Twitter

Just More Bad News…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Did the title get your attention? Well, that’s exactly what I wanted it to do. You probably clicked on the link because you thought, “Oh! Let me see what the bad news is!”

Well, the bad news is that your/our social media is leading us to more and more bad news. It really doesn’t matter the platform, either. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter)–the algorithms are all pointing us to bad news. And, we keep clicking and keep scrolling. We get caught in a “doom loop,” and that makes the situation worse.

Positively Negative

The reality is we like bad news. Many years ago, I had a radio executive in one of the congregations I served. I dabbled in radio as a younger guy, so I thought “Maybe it’s time to get back into radio.” I had a conversation with the executive to pitch my idea for a local radio talk show. After a couple of back and forth conversations discussing the idea he eventually said, “Lynn, to be successful in talk radio, you have to be negative. I don’t think you really want to be negative.” That same attention-grabbing negativity that drives talk radio also drives our social media algorithms.

No, I didn’t want to be negative then, and I don’t want to be negative now, but heaven help me, I find myself being more and more negative in my online engagement, and that’s leading me to be more negative in my face-to-face engagements. I don’t like the person I’m becoming as a result of all the “bad news” in my life. It’s messing with my sanctification!

It would be real easy to say, “It’s not my fault!” That’s the easy out. I could blame it on “algorithmic negativity bias” (it’s a real thing–look it up). Look, social media is designed to keep us scrolling. The algorithm learns which posts get our attention–that make us stop, linger or click. Unfortunately, bad news gets our attention more than good news. If we stop and linger on a “bad news” headline, we get more bad news headlines in our feed.

We humans have a survival mode bred into us that means our brains are wired to pay more attention to threats and danger (think “fight or flight” here). So, when we see a negative headline, we naturally pause.

Traditional media understood this long before the brainiacs developed algorithms for social media. Traditional media was driven by two statements: “If it bleeds, it leads,” and “Sex sells!” Social media has simply perfected these mentalities, and we’ve (meaning “me”) fallen for it in a big way.

What really makes me stop on the bad news headline? It’s just my old sinful nature at work, and the Enemy is utilizing social media to draw me away from the holiness to which Christ calls me. Let me say it this way, “Sin has a hold of me and it won’t let go, and now social media is helping it keep its hold.”

Turning Off the Doom Loop

So, the Holy Spirit and I have a little work to do. Yeah, I know the simple answer is to get off social media, but I ask, “This day and age is getting off social media a realistic possibility?” Social media is simply a tool. It is amoral. It is what we do with it that determines its morality.

The first thing I must do to turn off the doom loop is repent. All significant spiritual change begins with repentance. I repent of my own negativity and I’m sorry for all the negative posts I’ve made on social media (and there have been a few more than I care to admit). My prayer is “Change my heart, O God!”

The Lord really does want to change my heart, and as much as I would like a supernatural transformation, He’s asking me to do a little of the work myself. What is He asking me to do?

One, He’s telling me to limit my time on social media. Set a timer if I need to in order to remind myself how long I’ve been online. I need to spend less time online and more time “touching grass,” as they say–more time in face-to-face interactions. It’s a whole lot easier to say mean things online than it is in person.

Two, I need to actively engage with positive content online in order to reprogram the algorithm. That means I have to mute or block or snooze the negativity in my social media feed. When I find positive content I need to share it with others. Simply don’t click on negative headlines. Stop falling into the trap.

Three, I need to get back into God’s Word. I need to spend more time reading and reflecting on God’s Word than scrolling negative headlines on social media.

Yeah, I’ve got a lot of work to do, but with the Holy Spirit’s help, perhaps I’ll come out on the other side a better person. Perhaps the holiness I desire will make its way out in the interactions I have online and in person. That’s my prayer, anyway…

Because I’m just tired of all the bad news…

Until next time, keep looking up…

Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 1 Comment

A person stuck at home has lots of time to think, unless of course, the person is binge watching Tiger King or Ozark (no, I haven’t watched either–I’ve been thinking!). Historians say that Shakespeare wrote Antony & Cleopatra, MacBeth and King Lear while quarantined for the Plague. I’m not Shakespeare, but I thought I might share a few of the random thoughts I’ve had while staying at home.

Social media is the place to go for shaming, especially if you have an alternative opinion. And, Twitter is the worst.

Speaking of alternative opinions, there is less and less of a place for one in our world today–even if you’re “an expert.” People on social media (and the main stream media) will shout you down (see paragraph above).

Speaking of which, did you notice how easy it was for the government to limit freedom? Do you wonder if it will be the last time?

Would you like to wager how many people will shame me on social media for asking the two previous questions? I would also wager I’ll have a few people question my faith because I asked those questions. I’ll get accused of not loving my neighbor, or of being more concerned with the economy than I am with human life.

Toilet paper. I still don’t get the run on toilet paper. Of course, I shouldn’t tell you that I have my own supplier now. No! I won’t tell you. You might get there before I do, but if you go to this particular place early on Saturday morning, you can score a 12 roll pack of Angel Soft because the truck runs on Friday evening and the clerks don’t put the TP on the shelf. They hide it in the back like a dime bag and dole it out to savvy folks like myself who are smart enough to ask. So, if you get in a bind (no pun intended) (and you haven’t shamed me on social media), give me a call. I can hook you up with Angel Soft.

According to the World Health Organization, there are approximately 1.35 million deaths due to road traffic accidents. Aren’t all road traffic accidents preventable if we simply stay at home?

Did I tell you what I’ve come to love about Saturday since the COVID-19 outbreak? It’s the first day of the week that my retirement account is not likely to decline.

Don’t you love all the conspiracy theories circulating during the pandemic?

  • Dean Koontz predicted it in his 1981 thriller “The Eyes of Darkness.“
  • It’s Bill Gates‘ fault because he owns the lab in China where the virus originated and it got its foothold in the U. S., in Seattle–which is where Bill Gates lives.
  • The Democrats are responsible because they couldn’t convict Trump after he was impeached. You can also insert “deep state” in place of “Democrats.”
  • We’re locked down because it’s actually chemical warfare unleashed by China on the United States. The US government is not telling us everything.

Conspiracy theories flourish when trust is absent. There is certainly a lack of trust in our culture today.

The pandemic has produce a few good memes:

  • Our grandparents were called to go to war. You’re being called to sit on your couch and watch TV.
  • I was lonely until I glued a coffee cup on my car. Now everyone waves at me.
  • If a diarrhea virus hits us right now, do you think people will buy up all the nose spray?
  • Some peoples aren’t shaking hands because of the Coronavirus. I’m not shaking hands because everyone is out of toilet paper.

I’ve already got plans on how to spend my Trump check. Can I call it my Trump check? Someone suggested calling it the “Trump Bump.” I might get social media shamed for that one.

We will get through this pandemic. Every previous generation has experienced some hardship or challenge–most, if not all, worse than this one. One generation survived the Revolutionary War. Another generation survived the Civil War. Another generation survived World War I AND the Spanish Flu. Another generation survived the Great Depression and emerged to survive World War II and the Korean Conflict. Another generation survived Y2K and 9/11. I do think we can manage sitting on the couch and watching TV (although my yard has never looked quite so good).

Church will forever look different when this is over.

Those are just a few random thoughts on the passing scene. I have more, but I don’t have time to write them. I’m blessed to have an employer who lets me work from home, so I better get to work (and, I need to watch Narcos Mexico).

Until next time, keep looking up…