Helpful or Harmful?
Is social media more helpful or harmful to the Christian faith in the US?
We posed this question to over 1,000 evangelical Christians. What we learned is that social media has something in common with overeating, drinking too much, skimping on sleep, and going without exercise:
We know it’s bad for us, but we do it anyway.
Nearly six out of ten evangelicals believe social media is more harmful than helpful to the Christian faith. Of those believers, 94% still are on social media at least once a month.
Helpful or Harmful? Evangelicals and Social Media is the latest report from Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts. The study asks over 1,000 American evangelical Protestants not just what they think about social media, but why they think that way.
Why Is Social Media Harmful?
The 58% who believe social media causes more harm than good to the Christian faith express many reasons. Just some of them:
- There’s harmful content readily available (extremist views, hate, vulgarity, sexuality, etc.)
- It’s harmful to everyone, not just Christians (time-waster, scams, lies, venting, etc.)
- False doctrine and bad teaching
- Lies, gossip, and misinformation spread about Christians and Christianity
Why Is Social Media Helpful?
Those who take the opposite view – that social media is more helpful than harmful to the Christian faith in the US – also have multiple reasons for feeling this way. Among those reasons:
- It can be used for to spread the gospel
- It makes the faith more accessible – people can readily find preaching, Bible studies, church services, etc. even if they wouldn’t set foot in church
- Social media can help connect believers and build community
- It can provide encouragement and help build their faith
More Than Statistics
Helpful or Harmful? Evangelicals and Social Media provides a wealth of nuance and perspective on how evangelicals see social media – the positives and the negatives, with dozens of direct quotes from believers on both sides of the issue. Plus, we look at which platforms evangelicals are using, and consider how churches and ministries can provide guidance to believers on successfully navigating social media.
There’s much more in the full report. Helpful or Harmful? is free by request – just e-mail ron@greymatterresearch.com.
How Can We Help You?
Grey Matter makes reports such as this publicly available, but most of our work is for individual clients. This includes helping organizations understand how their constituents are (or are not) connecting with them through social media.
What questions keep you up at night? What upcoming decisions would be made in a more informed manner if you knew what your donors, customers, and/or target market thinks about you? We answer these kinds of questions for companies, ministries, non-profits, denominations, and the agencies and consultants which serve them.
How can we help you?
We have A Passion for Research That Makes a Difference. Talk to us about how we can make a difference for you.