument under the guise of “just asking questions.” Also known on Twitter as “Sealioning.”

Triggers: Anytime someone responds with “What’s your point?”

The Christian Patriot

The Profile Pic: Bald eagle or painting of an AK-47 wielding Abraham Lincoln

The Bio: “God. Family. Country. In that order.” Most likely has a blue check next to their name.

Cover Photo: American flag or Declaration of Independence, bonus points for an out-of-context Bible verse over it

Loves: Says it’s “God, family, country, in that order” but it sure looks like the other way around.

Triggers: Other people saying they have triggers.

The Christian Resistor

The Profile Pic: A photoshopped picture of former President Donald Trump

The Bio: #NotMyPresident

Cover Photo: Another photoshopped picture of former President Donald Trump.

Loves: Replying to any and all tweets from blue check conservative accounts with photoshopped pictures of former President Donald Trump.

Triggers: Being reminded that Trump is no longer President.

The Pretend God

The Profile Pic: Michelangelo’s painting of God

The Bio: “Creator of the Universe”

Cover Photo: Clouds, sky, etc.

Loves: Trolling Christians with snarky “I never said that” quote-tweets or “I love everyone but you’re really pushing it…” dunks.

Triggers: Being reminded that the joke of any novelty account wears out pretty quickly.

The Author

The Profile Pic: Author photo, with chin resting thoughtfully on one propped-up hand.

The Bio: “Your Purpose, His Passion in Christian bookstores everywhere next fall!”

Cover Photo: The book cover

Loves: Replying with “Well, this blew up. If you like this, pre-order my upcoming book!” anytime one of their tweets gets over 15 likes.

Triggers: Actually having to write the book.

The creators of the seemingly clairvoyant cartoon have once again been credited with “predicting” the rise of Apple’s Vision Pro, an augmented reality headset that is currently taking over the tech world. The headset, which looks like something out of a Black Mirror episode, dropped Friday in Apple stores.

Over the weekend, early adopters posted videos of themselves out and about in public wearing the headset. The scenes look eerily similar to a Simpsons episode from 2016 titled “Friends and Family,” where Mr. Burns hires Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie to play his live-in virtual reality family as a trial run for a new VR headset. He then releases the gadget to the public and everything quickly spirals in Springfield when residents wearing the headset begin walking into lampposts and falling into manholes.

Five major tech company executives were grilled at the hearing: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, X (formerly Twitter) CEO Linda Yaccarino, TikTok CEO Shou Chew and Discord CEO Jason Citron. Lawmakers accused each executive of facilitating child sexual abuse online, suggesting the companies are partly to blame for the deaths of children who have suffered from bullying and predatory users.

You don’t like the way it sucks your attention away from more important things (and people), the power it has over you, the impulse you feel to pull it out anytime it’s quiet for more than 10 seconds. So you decide you’re going to do something about it—through sheer willpower and determination, you are going to break through your phone’s grip on your life.

One question: Um, how’s that working out for you?

If you are, indeed, like me, the “sheer willpower and determination” technique doesn’t work very well at all. The reason is simple: We can become physiologically addicted to our phones. And you can’t break through an addiction just because you really, really want to.

If you’re an alcoholic, you get the alcohol out of your house. If you’re addicted to gambling, you stay as far away from casinos as possible. And if you’re feeling addicted to your phone, even just a little bit, you’ll have a lot better chance of breaking through that addiction if you actually do something about it.

Here are a few suggestions:

Turn off those notifications.

You know that excited, jumpy feeling you get when you feel your phone buzz? That’s dopamine.

Dopamine is a chemical in our bodies that encourages us toward things that might be pleasurable or rewarding, and it’s the reason we can get addicted to our phones. So, when your phone buzzes, the twitchy, hopeful excitement you feel is dopamine telling you, “This might be the one text message you’ve waited your whole life to read. You need to check it NOW.”

We all know that 99.9 percent of the time, that text message isn’t anything close to life-changing. But dopamine doesn’t care. It’ll stay with you, making you twitchier and twitchier, but with no real hope of actual satisfaction.

So how do we escape? Simple: turn off your phone’s notifications. If you don’t feel your phone buzz every time you get a text message, dopamine loses its power. You can still check your text messages, but you get to decide when. (And the people texting you will be just fine if you don’t respond to them in eight seconds or less.)

Delete the offending apps.

Do you find yourself checking your email 70 times a day? Checking your Facebook news feed faster than your friends can update it? Scrolling through Instagram so often you have the lives of all your favorite celebrities memorized?

Here’s a simple solution: Cut yourself off from those apps. Cold turkey. It doesn’t have to be forever, but the second you delete the app from your phone, it loses its power over you. You might still feel your hand twitch toward your phone, but the impulse will gradually disappear when you get used to the app being gone.

It’s awfully hard to be addicted to checking Facebook on your phone when you no longer have Facebook on your phone.

Turn off your data.

This one is a bit extreme, but it works—if you feel like you need time away from your phone, switch off your data completely. It’s like deleting individual apps, except with this, you’re basically deleting all of them. (At least the ones that use data, and that’s sort of the point here.) You can do it from your phone’s settings menu, and you can switch it back on any time if you need it. You can also turn data off for specific apps, if there’s one or two in particular you want to leave on (like a GPS app or iMessages).

If you have instant access to your phone all the time, it’s almost impossible to keep yourself from getting sucked into it at some point. No one can be vigilant 24 hours a day. But that’s why this trick works. If you absentmindedly pull out your phone, you’ll quickly be reminded the internet is closed for business, and that momentary pause could be enough to shake you back to your senses and remind you that you want to be in charge of your phone—not the other way around.

Get your phone away from your bed.

If you were a brain, how would prefer to be woken up—gently, calmly and at your own pace, or by having someone grab you by the shoulders and shake you, flashing strobe lights in your eyes and pumping techno music into your bedroom? Seems like an easy choice. But when you sleep with your phone next to your bed, it’s easy (and tempting) to wake up your brain with all the noise and chaos the internet can provide.

Our brains weren’t made for this kind of buzz. But the temptation to grab your phone off the nightstand instead of getting up is tempting, and way easier than actually getting up. So what’s the solution? Get your phone away from your bed. Don’t even give yourself the option. Oh, and if you use our phone as an alarm clock—get a real alarm clock.

Ditch your phone when you’re with people.

Phones make us weird. It wouldn’t be cool to start ignoring your friend mid-conversation to talk to someone else instead. And yet, it’s oddly socially acceptable to interrupt just about any conversation to answer a text message. People, this does not make sense. And yet, I do it. We all do, unless we make a special effort not to.

We should make a special effort not to do it.

There are probably lots of ways to do this, but here’s the simplest: When you’re going to be with people, put physical distance between you and your phone. When you get home after work, put your phone in your room and leave it there if you’re with family or roommates. When you’re having dinner with family or friends, leave your phone somewhere away from the dinner table.

The point is, as much as you can, put your phone out of grabbing distance when you’re with people you should be paying attention to.

Set specific times to check your stuff.

An easily overlooked piece of gaining control over your phone is actually allowing yourself time to check it. When you budget your money, you don’t ban yourself from spending any money on coffee ever—you just don’t allow yourself to spend all of your money on coffee every day. You budget a certain amount of money for coffee, and you know that you can spend that money freely on coffee without feeling guilty. And this, in turn, eases the temptation to spend any of your other money on coffee.

Time is the same way, especially when it comes to your phone.

If you know that you’ve given yourself 15 minutes to check text messages, emails, etc. at 10 p.m., it’ll be easier to put your phone down at 8:30 p.m. (And, side bonus—you’ll probably be more focused on the messages you’re responding to when you have focused time to respond to them.) This allows you to still respond to messages that need responses, but to do it on your terms.

Phones are wonderful, magical devices. They really do have potential to make our lives better and our connections stronger. But they also have the potential to damage our relationships, numb our brains and cheapen the way we experience life. If we’re not careful, they’ll take way more territory in our minds than they should be allowed to have.

On average, Americans are glued to their phones four hours and 37 minutes every day. It’s even worse for Gen Z, who spends six hours daily on their phones.

That’s a big jump from a few years prior. In 2016, the average screen time was 3 hours and 8 minutes a day.

Thankfully, there’s at least some self-awareness when it comes to our excessive phone use. More than half of Americans (52%) agree they’re too dependent on these tech devices. Perhaps that’s why 40% said they’re trying to make themselves less reliant on their phones in 2024 by cutting down on screen time. A 2023 study found that going on a digital detox can not only improve your mental health, it can lead to more excitement in your real life.

“The ‘always-on’, 24/7 culture and devices that promise an abundance of information and entertainment may be fixing our superficial boredom but are actually preventing us from finding more meaningful things,” said Dr. Timothy Hill, co-author of the study. “Those who engage in ‘digital detoxes’ may well be on the right path. The problem we observed was that social media can alleviate superficial boredom but that distraction sucks up time and energy, and may prevent people progressing to a state of profound boredom, where they might discover new passions.”

That’s a scientific way to say, it’s time to take a break from your phone.

The company announced that the content, which Meta says may not be “age appropriate” for young people, will not appear in a teen’s feed even if it’s shared by someone they follow. Additionally, if a teen search for this type of content on the platforms, they’ll be directed to “expert resources” like the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Meta is rolling out this change to users under 18 over the next several months. In addition to hiding sensitive content, teens’ accounts will default to restrictive filtering settings that limit what kind of content they can see and engage with.

The changes come as Meta and other tech companies are being scrutinized by U.S. lawmakers for not providing adequate care to young users’ mental health. Numerous studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between social media use and negative mental health. Earlier this week, Florida lawmakers introduced a bill that would restrict anyone under the age of 16 from using social media platforms.

Later this month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — along with a handful of other tech CEOs — will testify before the Senate on child safety.

The bill proposes a ban on social media accounts — including Facebook, Instagram and X — for minors under 16, placing the responsibility on social media companies to enforce this restriction by implementing age-verification methods. The legislation prevents users under 16 from both creating a new account and terminate existing underage accounts.

This move is intended to safeguard the mental and emotional well-being of minors, which has been  proven to be negatively affected by social media.

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, who introduced the bill, shared he wants to “regulate social media in a meaningful way because our kids’ lives depend on it,” and would even expland the regulations to include adult content sites.

“We’ve got to think about kids,” Renner said. “We tell them they … can’t smoke until they’re 18, they can’t get tattoos or earrings without their parents’ consent, all of these things. But an 8-year-old kid can get online and see pornography. … That doesn’t make sense. How do we let happen?”

As the new year begins and people’s determination to make this their last year of singleness is renewed, dating apps are swarmed with new, shiny (and not so shiny, in many cases) dating profiles. Some may be re-entering the dating pool for the first time in a long time. Others may have been swimming in the deep end for a while. Either way, you’re diving into uncharted waters, which means you need to be on high alert about who and why you’re swiping.

As a licensed counselor and the author of some of our favorite relationship books, Deb Fileta understands the relationship game about as well as anyone. She talked to RELEVANT about what people preparing to get out there and find the one need to be mindful of.

This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

In the last 10 years, how have you seen, or have you seen the way people in this country, in our culture, think about dating relationships change, shift? 

The current dating focus is almost like shopping. We go on Amazon, we’re scrolling through what I want and what I need, and we almost have a tendency to view relationships in that same way because it’s the same gesture. I’m swiping, I’m reading up, I’m clicking. It’s like a consumer approach to relationships. 

But the problem with that mentality is it doesn’t do justice to the equation of a healthy relationship. The equation of a healthy relationship is that when you’re healthy, you attract healthy relationships, because you’re 50 percent of the equation. But the focus these days is so much on what I can get, rather than who am I when I’m standing alone? How healthy am I standing alone? The word relationship means how we relate to people, right? How we engage with people. But a huge portion of how we relate has to do with how healthy we are, right? 

Emotionally healthy, mentally healthy, spiritually healthy. How do I relate to the world? What patterns do I bring to the world of relationships? Am I stuck in cycles of unhealthy relationships? And so it’s important to take inventory of the fact that we tend to have that consumeristic approach. 

So do you think the apps are just bad?

The apps are not bad at all. If I was single right now, I would be on the apps. It is the most convenient way to meet people right now. Especially in 2021, where else are you going to meet people, right?

Yeah, waiting in line to get your vaccination isn’t the most romantic setting. 

The platform is not the enemy. Just like years ago, they used to say dating was the enemy. Nobody’s saying kiss the apps goodbye. These things are good. 

But when we’re healthy and when we are at a good place, understanding who we are, what we have to offer, what we need to work on, then, we approach these apps, these online platforms and online relationships in the best way possible.

It starts with stepping back and really taking an inventory of how healthy I am. It’s really more about the why that you’re doing things, your underlying motivation, rather than just the what of what you’re doing, you know?

How do you do that? It’s very difficult to have an honest self-assessment of how things are going on inside of you, even for people who are fairly high functioning. 

Having community is so helpful. Not just any community. Honest community who are going to speak into your life and reflect how you’re doing. If you don’t have a friend who you can sit down with and say, “Hey, what do you think I’m struggling with? What do you think I need to work on?” then you’re missing an important aspect of health.

Another thing to remember is that emotional health, mental health, this isn’t stuff you’re born knowing how to do. You’ve got to develop and train and practice. Everything from books to podcasts, to therapy, I mean, this is a process of being intentional about getting healthy. Just like if you wanted to take up cooking, you’re going to learn everything you need to know about it. You’re going to read books. You’re going to go online, look at blogs, listen to podcasts. Maybe even take a class or two. Why do we assume that this process of emotional health is just going to happen?

You’ve got to be an active participant in the process. Maybe that means a season of therapy. I would recommend a season of therapy before you start dating, just to be on top of things and just to get an idea of your past patterns and habits. 

And then, the third thing I would recommend is journaling. There is so much power in expressive writing and facing your thoughts, putting them down on paper, being a witness to what’s going on in your head by writing it down. It helps you track the process of healing, it helps you track how you do relationships. We have a tendency to forget if we don’t write things down. 

Expressive writing has been proven in research to be a helpful part of the process, but it’s just such an important way of getting things out and keeping track of your personal journey and where you’re at and how you’re doing.

Last question. How do you know when you’ve found the one?

I think the question, in and of itself, sets you up for a lot of confusion. You’re just out there looking for this one right relationship, and putting so much pressure, so many expectations on a relationship that, at the end of the day, isn’t going to be perfect. 

There’s no such thing as a soulmate, someone who can complete your heart and soul. We have to back up and have healthy expectations of what we’re even looking for. When we’re talking about finding someone, we need to start reframing the conversation. It’s not finding the one, it’s finding someone who’s a good match for your life.

I like to think of human beings kind of like puzzle pieces. You’re not going to find somebody who is exactly like you, but there are people who fit your life, and there are people who don’t fit your life. In order to know whether or not someone fits your life, you’ve got to know yourself first. I’ve got to understand my shape, I’ve got to understand my colors, because if I don’t understand who I am, everything from my lifestyle to my faith, my morals and values, my culture that I come from, my lifestyle, if I don’t understand what I bring to the table of relationships, I’m not going to know if someone’s a good fit for me or not.

And what you see end up happening today is, these people who are just grasping whatever random puzzle piece they could find and just trying to force fit it to their life. But what do you end up with? Brokenness. 

It hurts when you try to force somebody into your life that isn’t a good match. How do you know if somebody is a good match? You start by getting to know who you are standing alone, and what you need in a relationship, what your triggers are, what works for you and what doesn’t work for you, what your personality is like. If you don’t really have a grasp of those things, you’re not going to have a good understanding when somebody, literally, is not a good match for you.

This week, Pornhub blocked access to its site in North Carolina and Montana following the states’ new age verification laws requiring users to confirm their age through either third-party or digitized verification processes. They are the latest states to implement laws aimed at limiting the pornography industry, following Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Utah, Virginia and Texas last year.

These new laws come after years of troubling news surrounding Pornhub, the world’s largest adult content website. After a New York Times investigation revealed a lack of regulation that allowed a large number of videos involving sexual assault and underage women onto its online catalog — sometimes without the knowledge of the people involved — Pornhub’s executive team jumped ship and advertisers cut off MindGeek, the site’s parent company.

And things are only getting worse for Pornhub. Users attempting to view the site from these locations are now met with a message explaining the decision to restrict access.

“As you may know, your elected officials in your state are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website,” the message states. “While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk. Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in your state.”

More states are expected to enact similar age verification laws in the coming years, meaning the end of the online porn industry could be near. 

Intentional community.

Community does the magic-seeming work of making our spirit come alive with joy. It’s people who put us in the holiday spirit, more than Christmas music and holiday lights do.

I say this because I’m guilty of being the guy who squashes intentional community. How do I do this? With my phone—or more specifically, my social sharing habits.

Ever since I upgraded to a smartphone, I’ve made it a habit to take out my phone and share about a moment before fully experiencing it. Not only that, but I feel the urge to have the best photo or status up, as if social media is a competition.

With all these habits, I’ve made myself into a person who stomps on true, life-giving community.

But I’m hoping to change that this holiday season. I want to be someone who sustains the joy of the season by cultivating the community I have in front of me. And so much of that requires me being content to not Instagram everything about my holidays.

Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t take any photos of our holidays. What I’m saying is we should strongly consider our social sharing habits so they don’t interfere with community this season.

So before Instagramming everything about your holidays, here are some questions you should ask yourself:

Who Am I Not Looking At?

I recently heard a convicting story about a toddler who kept yelling to his dad to look at him do something amazing, but the dad was too engrossed in his phone to look. If I’m honest, I probably would’ve unconsciously done the same thing as a father.

Here’s the truth about our social sharing and holiday Instagramming: We have to look less at faces and more at our screens to do it. This often means we spend less time truly connecting with family and friends we might’ve not seen for a while.

When we look at a person’s face, we connect with them more intimately than we do on social media. So let’s be happy to seal the moment in our hearts and memory before we reach for our phones.

How Might People Who Are Alone for the Holidays Perceive This?

Sadly, not everyone spends their holidays with friends and families. Some people spend their holidays alone. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t share anything as to not offend or hurt these people, but it does mean we should have a dose of humility to what we share.

Instead of bragging about how awesome your life is, let your words be seasoned with grace and consideration for people who might not have what you have. Or better yet, let your pictures be invitations for these people to join you.

What Is This Picture Conveying About What I Believe Is Most Important About the Holidays?

Many of us say that holidays are important because of community, but our pictures often say otherwise. Instead of sharing about our meaningful community, we share pictures of the steaming turkey and the cool gifts we got.

As ambassadors of Christ, we are meant to be a light with our social sharing activity, to reflect something higher than materialism, greed and vain pursuit. This season, let’s use our pictures to show there is more to the season than gifts and food. Let’s show love instead.

Am I Showing Off or Making Others Feel Guilty?

There are two extremes of motivations people have for sharing. One extreme is that people share to show off their life. They want others to think highly of them. On the other end, people share to make others feel guilty about their good things. These people want to drag down others.

Both extremes neglect the spirit we should be cultivating with the holidays. The holidays are neither a competition nor a pity party. They are for joy sealing community together, not dividing it.

Ask yourself, where do you lie on this spectrum when it comes to your Instagramming?

Is Taking and Sharing This Picture Helping Me Slow Down?

The holidays are a time for slowing down—to take a pause from the daily grind in exchange for the deep breath of loving community. But when we take out our phones, snap a picture and then proceed to share it, we are giving ourselves another task to do. This process of sharing in the moment is the antithesis of what it means to slow down, pause and rest.

The best moments always happen when we slow down enough to notice them.

So instead of gratifying your gut instinct to reach for your phone, allow yourself to slow down, to not give yourself another task to do. I promise, you’ll have more to remember because of it.

Christmas should bring us closer, but often, we let our phones and social sharing divide us. That doesn’t have to be the case this year. Let’s prove that we know what this season is really about—by Instagramming less and connecting more.

That’s according to a recent Generation Lab survey that found 79% of college and graduate students are steering clear of dating apps. In fact, only 12% of students said they use one at least once a month. 

Despite dating apps targeting college students with advertising and campus events, the majority of young people express a preference for genuine, face-to-face connections. 

“I feel dating apps have ruined the dating scene for many people my age and ruined their self-confidence,” said Melanie Perez, a junior at Sam Houston State University. “I’d rather meet and start as friends than use an app that’ll most likely end in hookups.”

The survey also sheds light on the shifting priorities of college students when evaluating potential partners. A notable 37% of respondents rated beliefs as the most important factor, beating out professional goals and physical appearance. Another Generation Lab poll revealed that most college students wouldn’t consider dating someone with opposing political views, highlighting the significance of shared values in modern relationships.

So what are dating apps doing to try and bring a once-major demographic back to the apps? Implementing baffling subscription options. 

This week Tinder launched its premium subscription service, Tinder Select, priced at an eye-popping $499 per month. The company claims the subscription offers the “best of Tinder,” such as sending messages without matching and access to the most desired profiles.

However, the online response has been overwhelmingly negative, with users questioning the value of such a premium service. YouTuber Marques Brownless asked, “How down bad do you gotta be? At this point just get an escort.”

It seems the future of dating might be less about swipes and perks, and more about genuine, in-person connections.

Sure, I’ve liked my share of photos and left plenty of well-meaning comments, thrown around an abundance of emojis and shared my fill of inspirational quotes. But, sadly, I haven’t experienced much life with friends this year; and it’s left me feeling discouraged, lonely and frustrated.

Social media certainly has its place, but without a doubt, it’s taken over our lives in ways even Mark Zuckerberg could never foresee. In our attempt to create Instagram-worthy moments, we’ve somehow forgotten to live Instagram-worthy lives. We keep our heads down, eyes glued to our phones, afraid if we don’t, we’ll miss out; when all the while (ironically) we’re missing out on the very world around us. I mean, people don’t actually go out to dinner and just talk anymore, do they?

Whether we like to admit it or not, social media, in all its forms, has taken a toll on our relationships—particularly our friendships. That’s not to say that social media is pure evil, it’s just that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and the like have forever reshaped the way we relate to one another. Gradually, it seems social media has altered the DNA of friendship, and frankly, it makes me sad. In looking back at failed attempts to win friends (and keep them) over the past year, I’ve discovered six areas where social media is wreaking havoc on our friendships.

It Creates a False Sense of Intimacy

Social media makes us feel like we know people better than we really do. Let’s get one thing straight: Liking someone’s photos on Instagram does not a friendship make. Genuine relationships take time and communication—preferably face-to-face.

Lasting friendships are built on far more than a Facebook history. They’re forged in the fire of life’s peaks and valleys. They’re held together by more undocumented memories than documented ones.

While social media may help us keep up with friends—especially those who live far away—it can’t replace personal communication and shared experience. You can only intimately get to know someone through spending time with them in person, not solely online.

It Fosters Illusions of Community

Social media misleads us to believe that we have a large, built-in support system. But that support system is merely a number, not real life. While the importance of “community” is preached in churches across the nation, most of the time, we feel like we’ve aced this tenant of our faith simply because we’re constantly building a tribe of followers online.

However, on our darkest days, we quickly realize the core of our true community lies in a very few faithful friends who know us best. The only real way to foster community is to live life with people over time.

It Keeps Us From Being Fully Known

Social media puts up virtual walls. Most of the time, we don’t air our dirty laundry online for fear of what others might think. We only Instagram our best moments and tweet about the most extraordinary few minutes of our day.

We’ve all gotten really good at “spinning” the stories of our lives so that they look seemingly perfect. Yet, it’s only in our mess, in our brokenness, when we can become fully known. The friends who know us best are those who have seen us at our worst—and loved us any way. Those types of friendships are only crafted through the nitty gritty life moments that we’d all be too embarrassed to divulge on Facebook.

It Turns Us Inward

Social media keeps us living in a vacuum. The Internet is such a solitary place. We’re all there, gathered around the proverbial water cooler, but it’s mostly surface talk (and the occasional bit of juicy gossip).

We’ve become so obsessed with making sure the story we’re telling on social media looks exciting and beautiful and meaningful that we’ve failed to pay adequate attention to the stories other people are telling. It’s easy for us to be me-focused when social media forces us to play the part. How can we ever be a good friend when we have no room for another person in our carefully crafted lives?

We need to stop trying to impress our friends and start paying attention to the stories our friends are telling so we can become the kind of friend they need.

It Sets Unrealistic Expectations

Social media sets standards no human could ever achieve. I had a friend who was recently offended because I had no idea a major milestone happened in her life. “Didn’t you see it on Facebook?” she asked, obviously stunned.

There’s no need to call your best friend when you get engaged or find out you’re pregnant. After all, she’ll just find out on Facebook. But that just seems to take all of the personal beauty out of it, doesn’t it? Everything is public, and therefore, we have nothing to talk about when we do get together with friends. We’ve already “seen” it all, and you’re clearly out of the loop if you haven’t.

It Makes Us Good at Storytelling, But Not So Good at Storyliving

Social media memorializes our moments while life passes us by.

No matter how many photos we capture or clever tweets we publish, nothing can take the place of physical experience. The best applied filter can’t replace the feeling you get when you actually sink your toes into the sand or stand in awe of a setting sun. No video clip can adequately convey your favorite song performed by your favorite band in a live setting. No amount of likes can substitute for the feel of a newborn’s silky skin or the perfect fit of a strong hand in your own.

Sometimes, words and pictures just aren’t enough. Life is meant to be lived and savored. And social media keeps us from doing just that. We miss the expression on our friend’s face—the very thing they’re not telling us—because we’re so busy tinkering with our phones. We miss the magic of ordinary moments—best experienced with others.

So in a communication-weary world, what’s the answer to reclaiming authentic friendship? I certainly don’t have all the answers, but maybe the best thing you can do for your friends is turn off your phone when you’re with them, choosing instead to give them your full attention.

And the next time you reach a big milestone? Before hitting “publish” on Facebook, choose instead to call your best friend. Tell her how the big moment made you feel. Give her the gift of sharing your joy and your tears. Invite her into your story. Deliberately save some moments. Don’t publicly share every facet of your life. Instead, let’s vow to keep some things just between friends.

The announcement coincides with Amazon’s recent $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical, a primary care provider with offices in over 20 markets.

The Prime One Medical membership program ensures around-the-clock virtual connectivity with care providers, featuring video chats and options for in-person visits at One Medical locations. While the membership fee covers virtual visit costs, in-person consultations at One Medical offices will require separate payment, with insurance applicable for those visits.

Virtual healthcare, which saw a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to be a convenient option for managing minor health issues and routine doctor consultations. However, the growing reliance on telemedicine has raised concerns among some healthcare professionals about care fragmentation and the challenges in monitoring a patient’s overall health, especially if information about virtual consultations is not shared with their primary care physicians.

Amazon’s entry into the virtual healthcare market not only underscores the demand for accessible and affordable healthcare solutions, but also highlights the ongoing evolution of healthcare delivery in the digital age. As the company forges ahead in blending technology with healthcare, it sets a new precedent in how consumers can access medical services.

Speaking at a recent event in London, Musk theorized that AI could become the “most disruptive force in history,” surpassing human intelligence and capabilities.

“It’s hard to say exactly what that moment is, but there will come a point where no job is needed,” Musk said. “You can have a job if you wanted to have a job for personal satisfaction. But the AI would be able to do everything.

The conversation between Musk and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was particularly poignant given the backdrop — the global AI summit. The summit focused on the existential threats posed by AI, including the theoretical emergence of a superintelligence beyond human control and slowing down the advancement of AI.

Musk has been vocal about the dangers of AI, previously stating it could be more hazardous than weapons.

“AI is more dangerous than, say, mismanaged aircraft design or production maintenance or bad car production, in the sense that it is, it has the potential — however small one may regard that probability, but it is non-trivial — it has the potential of civilization destruction,” Musk said in an interview with Tucker Carlson.

Yet while Musk is seemingly aware of the potential threats AI poses, his vision of a future where the concept of work as a means to survival could transform into work as a choice for personal fulfillment is certainly an exciting one.

In this hypothetical future, however, the question remains: How will society adapt to a new definition of purpose when our traditional notions of work and productivity are fundamentally altered? As artificial intelligence progresses, it’s a question that, unlike Musk’s magical genie, cannot remain unanswered.

But what I’ve come to discover is, many people don’t realize this cost. We still treat social media as if it is an exemption from being responsible for our words and actions.

We need to get over the power that makes us feel we can say whatever we want on social media, and instead embrace the power to say what only builds up. When we are doing this, we can use social media as a tool for change — something that would honor the life of Jesus rather than shame it.

It truly is possible to live and love like Jesus on social media. It is possible to glorify God with our social media activity. We just need a few guidelines to point us in the right direction:

1. Strive for connection, not attention.

There are two kinds of social media users: one who goes on with a “look at me!” perspective, and one who goes on with a “let’s connect” perspective. Social media was made for the latter.

This doesn’t mean you can’t share your work with others online. This just means you shouldn’t use likes and comments as validation for yourself. Aim to connect instead.

2. Be transparent, but not too transparent.

Jesus revealed personal information to His disciples, not to everyone. This means we should strive to be transparent with those who love us and gather around us in real life. While social media opens our lives to the entire world, the entire world doesn’t need to know about everything. Be transparent, but mostly with your close friends in real life.

3. Ask yourself: Could I say this same thing in front of someone?

Social media distances us from the impact of our words. We could say things and then walk away from our keyboard, being blind to how others react to them.

But just because we can’t see the impact of our words in real life doesn’t mean our words don’t make a splash. If we’re saying things that aren’t words we would say in front of someone’s face, then we shouldn’t say them at all.

4. Don’t buy into the “say what needs to be said” culture.

On social media, everyone is “saying what needs to be said.” But when everyone is doing this, it’s hard to filter what actually needs to be said. A better way to get across a message is to say what needs to be said, but also live it in real life. This is what Jesus did. He gave the Sermon on the Mount, and then immediately after began healing people. A message is better communicated when it is not only said, but lived as well.

5. Learn to listen better.

When people see a status they disagree with, they’re quick to state their opinions in the comments. But this disables us from listening. In real life, we have to wait our turn to speak, but with comments, we simply have to scroll down. This is how some articles and discussions online can get so out of control — people refuse to listen and instead turn the subject into something entirely different.

Rather than being quick to voice your opinion, digest the words you’re reading first. Offer a thoughtful response only after listening.

6. Avoid stirring the pot with the articles you share.

Many Christians like to stir the pot with the articles they share on hot-button issues. But I would urge you to monitor how many articles you share that simply agree with your ideology. When you do this, you can run into the danger of making your beliefs purely about arguing opinions rather than living for Christ, which is a bad message to send to unbelievers.

You don’t need to stir the pot to show people Christ; you just need to live and love like Him.

7. No racist comments.

This one is obvious, but apparently needs to be said. Just because your friends on social media share your same values doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want to them. The truth is, when you’re on social media, you’re not only speaking to your friends — you’re speaking to the world. And one thing the world needs less of is words to perpetuate stereotypes and racial hatred.

8. Avoid being mean to bloggers.

Social media is not an outlet where you can be mean to others because you don’t agree with them. If we don’t like a person’s art, we should be constructively sharpening them to think better, but we shouldn’t be tearing them down. Art is a personal thing, and you’re tearing at a person’s soul every time you choose to condemn their work instead of sharpen it. Instead, push them to be better in gentle ways.

Social media is a dangerous territory, but it’s possible to live like Jesus in midst of its complications. The key is to relinquish the false sense of power that fools us into thinking we can do whatever we want online, and instead pick up the love and character of Jesus Christ to shape our words. In the end, it’s those words that’ll make a difference.

This encounter, held at a Tesla factory in California that was live-streamed on X, was originally intended to discuss artificial intelligence. However, the conversation quickly veered into the topic of antisemitism.

During the meeting, Netanyahu publicly urged Musk to condemn antisemitism and take action against the surge in hate speech and attacks targeting Jewish communities since his acquisition of the platform a year ago.

“I hope you can find within the confines of the First Amendment the ability to stop not only antisemitism, or roll it back as best you can, but any collective hatred of the people that antisemitism represents,” Netanyahu said to Musk. “I encourage you to find the balance. It’s a tough one.”

However, Musk’s response disappointed many as he sidestepped Netanyahu’s call to denounce anti-Jewish hatred on his platform. Musk, while expressing his personal opposition to antisemitism, emphasized the importance of free speech.

“Free speech does at times mean that someone you don’t like is saying something you don’t like,” Musk explained. “If you don’t have that, then it’s not free speech.”

Musk’s reluctance to condemn antisemitism directly left many observers frustrated, especially as he continued to sidestep the conversation.

“Generally, I mean, I’m sort of against attacking any group,” Musk said. “You know, it doesn’t matter who it is.

“I’m in favor of that which furthers civilization and which ultimately leads us to become a spacefaring civilization, where we understand the nature of the universe,” he continued. “So we can’t do that if there’s a lot of infighting and, you know, hatred and negativity. So, you know, obviously I’m against antisemitism. I’m against anti, really, anything that promotes hate and conflict.”

Netanyahu, however, pushed back on Musk’s response.

“It doesn’t stop you from coming out, as you have, as I do in every possible form, and condemn antisemitism,” Netanyahu said. “The condemnation is quite separate from the question of access.”

For Netanyahu, this meeting was an opportunity to counter criticism regarding his efforts to reform Israel’s judiciary, which had raised concerns among international investors and the tech community that has played a crucial role in Israel’s rise as a “start-up nation.” Netanyahu sought to encourage Musk to invest in Israel, emphasizing the significance of his contributions to the field of artificial intelligence.

On the other hand, Musk aimed to address allegations of antisemitism stemming from his previous posts, where he targeted the Anti-Defamation League and threatened to sue the organization after ADL leaders who have accused Musk of fueling hate both online and offline.

Musk’s series of posts targeting the ADL had significant repercussions, leading to a string of online attacks against the organization and the use of a hashtag he amplified at a white supremacist rally in Florida. X is currently contemplating whether to sue the ADL over what it claims are false allegations about the extent of hate speech on the platform.

The bot came up with a little something for everyone — some humor, some heart and even some horror.

Heaven Help Us

When a well-intentioned but bumbling pastor (played by Nicolas Cage) takes over a struggling church, he enlists the help of a skeptical but savvy parishioner (played by Melissa McCarthy) to turn things around.

The Holy Grail of Love

When a lovelorn Christian (played by Anna Kendrick) goes on a quest to find the perfect mate, she discovers that the real “holy grail” is learning to love herself and trust in God’s plan.

Holy Rollers

When a group of misfit Christians (played by Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Emma Stone) start a roller derby team to raise money for their struggling church, they discover the joy of teamwork and the power of prayer.

The Prodigal Son-in-Law

When a free-spirited son-in-law (played by Chris Pratt) comes to live with his uptight Christian in-laws (played by Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks), he learns to embrace his faith and family in unexpected ways.

Saints and Sinners

When a snarky atheist (played by Rebel Wilson) infiltrates a group of holier-than-thou Christians (played by Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, and Dave Chappelle), she discovers that everyone has flaws and that true faith is about acceptance and forgiveness.

Godzilla vs. the Holy Trinity

When a giant monster starts wreaking havoc on a city, a team of priests, pastors, and nuns team up to defeat it in the ultimate battle of faith vs. fury.

Bible Boot Camp

When a group of new recruits at a Christian boot camp face off against a rival camp of heathen delinquents, they learn the true meaning of “turning the other cheek.”

Saving Christmas… from Aliens

When an alien race threatens to destroy Christmas, a team of Christian holiday enthusiasts (including Tim Allen, Kurt Russell and Candace Cameron Bure) team up to save the day.

Bibleopoly

When a group of board game enthusiasts accidentally summon a demon while playing a Christian-themed version of Monopoly, they must use their faith and strategy to defeat it.

The Last Temptation of Christ… and His Best Friend

When Jesus (played by John Cusack) returns to Earth and reunites with his childhood best friend (played by Jason Sudeikis), they embark on a wild adventure that challenges their faith and their friendship.

Well, they can’t all be winners!

From Lecrae and Andy Mineo’s “Good Lord” to NF’s “Suffice” to Tobe Nwigwe’s “BRAVO,” Christian hip-hop artists are showing up big on the video game’s soundtrack.

 

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The Madden NFL 24 soundtrack will also feature a number of other popular artists, including Jack Harlow, Wiz Khalifa and Marshmello.

The game will be released on August 18 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Microsoft Windows.

Roar Social isn’t your standard video-sharing app; instead, it’s is platform with a mission to inspire Gen Z and millennials (ages 16-36) to amplify their values and channel viral content towards a greater social purpose. At the heart of the app lies a unique concept: users select one of a dozen “hero” causes, ranging from climate change to mental health to animal rights and more. Every post they share is tagged with the corresponding cause icon, ensuring that all videos on the platform – whether original content or repurposed from TikTok, YouTube or Instagram Reels – are firmly linked to a meaningful cause.

“Social media for social good is a simple but powerful concept,” said Robert Weiss, CEO and founder of Roar Social. “”Roar Social is meeting a cultural moment. Millennials care deeply about social issues, more than any other generation.”

Unlike other platforms with their conventional “like” button, Roar Social takes a different approach. Instead, users can tap a small cartoon pig, and with each tap, a penny is automatically donated to the chosen cause through the platform’s Roar Giving Wallet technology. The Roar Social Foundation, a registered nonprofit 501(c)(3), serves as the mechanism for collecting and distributing these generous donations.

In the coming months, users will also have the option to direct donations to any charity organization of their choice.

“You can go as deep as you want,” Weiss said. “When we did early testing, we found out that people got paralyzed, like, ‘Oh no, which charity exactly?’ It’s easy to say I support racial equality or mental health. And then once you’re on the platform, you can pick a specific organization if you want to. The key was making it easy and fun.”

To get started, users create a “social giving wallet” and load it with a minimum of $5. The default donation is one cent, with each subsequent tap adding another penny. When the wallet runs low, a reminder prompts users to refill their digital piggy bank.

Does AI have a role in our congregations? Can it possibly enhance our faith experiences moving forward?

Technological advancements are happening, rapdily, whether we like it or not. And the Church doesn’t have the luxury of waiting to join the conversation.

Navigating the Disruption

Faith and technology have not always been viewed as harmonious companions. Some may see AI as a threat to traditional religious practices, raising concerns about the erosion of human connection, the dilution of spirituality, or even the potential for moral dilemmas.

However, rather than shying away from these tensions, the Church has an opportunity to engage in thoughtful dialogue and discern how AI can align with its core teachings.

As we explore the intersection of faith and technology, it becomes crucial to understand how AI can enhance rather than replace the human experience, allowing the Church to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

While AI may not change the core tenets of faith, it can influence how people perceive and engage with their beliefs.

“ChatGPT gave people an opportunity to interact directly with an AI system, and it led to this interesting anthropomorphizing of technology,” said Dr. Derek Schuurman, professor of computer science at Calvin University.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched the AI conversation into the mainstream earlier this year.  Since then, the AI race has escalated to a speed we’ve never seen before. At the time of publication, more than 1,000 AI-powered apps were being launched each week, offering every possible tool you can imagine and disrupting virtually every industry. And the Church is no exception.

“The Christian faith comes with a very important notion of what it means to be human,” Schuurman said. “Then following that, the call to use technology in a way that shows love to God and our neighbors. So how do we actualize and operationalize that with some of these tools?

“In our churches, we’re going to need to talk about discernment, about spiritual formation and nudges from these sorts of things,” he continued. “Then in the wider public square, we have to join the dialogue to talk about common good. Like, how do we build tools for the common good and what does that look like?”

Schuurman sees AI as an extension of creation, a new aspect worth exploring.

“The question is, how are we going to use these tools and how are we going to apply them in ways that lead more to flourishing?” Schuurman asked. “Are we going to direct it towards weaponizing it for propaganda or misinformation, or are we going to harness it for helping others?”

With AI, society has the ability to achieve more than we ever thought was possible. However, there are obvious limitations to what AI can’t do. While some developers are working on creating human-like AI tools, many technological ethicists are pushing back on this so that the rest of humanity can process what’s best for the world.

“At the end of the day, a machine is completely incapable of showing empathy,” Schuurman said. “So this worry that AI will replace pastors or therapists or friends is a bit unmerited. It may be able to mimic those emotions for a while, but eventually, we need a real human response. We have to ensure we’re not building machines that pretend to substitute for jobs where people — humans — are uniquely qualified.”

Debunking Some Misconceptions

Brian Paige, vice president for IT at Calvin University, explains that AI didn’t just pop up overnight. Rather, it’s something that’s been a long time coming.

“We’ve used AI for years,” he said. “It’s in our phones, our search engines, our Amazon checkouts. When we think about AI, we have to remember it’s not some computer overlord. It’s simply a technological tool.”

Paige, of course, understands individuals’ fears about the future of AI, but he’s not nervous about the real future of AI advancement.

AI aims to amplify human capabilities and automate mundane tasks, he explains. Often, it involves the processing of data to learn, problem-solve, predict trends, answer questions and provide recommendations based on analyzed data.

“When it comes to AI, or any technology, I think it’s good to be discerning, but we don’t have to be scared,” Paige said. “I think there’s a lot of media hype at this point that’s playing into fear. But for every dark side of technology, there’s a lot of positives, too.”

This doesn’t mean we should dismiss any worries, Paige said. Rather, it should cause us to question why we’re afraid, or exactly what we are afraid of.

Paige said he regularly asks himself, “If God is in control and God is not fearful of this, what is it? What is causing this fear? Is it because somehow I’m not in the right relationship with God or am I not in the right relationship with technology?”

Paige points out that at one point in our society, we were scared about how phones, televisions, the Internet and more would change our world for the worse. And while each advancement in technology can have its drawbacks, overall, it’s brought the world to a more intelligent, higher functioning place.

He also looks to the story of Babel as a reminder that God is in control of technology, even when it seems like it has the power to take over our world.

“Babel was a place where there was this human construction of a system, a place where humans tried to use technology to be like God,” Paige said. “And God humbled humanity — but it wasn’t because technology was a threat. It was how humanity was using it. And if we’re not careful, we can turn AI into an idol that will require God to humble us.”

As Christians, we should think deeply about the ethical boundaries of AI and consider its impact on human dignity and work. By actively participating in the conversation, we can ensure that AI is developed and deployed responsibly.

Embracing AI in the Church

As the Church integrates AI into its practices, it must maintain a human-centered approach, upholding ethical considerations and preserving the values that underpin its teachings. This entails an ongoing evaluation of how AI aligns with principles such as empathy, inclusivity and the dignity of every individual.

The Church must actively participate in shaping AI’s development, advocating for fairness, transparency and accountability in its algorithms and systems. By actively engaging with AI, Christians can help influence the technology’s trajectory, ensuring it aligns with its mission to foster love, justice and spiritual growth.

AI tools can offer new avenues for reaching people with the message of Christ and connecting them to faith communities.

Aaron Senneff, the chief technology officer of Pushpay, explores some practical ways in which AI can enhance the spread of the Gospel and the health of the Church:

1. Personalized Outreach

AI-powered chatbots can be developed to provide personalized outreach and engagement with individuals seeking answers about faith. These chatbots can answer questions, offer guidance, and connect individuals with local churches or faith communities. By leveraging AI, the Church can extend its reach and provide support to those in need, regardless of geographical limitations.

“AI won’t replace pastors or members of the Church,” Senneff said. “But they can help organize communication efforts to ensure that people don’t slip through the cracks. Church is all about connection, and AI has the ability to make connecting easier than ever.”

2. Media Creativity and Outreach

AI offers exciting possibilities for media creativity in the realm of faith-based content. It can be used to create compelling visuals, videos and graphics that convey the message of the Gospel in innovative ways (especially for smaller churches that can’t afford a creative team on staff).

AI-powered algorithms can analyze audience preferences and trends, enabling the creation of engaging and impactful content that resonates with diverse audiences.

For Zachary Appletgate, the director of digital media and technology at Sandals Church in Riverside, California, the media ministry team has been able to further their reach with the help of a few simple AI tools.

“Every day it seems like there’s some new AI tool that comes along and makes our lives easier,” Applegate said. “We’re constantly looking for ways to grow our ministry and outreach, and in the last few months, AI has helped us grow faster than we ever imagined.”

Applegate’s team relies on AI to help create content for social media, including sermon clips and study guides. The team has even used tools like Midjourney to create engaging graphics that church members can use and share to effectively bring nonbelievers in.

“It’s hard to wrap my mind around how much AI has helped our church out, and we’re just getting started,” he said.

3. Sermon Writing Assistance

AI can assist pastors and preachers in writing sermons by analyzing biblical texts, historical contexts and theological resources. This technology can help generate sermon outlines, provide relevant scripture references and offer insights into interpretations.

“I don’t know if AI is ready to take on all the roles of a pastor,” Senneff joked, “but it is ready to help pastors get back to their strengths. Writing a sermon can take a lot of time away from other important roles. If AI can help give them time back, they could restructure their whole ministry.”

By leveraging AI in sermon preparation, pastors can save time and enhance the quality of their messages.

4. Community Building and Data Management

AI can facilitate data-driven insights and predictive analytics that inform decision-making processes, guiding church leaders in identifying community needs and implementing effective strategies for outreach and ministry.

By understanding the needs and preferences of their congregation, churches can tailor their programs to better serve their members. Additionally, AI can help streamline administrative tasks, such as organizing data, managing schedules and facilitating communication.

“For churches with small or limited capacity staff, AI can completely restructure your whole organization,” Senneff said. “Instead of hiring a huge team to manage daily tasks or projects, AI lets you accomplish all your goals for a fraction of the cost.”

Beyond daily uses for AI, advancing technology gives Christians the ability to spread the Gospel in a whole new way. Just as previous technological advancements revolutionized the spread of the Gospel, AI holds the potential to transform how the message reaches the masses.

Imagine this: you’re in a foreign country and you come across someone who speaks a completely different language than you. By simply downloading an app, you can have a full conversation with someone in their native tongue. And it doesn’t have to be a superficial conversation.

AI can facilitate the translation of the Bible into various languages in real-time, enable innovative approaches to sharing Jesus with people with different backgrounds, and provide support and hope to those in need. It could even assist in answering questions about faith and connecting individuals to local churches.

In the face of rapid technological advancements, the Church has a unique opportunity to embrace the future and explore how artificial intelligence can enrich and deepen our faith experiences. By navigating the tensions, harnessing the transformative potential and adopting an ethical and human-centered approach, the Church can proactively shape the integration of AI while remaining true to its timeless values. The intersection of faith and technology beckons the Church to reimagine its role in a digitized world, ultimately enabling it to continue its mission of spreading love, hope and faith in new and innovative ways.

Meta is reportedly currently reaching out to celebrities and influencers to test the app and attract early users. With a launch expected in the coming months, Threads will offer a 500-character limit on posts, in contrast to Twitter’s shift toward longer-form content.

Users are likely to be able to transfer over account information from Instagram, including the ability to keep their handle and notify followers to join them.

This move comes as Twitter faces challenges since Elon Musk’s acquisition last year, with the platform experiencing a decline in advertising revenue and losing users due to controversial decisions, such as reversing bans on accounts involved in hate speech. Advertisers are concerned about their ads appearing alongside misinformation or hate speech, leading to a significant drop in advertising spending on Twitter. Musk’s attempt to convert Twitter users into paying subscribers through the Twitter Blue subscription offering has also struggled.

Meta’s new app presents a credible threat to Twitter, as advertisers are more likely to trust their ad dollars with Zuckerberg’s company than smaller rivals. Despite safety concerns on Facebook, advertisers are still open to new offerings from Meta.

Although Twitter remains popular among politicians, journalists, celebrities, and pundits, Meta’s vast user base through Facebook and Instagram could pose a challenge. Convincing even a fraction of these users to create accounts on Threads could tip the scales in favor of Meta. Additionally, Meta’s brand, bolstered by Instagram’s positive reputation, may attract celebrities and brands disenchanted with Musk’s behavior.

However, Meta’s track record in launching new apps is not particularly strong, with several unsuccessful attempts in recent years. Their strength lies in acquiring successful platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp. Zuckerberg is known for adapting features from rival platforms, such as Instagram Stories, which was “inspired” by Snapchat. If Threads falls short, Meta is exploring features to attract Twitter users to WhatsApp.

Ultimately, whether Meta can unseat Twitter as the world’s town square remains to be seen. But we can all probably agree that Twitter has been a mess and another option would be welcome by many.

At least that’s what Twitter founder Jack Dorsey thinks.

In a recent interview with YouTube news channel Breaking Points, the tech billionaire expressed his concerns about the potential consequences of mixed reality headsets like the Apple Vision Pro. Dorsey fears that these technological marvels could transform humanity into a lethargic mess.

In the Pixar film, humans live aboard a spaceship controlled by artificial intelligence. Having grown accustomed to a life of convenience, people abandon physical activity and work, instead indulging in incessant consumption.

Dorsey said: “That’s the future we’re driving towards — with everyone in the floating chairs, drinking their food out of straws, and constant 24/7 entertainment.”

While Dorsey acknowledges the inevitability and potential wonders of virtual reality, particularly in gaming, he foresees serious problems once it gains widespread popularity, akin to the impact smartphones have had on society.

“I’m super worried and concerned with how out of touch it might make people and how it distances us further,” Dorsey said. “You can see that the whole world is headed this way, and I want to believe that there’s a different answer. So it’s going to happen. I’m skeptical about some of the benefits, and I hope we can have an honest conversation around some of the harms of more and more social distancing.”

Apple recently announced the upcoming release of its highly anticipated Reality Pro headset, projected to hit the market at a staggering $3,499 price tag. (Subsequent tech rumors indicate lower-priced options are being worked on, much like there are several price levels for the iPhone.)

Apple’s mixed reality device combines virtual reality with augmented reality, allowing users to interact with apps, games, web and messages while still perceiving the surrounding environment. Alternatively, users can immerse themselves in fully virtual experiences, enjoying movies or playing games.

However, this tantalizing prospect also serves as a reminder of Dorsey’s cautionary words. As the price inevitably drops, the widespread adoption of mixed reality headsets may inadvertently accelerate the trajectory towards a WALL-E-esque dystopian future.

But just because they’re not good doesn’t mean they’re not worth playing. The truth is, many of these are so wild that they really are worth seeking out, if only to marvel at the ingenuity. You ready to dive down the rabbit hole of gaming for God? Here’s just a tiny taste of what’s in store.

Eternal War: Shadows of Light

You’re the archangel Michael, and you’re roaming around the soul of a troubled guy named John, wrestling with his inner demons with extreme prejudice. Spiritual warfare hasn’t been this literal since This Present Darkness. 

Catechumen

In Catechumen, you play a Roman soldier trapped in the Catacombs, on a mission to rescue your friends from …demons? Good thing you’ve got a laser sword. The lore here is a little complicated but it tips over into being a Christian game on account of the whole demon thing.

Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare went more of the Zelda route, allowing you to roam around collecting biblical artifacts like the Armor of God and Samson’s Jawbone to do battle with bad guys. But don’t worry. Your attacks here actually turn your enemies into Christians (they fall to their knees in prayer when they’re “defeated”) so beat as many of them as you can.

Red Sea Crossing

In the 1980s, Atari dove into the religious video game sphere with this stab at a Moses game. It wasn’t exactly a hit. In fact, less than 100 copies were made, one of which netted a whopping $10,400 at an auction later, making it one of the most expensive Atari games ever.

Bible Adventures

A goofy NES game which mostly involves picking things up and putting them down. You might be Noah picking up the animals to put them down in the ark, Miriam picking up Moses to get him into the Red Sea or David picking up his sheep to keep them safe from wild animals. It doesn’t sound very fun and the game has garnered an infamous reputation online, but it’s surprisingly charming once you get into the rhythm of it.

Super Noah’s Ark 3D

One of the strangest games Super Nintendo ever released. In fact, Super Nintendo didn’t even technically release it. It’s the only unlicensed game released for Super NES in the country, and that’s not even the weirdest thing about it. It retools the Wolfenstein 3D game engine but, instead of blasting Nazis, you’re shooting food at the animals on the ark so they fall asleep.

I Am Jesus Christ

What would Jesus do? You make the call. An absolutely wild open world game in which you play out the ministry of Jesus Christ in first person, all the way through his crucifixion and resurrection. You can perform miracles like healing the sick, casting out demons and even helping fisherman. It’s actually kind of soothing.

Eventually, nature reestablished dominance and the stream once again set its course, widening the gaps in our makeshift dam, washing away our day’s progress. Kids grew tired, admitted defeat, parted ways, and headed home with the stoic realization that nature will outlast the best efforts of even the most enthusiastic children. No one can stop a stream from streaming.

Social media is an endlessly raging, widening, deepening stream of opinions, ideas, and information. On average, every minute of 2019, users tweeted at least 474,000 tweets on Twitter, uploaded 69,444 photos and/or videos on Instagram, posted 510,000 comments and liked 4 million posts on Facebook, conducted 3.5 billion searches on Google, and watched 4,333,560 videos on YouTube. This technological torrent is so overwhelmingly vast and pervasive that talk of influencing the social media waters can appear daunting or downright simplistic.

Any call to change internet culture or to substantially transform the way we communicate online can look as foolish as a handful of children trying to hold back or reroute the Mississippi River. Our best intentions seem like child’s play in the face of these expansive, angry, divisive, raging social media waters. Honestly, some of us fear that if we wade into the rough online streams, we will be pulled under or swept away. Consequently, many of us approach the negative realities of social media with futile complacency, accepting the raging torrent as an inevitability.

Every believer is called to peacemaking. However, social media technology actively works against the ministry of peacemaking. Nonetheless, we must resist social media fatalism and reject online cynicism. No matter how strong the destructive stream, we must never give up or give in to worshiping the idol of inevitability. We must reject the myth of endless decline. Throughout history, visionary people have rejected such fatalism and through their efforts, transformative, reconciling miracles have occurred at both individual and systemic levels.

These individuals looked beyond the decay and with hope-filled imaginations and prayerful convictions, contended for better possibilities.

We may live in a world where information and darkness flow vigorously through social media platforms. Regardless, we don’t exist like little children working against the inevitability of an endlessly flowing stream of negative information. We are a different stream! We who call upon the name of Jesus have living water that will bring life to any situation. We don’t push with futility against the corrupt or contaminated waters; we bring new, pure, life-giving water to every circumstance. We release a greater torrent of transformative water upon the earth.

Jesus said, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” ( Jn 4:14).

We wade into the streaming torrent of online negativity to bring a new source of life to the stream. We stream the life and light of Christ, the reconciling good news of the gospel, the transformative love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. We confront destructive online activities with the kingdom of God that flows in us and through us. We position ourselves to be vessels of God’s good news, ambassadors of his advancing kingdom, messengers of his transformative grace. No matter the world’s negativity, no matter the insurmountable problems we face, we boldly emanate God’s transformative love. We actively engage social media, confidently believing our engagement will advance the reconciling purposes of God.

We cannot change everything overnight. However, we can radically change the way we abide with each other online if we prayerfully listen to God and take Spirit-led steps that welcome the reconciling presence of God. To do this, we must be intentional, persistent, and brave. We must commit to the ministry of online peacemaking, regardless of the temporary or long-term obstacles we face. This requires us to search our hearts, examine our motivations, and proactively develop a strategic plan to better communicate and abide online in a manner that advances the reconciling purposes of God.

We have only begun to see the strengths and weaknesses of social media communication. Although we’ve developed patterns of communicating with each other, those patterns don’t have to be normative or universal. We can actually work against the habits we formed or those technology has formed in us. This will take work, but the gospel is worth necessary work. Even if many have grown accustomed to dehumanizing, divisive social media communication, we do not have to make these realities customary. We can develop countercultural movements that provide a better way of abiding online for present and future generations.

None of us possesses enough natural ability to solve our current social media woes. We’re all ill-equipped to bring peace to conflicted and complex environments. Even so, we can place our confidence in the power of making room for the reconciling presence of Christ. I have hope in the presence of Jesus. I know that even when we face profound disconnect within ourselves and between each other, we can still find positive ways forward if we contend for environments that welcome the loving presence of Jesus. To reveal Jesus, we must keep the goal of peacemaking a central motivator for our communication. Jesus made himself known to me and provided me with a peace that passes understanding. Therefore, I will do everything in my power to make Jesus known in every social media interaction. The peace I received I freely give.

Adapted from Posting Peace by Douglas S. Bursch. Copyright (c) 2021 by Douglas S. Bursch . Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com

The new mobile operating system will include a number of new safety features designed to protect users from unwanted sexual advances. One of the most significant new features is a tool that will warn users if they receive an unsolicited nude photo.

The feature, called Sensitive Content Warning, will scan all incoming messages for explicit images. If a user receives a nude photo, they will be alerted with a notification that says, “This message contains a sensitive image. Do you want to view it?”

Users can choose to view the image or decline. If they decline, the image will be deleted from their device.

The new feature is part of a broader effort by Apple to make its products safer for users. In addition to Sensitive Content Warning, iOS 17 will also include a number of other new safety features, including Check In, which will tell a designated iMessage contact when you safely arrive at your destination. If you stop moving and don’t respond while on your way, it can share information such as your route, battery level and cell-service status.

“With iOS 17, we’ve made iPhone more personal and intuitive by deeply considering the features we all rely on every day,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, said.

Take my ongoing Jesus vs. Netflix battle, for example. If I’m being honest with myself, it seems like Netflix is winning my time and attention more than ever these days.

Ironically, when television arrived back in the 1950s, a lot of respected pastors dramatically called it the Devil’s Box. Yet, 60 years later, a study conducted by the Barna Group proved that Christians who practice their faith watch more TV than non-Christians.

Personally, I love to be entertained. I watch anything and everything. I love the news, stupid videos on YouTube, three hours of ESPN and Facebook. I love romantic comedies, superhero movies, sci-fi epics and artsy independent cinema (even when it seems to make no sense whatsoever).

I can spend a full hour browsing through the Netflix gallery just to see what’s available. I can watch full seasons of a show in a matter of days (even with two kids, a wife and a full-time job to maintain). There have even been times I’ve started a show, not really liked the beginning, but kept watching, as if to force myself to get into it—just so I could have another show to watch and be entertained by.

If I would invest that much effort into my time with God, my face would probably radiate with the manifest glory from heaven. (Or, at the very least, I would have a couple more Bible verses memorized.)

Netflix seems to be winning the battle. And I feel like I’m not alone.

Our Entertainment Addiction

I know people who have changed their diets completely based on a Netflix documentary on food. I know others who have taken days off from work so they could finish season five of Breaking Bad (worth it!) And I know, for sure, that if I am having trouble relating with a new person in church, all I have to do is start talking about what I am currently watching on Netflix, and like a miracle of human connectivity, BOOM! We are instantly best friends forever.

So how does Jesus compete against all the noise and the distractions? How are we able to turn down the entertainment in order to turn up the awe and the hunger?

I think we’re desperate to be inspired. We want out of our consuming, selfish, all-about-me prisons, so we wander off in entertainment looking for a purpose. Our real-life stories are lost in the dullness of everyday routine. Our religion has become mundane and easy to figure out. So our hearts are in a legitimate search for the story.

It’s why we turn to Netflix, the Internet or the movie theater.

Jesus the Entertainer

Yes, Jesus is Savior, Servant, King, Lion, God, Lord, but He was also a masterful storyteller. He communicated deep revelations by turning them into profoundly compelling stories about wandering sheep, ungrateful sons and bad farming.

Not only was He a genius with His words, He was also creative with His miracles. He was challenging to the establishment. He was provocative with His decisions. And it was impossible to fit him into a box.

He is literally untamable, radically spontaneous and comfortable with making us uncomfortable.

He is far and away the greatest movie, story, mystery, drama, comedy, thriller that ever was.

And it’s time to tune in.

In his glorious book Dangerous Wonder, Mike Yaconelli wrote:

I want a lifetime of holy moments. Every day I want to be in dangerous proximity to Jesus. I long for a life that explodes with meaning and is filled with adventure, wonder, risk and danger. I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous. I want to be with Jesus, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.”

Yes, it’s great to watch movies; it’s just better to live a life that could become one. It’s OK to be content consumers. It’s just better to be content creators who become the influencers to a broken generation. There is nothing wrong with amusement, but we were created for something more than entertainment. Our lives weren’t meant to be spent simply watching others’ stories.

The story of Jesus could be our own story. It was designed to be our story. So we remain hungry for it.

We risk losing the wonder of the Good News by reducing it to a set of suggestions for ethical living. And while slumbering in the comforts of Western-Christianity, we often forget that the Scriptures are dangerous and mysterious. That the Kingdom of God is full of drama and intrigue. That it’s the real life: raw, unedited and weirdly perfect.

What Really Competes for Our Time?

In The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence wrote:

But this King, filled with goodness and mercy, far from chastising me, lovingly embraces me, makes me eat at His table, serves me with His own hands, gives me the keys of His treasures and treats me as His favorite. He talks with me and is delighted with me in a thousand ways and He forgives me and relieves me of my bad habits without talking about them.

Jesus is not contained inside our religious efforts. He is too big, and too wise, and too much of a friend of sinners to be limited by that. He won’t stop being who He is because of the things you decided to watch, or do, or say.

But there is a mystery to be discovered. An adventure to be lived. His presence is truly exciting (and available at all times).

I have discovered that Jesus can be with me while I watch Netflix, or do other things in my life that aren’t technically “religious.” He’s not intimidated by the competition. It’s not even a contest, really.

While Netflix gets a couple of hours of my attention, Jesus has won my heart eternally. The key is in remembering that and living it.

So no thank you Netflix, I will not watch the next episode. Today I will set my eyes on the author and perfecter of my faith and connect with Him in the journey of sonship, sacrifice and surrender.

Today I know that God is not waiting for me to get to heaven in order to start my episode one.

Time to hit play.

“No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—What God has arranged for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

A new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate says the social media platform has failed to remove 99 percent of hate speech posted by Twitter Blue users, and instead may be boosting paid accounts that use hate speech. The CCDH flagged tweets from 100 Twitter Blue subscribers that contained hate speech. Four days later, the organization said 99 percent of the tweets were still up and none of the accounts had been removed.

The tweets, which included examples of neo-Nazism, antisemitism, racism and more, violate Twitter’s own hate speech policies, the researchers say. The tweets reported by the CCDH included a post claiming “Hitler was right,” accompanied by a video montage of the dictator.

Twitter’s hateful content policy, updated as recently as April 2023, states: “You may not directly attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.”

The CCDH argues the tweets found by their researchers “clearly violate the platform’s policies.”

CCDH researchers say they found Twitter Blue users — users who pay $8 a month for “extra features” — in their samples appeared to be “given priority” in threads.

“In one example of a thread containing almost 100 tweets from non-verified users, the top-ranked reply was from a Twitter Blue user calling for violence against Migrants,” the report said.

The social media platform has been criticized for its lax moderation policies, which have allowed hate speech to flourish on its platform. A recent study by the Anti-Defamation League found that Twitter is the most popular social media platform for hate speech, with over 100,000 tweets containing hate speech per day.

Twitter has taken some steps to address the problem, but the CCDH argues these steps have been largely ineffective.

Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the CCDH, said in a statement to The Daily Beast, “Our society has benefited from decades of progress on tolerance, but Elon Musk is undoing those norms at an ever-accelerating rate, by allowing hate to prosper on the spaces he administers, all with the tacit approval of the advertisers who remain on his platform.”