Have you ever considered how your internet behavior can shape the real world? It does.
At this point in the game it's probably not likely that many of my readers would need to be convinced about the ubiquitous nature of the Internet and the digital realm (I mean, com'on where are you reading this article?). The average American now spends more time in front of a screen of some sort than they do at work every week (and more and more people's work has them in front of a screen which skews that statistic even further).
Every time we click on something on the Internet such as liking a tweet or Facebook post, sharing an article, or clicking on the add at the bottom of a web page, that information is stored and informs the digital world in which we live. Our interests make the Internet what it is, so be careful what you click for.
The Internet is a vast smorgasbord universe, consisting of the important, comical, trashy, and down right useless. Consider for a moment as a Christian that what you click can have a profound impact on you as an individual, and also be pleasing to God or not. But your clicking can also have an impact on what others see and are exposed to on the Internet. That which receives no attention (clicks, likes, shares, votes, etc.) on the Internet, dies on the Internet (at least to the point where you are not very likely to come across it).
The things that you click, you "endorse" on the Internet, telling all those browser cookies, "Hey I like this, show me more!", which then in turn informs the people producing the content to continue with more of what they are doing. Things that 'go viral' actually shape the culture around us. Have you seen some silly kitten video in some add on Television? That's because people couldn't stop clicking it. Do you remember when nothing on T.V. had a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram logo beside their own brandname and logo? Now they do ... and they want your click.
“There’s all these hidden algorithms, that help show you more stuff that’s like what you just clicked on or searched for, that also end up showing all of us more of what most of us are clicking on and searching for. No longer are editorial decisions made by solely by a select few; we are all, in a sense, editors of the Internet. What we click on is what we all get more of – even if it is stuff that most of us would say we disdain." (Sally Kohn's Ted Talk).
So the next time you are going to click on that scantily clad woman randomly endorsing motor oil, or respond to that emotionally charged political statement on Facebook by your "friend" baiting you to jump in and swim with sharks, pause for a moment and ask yourself, is this the type of content I want to continue to spread on the Internet? Is this the type of content that I want my children being exposed to? Every click counts, click for Christ.
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed (or click), do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Col 3:17