A new survey reveals that most evangelicals consider social media to be more harmful than helpful to the Christian faith, yet they still continue to use it. According to a Gray Matter Research/Infinity Concepts poll, 58% of evangelicals believe social media is more harmful than helpful to American faith, while 42% believe the opposite is true. It turned out that I thought it was helpful.
According to the survey, only 4% of evangelical adults who use the internet say they have not used social media in the past month.
“If you believe something is harmful, would you still continue doing it?” the report asked. “When it comes to social media, for the vast majority of evangelical Protestants, the answer is yes.”
The survey found that 95 percent of evangelicals are online, and 96 percent of those who are online use social media at least once a month.
However, the majority of evangelicals argue that social media has more negative than positive effects on their faith.
“These believers reference material that is not of benefit to a wide variety of people, not just Christians,” the report said. “Although most people cite content that is unsafe, sexually explicit, full of hate and negativity, or harmful to impressionable young people, 6% say social media Others complain that it's secular and lacks Christian content in general. As one person simply wrote, “Look at what's been posted.” ”
Even among evangelicals who believe social media is harmful, the reasons vary. Social media is “full of dangerous/secular content” (34%), “bad in general, not just for faith” (29%), and “can have a negative impact on people” (29%) . “their faith” (15%), “bad teachings or false doctrine” (14%), “filled with lies, gossip, and misinformation about Christianity” (14%), and “bullying against Christians” (14%). /harassment/silence” (11%).
Still, a significant percentage of evangelicals think social media is beneficial, with 47% citing evangelicalism as their top reason. Other reasons cited include “Providing easy access to Christian content to people who would otherwise be unreachable” (18%) and “Helping believers connect with each other and build community” (16%) %) and “provide encouragement and help build faith” (16%). ” (11%), “Provides opportunities and resources for research and learning” (11%), and “Contributes to Christian conversation and the exchange of religious views” (9%).
For this study, an evangelical was defined as someone who affirmed all four of the following statements: “The Bible is the supreme authority for what I believe.” “It is important to me to encourage non-Christians to trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior.” “The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is important to me.” is the only sacrifice that can take away the penalty of my sin,” and “Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.”
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michael faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His articles have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star, and Knoxville News Sentinel.
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