It is not uncommon to scroll through a social media feed and quickly realize the toxic nature of human communication online. This “keyboard warrior” mentality is a hot topic for Christians and non-Christians.[i] Many are concerned about the cruelty initiated in the comments sections of social media posts, news articles, and blogs. But how did things get like this and should we be concerned?

Individuals have consistently recognized that some spoken words, and even the tone of words, communicate negative emotions like contempt, rage, and hatred, and those words are viewed as less socially acceptable.[ii] Generally (and at least historically), in the public square, most refrain from this type of “locker-room talk.” However, “locker-room talk” seems no longer confined to the locker room and is the general norm in most social media comment sections.

One could debate whether the current hostile environment of online communication has elevated in recent years, but this is hard to prove objectively. Christians, however, recognize that Scripture declares humanity’s sinful nature and the darkness of the fallen human heart (Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 3:10-18; Psalm 51:5), which  impacts spoken and written communication. Further, Christians are reminded that “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart” (Matthew 15:18).[iii] So, when one remembers that humanity is fallen and has a wicked heart, it will not come as a shock when wicked words spew forth from wicked people.

This last paragraph does not surprise a biblically consistent Christian. Since the Fall, humanity has battled against one another because the curse changed human nature (Genesis 6:5) and, therefore, impacted spoken words (Genesis 11:1-9). Conflict with and between fellow image-bearers often involves using harsh spoken or typed words in today’s world. Yet, Christians should “[l]et no corrupting talk come out of [their] mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29). Scripture warns, “the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness…setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire by hell” (James 3:6). Due to the destructive nature of an uncontrolled tongue, Christians must use caution when considering how to engage other image bearers in a culture obsessed with controversy.

These are unique times in the area of human connectivity and relationships. Human beings have access to more people than ever in the history of the world. Any person with a smartphone and a social media account can reach millions. This is a powerful tool, and the impacts of this type of connectivity still need to be fully understood.

Yet, the responsibility of all Christians to engage fellow image-bearers has remained the same (Matthew 28:19-20). Further, God’s Word reveals the nature of humanity and, at the same time, provides a powerful tool for navigating the method of engagement with all image-bearers in the current hostile mediated landscape. Given the mediated communication landscape, Christians need to consider how being made in the image of God impacts engaging other image-bearers. Therefore, this article will identify some unique aspects of the current communication climate before demonstrating how a biblical understanding of humanity can guide Christians when engaging others.

The Unique Mediate Climate

The current landscape of communication and human interaction is shifting by the minute. This shift is evident to most individuals but is more complex than many assume. While spoken and written words were the primary means through which most communication took place at one time, Neil Postman contends there is a shift in human communication, specifically its form over the last few decades, in emphasis from text-centered to image-centered.[iv] Stated briefly, in a text-centered or “typographic” culture, people read a newspaper or a book, and the text content of the medium allows an individual to process the information in an ordered, sequential pattern.

Text-based communication was the dominant medium of exchanging ideas for centuries.[v] A typographic culture even processes spoken words differently since it is a culture where written text reigns supreme.[vi] Postman and other Media Ecologists contended that a text-based culture is better primed for rational and linear thinking.[vii] Following an argument through to its conclusion, and being able to separate logic from emotions, are all primed due to text-based communication.

Progressing from the telegraph to radio, then television, and now to digital communication, the dominant form of human communication shifted to an image-centered culture.[viii] In an image-centered culture, the “sequence of propositions” lacks context, altering how one processes content.[ix] “Changes in media bring about changes in the structure of people’s minds or changes in their cognitive capacities.”[x] This change is easily observed in the dominant forms of social media. Even the short-lived phenomenon of social media is moving from more text-centric platforms (i.e., Facebook) to image-centric platforms (i.e., Tick-Tok).

Postman argues that, since the proliferation of broadcast media and 24-hour news services, the way in which individuals process information has changed how people think about themselves and those around them. In the digital and mediated space, emphasis is given to images and appearance rather than the credibility of argument and reasoning. Image-based communication primes individuals to respond immediately, often devoid of rational linear central processing.[xi] It is not that those in an image-based culture cannot rationalize, but they are more prone to immediate, emotional responses.

Postman passed away before the rise of the internet, and subsequent rise of social media and access to instant messaging. Yet, the shift in how individuals rationalize the understanding of self and others has altered, given the rise of digital communication mediums.[xii] The shifting view of self is much more nuanced than this article can fully explain. Yet, it is summarized quite well by Carl R. Truman, when he described the rise of “expressive individualism.”[xiii]

Truman notes, “The rise of technology is clearly important to…changing the relationship of human beings to their environment.”[xiv] Since Christians are called to communicate a transcendent text-based message, it is important to understand the cultural shift and the implications of a shifting view of self. This challenge must be faced when taking the gospel (a text-based message) into the public square.

When considering the arguments of Postman and Truman and combining them, they layout like this: Due to the rise in social media, the emphasis on image-centered communication, and the decline of Judeo-Christian morality in Western culture, a paradigm-shift in how one understands self, morality, and culture has occurred.[xv]

As a further extension of this, one observes that social media has drastically impacted adolescents.[xvi] This has given rise to skyrocketing suicide and depression rates.[xvii] It is not prudent to blame all of this on social media or the shift from a text-centered to an image-centered culture. Still, it is essential to understand that these changes impact how individuals understand themselves in relation to others and how they view communication with others.

Primarily, then, Christians must ask a few questions. If the cultural understanding of self has shifted drastically, what does that mean for Christians engaging a lost culture? How does having a view of humanity grounded in Scripture help when engaging with an image-based culture, often filled with vitriol?

A Biblical Understanding of Humanity as a Guide

After reading the previous section, some may feel overwhelmed, thinking, “I am struggling to understand how to interact with individuals since their view of self, due to the impacts of social media and an image-based culture, has changed.” Well, there is incredible hope for the Christian. Ecclesiastes 1:9 notes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Despite changes in how individuals understand self, and despite changing mediums of communication, humanity is still the same. While observing that the medium of social media has impacted how individuals understand themselves and others, Christians are reminded, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). When Christians engage others online, then a Scripture-based understanding of humanity is foundational.

The Christian Worldview defines humanity by noting, “Human beings are created in the image of God and thus possess personality, self-transcendence, intelligence, morality, [sociability] and creativity.”[xviii] When dealing with others, Christians understand that our words matter because we are dealing not with random, rearranged particles resulting from a cosmic accident, but beings made in God’s image, who has value. This reality extends to one’s actions when engaging others in the unique cultural context of online communication. When considering engaging others, either online or in-person, a Christian starts with Scripture.[xix] Since this is the case, Christians have all the tools to speak truth into a broken society (Luke 21:14-15).

Understanding that all image bearers have transcendent value (that is, timeless and more than just physical value), should bring about compassion in a Christian’s communication. One can understand how most people view themselves and how the world around them has changed, but the gospel’s message is timeless in its relevance. Because Christians realize that “on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word” (Matthew 12:36), a Christian’s words when engaging other image bearers should be “always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6).

Even though the image of God in humanity “has been marred” due to the Fall, it has not been erased.[xx] As Millard Erickson notes, “The image of God has not been lost as a result of sin or specifically the fall.”[xxi] This proves a pivotal “point of contact” for the believer.[xxii] Like the one whose image humanity bears, people are rational, spiritual, moral, and social beings.[xxiii] Therefore, Christians seeking to engage others who struggle to understand themselves and the culture around them can appeal to these dimensions despite the fallen nature of humanity.

Christians seeking to love their neighbors as themselves should stand out in online interactions as they appeal to the rational nature of humanity, using logic and reasoning. This is complemented by engaging non-believers with issues that appeal to the spiritual darkness in which the lost are immersed. Further, while Judeo-Christian morality has often been outright rejected, general revelation has embedded universal morals into human nature.[xxiv] A concept like the value of human beings, honesty, and human dignity are essential points of contact for sparking conversations with non-believers.

Finally, God is relational, and so are the humans that bear His image (Genesis 2:18, 23; 3:6-8; 4:1, etc.). Christians must seek to “become all things to all people” (1 Corinthians 9:22). They must attempt to connect with those “who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). This compassion is demonstrated in carefully using words and genuinely “considering others as more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). Knowing who God is and how that applies to His creation should drive interactions with non-believers in every aspect and medium of a Christian’s communication.

Conclusion

The reality is that even though many in our culture are confused in their understanding of self, the gospel has not changed, the fallenness of man has not changed, and the image of God impressed on all humanity remains constant. Because a Christian recognizes that being made in the image of God is foundational to one’s understanding of others, his/her engagement with the lost should stand out. Also, Christians’ interactions with others in online mediums should be a light in the darkness because of its content and charity.

Unfortunately, what frequently happens is that Christians fail to remember what it means to be made in God’s image when sitting at a keyboard or in front of a camera. This type of forgetfulness is sinful and dishonestly represents the Lord of Glory. So, being grounded in a biblical understanding of the image of God, as found within mankind, is vital to engaging others. Without knowing the true God and what He has said about His creation, a person may only add to the acidic nature of online communication and fail to stand out as the “salt” and “light” Christians are commanded to embody.

References:

[i] Bill Eddy, “Are We All Becoming More Hostile Online?” Psychology Today, September 30, 2022, accessed September 4, 2023, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/5-types-people-who-can-ruin-your-life/202209/are-we-all-becoming-more-hostile-online

[ii] Melissa Mohr, Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2013), pp. 55-87.

[iii] All Scripture is taken from the English Standard Bible unless otherwise noted, (Crossway, Copyright © 2016).

[iv] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 20^th Anniversary Edition (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2006), pp. 30-43.

[v] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 20^th Anniversary Edition, p. 41.

[vi] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 20^th Anniversary Edition, p. 47.

[vii] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 20^th Anniversary Edition, pp. 44-63; Em Griffin, Andrew Ledbetter, & Glenn Sparks A First Look at Communication Theory 10^th e.d. (New York, NY: Mc Graw Hill, 2019), pp. 309-319.

[viii] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 20^th Anniversary Edition, pp. 64-80.

[ix] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 20^th Anniversary Edition, p. 73.

[x] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 20^th Anniversary Edition, p. 27.

[xi] Em Griffin, Andrew Ledbetter, & Glenn Sparks A First Look at Communication Theory 10^th e.d. (New York, NY: Mc Graw Hill, 2019), pp. 182-191.

[xii] Carl Truman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), pp. 35-104.

[xiii] Carl Truman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution, pp. 35-71.

[xiv] Carl Truman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution, p. 65.

[xv] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 20^th Anniversary Edition; Carl Truman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution.

[xvi] Vivek Murthy, “Surgeon General Issues New Advisory About Effects Social Media Use Has on Youth Mental Health,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, May 23, 2023, accessed September 4, 2023, https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/05/23/surgeon-general-issues-new-advisory-about-effects-social-media-use-has-youth-mental-health.html.

[xvii] “The Impact of Social Media on Teen’s Mental Health,” University of Utah: Health, January 20, 2023, accessed September 4, 2023,  https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/2023/01/impact-of-social-media-teens-mental-health.

[xviii] James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog 5^th e.d. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009), Kindle Edition Location 427.

[xix] Cornelius Van Til, Christian Apologetics 2^nd e.d. Edited by William Edgar (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2003), p. 19.

[xx] H. Wayne House, Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992), p. 83.

[xxi] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology 3^rd e.d. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2013), p. 470.

[xxii] Greg L. Bahansen, Presuppositional Apologetics: Stated and Defended edited by Joel McDurmon (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2011), p. 19.

[xxiii] H. Wayne House, Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine, p. 83.

[xxiv] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology 3^rd e.d., p. 471.