Note from Josh: Is Social Media Good for Gen Z?

Social Media: Good for Gen Z? Sex and Gen Z

Note from Josh: Is Social Media Good for Gen Z?

I wanted to tell you more about “Gen Z,” specifically how they’re handling social media. Remember, technology is an indistinguishable part of the Gen Z identity; it is intertwined in their daily lives. Cut the connection and they feel it: 31 percent admit they feel uncomfortable being away from their phones for 30 minutes. 58 percent feel uncomfortable if they are without their phones for a few hours. 65+ percent admit they experience high levels of stress if their phone is lost, broken, or stops working. Friends, it’s too late to close and lock Pandora’s box, but we can:

Help Gen Z to understand that social media platforms are intentionally designed to entice them to become addicts. We’re talking psychological manipulation. One iGen in this survey admitted: “I clearly am addicted, and the dependency is sickening.”

Suggest they protect their mental health by setting limits on their social use at specific times (at bedtime, during dinner, at social events, etc.), and hold them accountable, as needed. (My smartphone contract might help.)Push back on their belief (and fear) that their value and worth comes from their likes and followers. God alone sets their value.

In 2015, a team of childhood development experts worked with CNN to survey the social posts of 200 13-year-olds from across the United States. After reviewing 150,000+ posts, the experts concluded that being 13 today is “like being in a real-time 24/7 popularity contest.”

Just trying to imagine living up to that pressure is enough to give me a migraine. And it makes me mad.

I hope you’ll agree that our youth need to hear and believe this truth: that God alone sets their value. He calls them “valuable,” “cherished,” “loved,” and “chosen.” God accepts them and will never “unfriend” or “unfollow” them. That makes His love a million times better than a million “likes.”Let’s connect this generation to Him!