Screens, Souls, and the Shaping Power of Tech
August 24, 2025
Social media, algorithms, and constant notifications have become the backdrop of life, especially for younger generations. But the digital world is distorting our sense of self. Instead of comparing, performing, and numbing, God invites us to remember who we really are in Him.
READ
Romans 12:2; Psalm 139:13-18
For it was you, God, who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
REFLECT
1. Have you ever edited or curated your online life to appear a certain way? What does that reveal about where you find your identity?
2. Where do you most often look for affirmation: God’s truth or the approval of others (likes, comments, recognition)?
3. If you are an older adult, what conversations can you initiate with younger generations about their online world, fears, or pressures? If you are a younger person, what conversations can you initiate with older generations about their offline world, values, or practices of faith and presence?
RESPOND
1. Set aside a block of time or a day each week where screens are off. Replace screen time with physical activity, prayer, face-to-face conversations, and silence.
2. Create tech-free zones at the dinner table, in bedrooms, and during car rides. Regularly invite the children or young people in your life to share their digital “highs and lows” of where they felt comparison, pressure, or joy.
3. Cultivate relationships with digital natives (younger people) and digital immigrants (older adults) in your life to learn from one another how to hear God in a noisy world.