A
thought by Craig Groeschel (2015-10-27) from his book, #Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie-Centered World (p. 28).
Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy
the book.)
Now
where does that come from? Well, of
course there are many sources.
Craig
says, “Some sociologists point to technology as a significant factor in our
constant unhappiness. We are the first people in the history of the world who
are able to see inside the lives of others in real time. We carry tiny media
powerhouses in our pockets that enable us to follow other people’s lives
through their check-ins, pictures, and videos.”
He
goes on, “And if what we’re seeing in the lives of others seems better, more
interesting, and more fulfilling than our own lives, we feel like we’re missing
out. Of course, that feed we’re watching may not reflect reality. Most people
put their best foot forward, showing only the things they want others to see.
As my close friend and fellow pastor Steven Furtick explains, ‘We compare our
behind-the-scenes with other people’s highlight reels.’ Photoshopped and
cropped, filtered and edited, what we see online makes our own reality seem
dingy and dull.”
He
then says, “A recent study sought to quantify how exposure to social media
affects people’s moods. Researchers at two universities tracked students who
were regular Facebook users over two weeks by having them complete
life-satisfaction surveys five times a day.
After students spent time on Facebook, their surveys showed them to be
considerably less satisfied and more critical of their own lives than they were
before the Facebook time. Results also indicated that more than one third of
the test subjects felt ‘significantly worse’ about themselves the more time
they spent on Facebook. Why? We aren’t
designed by God to seek the image of others; we are designed to seek him.
When we spend time on social media focusing on how well others present their
lives, we are, to use one of my father’s baseball analogies, taking our eye off
the ball.”
So
be careful. As Craig says later, “You will
battle with discontent until you let Christ be all that you need.”
So
how are you doing?
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