Sermon
Faith and Social Media
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to Young Voices for Christ,
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a podcast brought to you by a passionate group of young adults from Crofton Park
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Baptist Church here in South London in Brockley
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Here they come together to share their faith, explore life's
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big questions, and celebrate the journey of following Christ.
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Join them as they delve into inspiring stories, engaging
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discussions and heartfelt reflections,
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all aimed at encouraging and uplifting your walk with God.
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Whether you're seeking spiritual growth, community or just a dose of inspiration,
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Young Voices for Christ is here to light your path.
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Good afternoon and welcome to this episode of,
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Young Voices for Christ
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and in this podcast today we're going to be talking about faith
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and social media, how they mix and down the line.
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Today we have got two people calling in today.
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So we've got Ope and we have Lum and I'll let them introduce themselves to you.
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So Ope if you'd like to go first.
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Good evening people my name’s Opeyemi.
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I'm 26, and I came to the faith from a very, very young age.
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I grew up in a church, and I'd say I discovered Christ for myself
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around 11 or 12.
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Truly, when I, you know, I've always presents myself.
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My hobbies.
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I like Japanese basketball history and, martial arts as well.
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Thank you.
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Thank you. And.
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Lum?If by. Hi, everyone.
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Good evening.
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I'm called Lum.
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I'm 26 years old.
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I came to Christ at 17.
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And since then, I've had quite an interesting journey.
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So I'm happy to join you guys on this podcast to present to you.
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on the topic we’ll be talking on..
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Brilliant.
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So welcome both. So,
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first of all, I'm gonna probably ask if either of you
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because I guess we need the experience to be able to talk about this topic
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are either of you actually active on social media.
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I'm very active on social media.
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Actually, when I saw this topic it really reflected on my life as well.
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I’m a very active social media girl..
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So what channels do you use?
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All of them, or is there some that you spend most of your time on or.
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I use WhatsApp a lot.
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I use YouTube.
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I use Twitter, not very often.
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Instagram. Very rarely.
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Okay.
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The sites that I use it for media for school.
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A lot, but that's the main for now.
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All right.
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How about you?
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I'd say I'm active,
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but not in the same way as I used to be when I was much younger.
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I would be posting things, jumping into discussions, sharing my voice more so.
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But I'd say over the last I say six or so years
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I've been using social media more so for, branding cause I do content creation.
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So for me, when I do use social media, whether it's YouTube, Twitter or
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sometimes, well, Twitch as well, it's more so to,
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produce content rather than engage in certain discussions.
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But I do tend to read what people say and evaluate it myself.
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But as in for jumping into it specifically in conversations.
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I don't do that as much anymore.
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Okay.
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So, I was going to ask you now how you use
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social media, in which ways you use it,
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but there's so many different ways to use it, I guess.
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But if we were to look at it as, I mean, the topic today is faith
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and social media, how would you say
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we could use social media itself as a mission field?
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Well, how would you?
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I will told you I would come across, I would say a good way to do that would be.
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Well, for one, is sharing the Word
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I'd say it's a really good way to capture the algorithm.
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And you'd be surprised how many people will see your posts.
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We think that just because you're not getting
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a lot of viewers or followers, the people aren’t seeing our posts
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when they're not being seen, and that's not the case.
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And even if that, means sharing a Bible verse
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or putting a scripture for discussion, I think it was a
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one of the easier ways to promote the Word promote your faith as well.
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Would you say,
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would you agree with that Lum or have you've got some other ideas?
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I do agree with what he just said.
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I'm personally being introverted.
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The highest, the easiest to have found.
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Sharing the Word of God on social media is through WhatsApp.
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As he said, posting scriptures, on your status, for example.
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you could just make it a habit every day you put a scripture on it.
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I just remember there was this time a friend of mine, she gave this testimony
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that she was going through a hard time in her life and this is someone’s status.
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She constantly looked at every day and that person had scriptures.
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And coincidentally, those scriptures helped her
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it spoke to her every single day.
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So you realize the importance, the essence of
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using your status correctly to just share scripture.
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Share a message.
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You may not know the impact you're creating,
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but that message is helping someone.
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And that's true.
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And of course, we realize that
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those who remember that it's not our job to change people it’s
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the Word of God that changes people.
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So as children of God it’s our main task to keep the Word out there
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so we can do that through our status putting our status
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for those who are more extrovert.
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You probably do videos I’ve watched a couple of people
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on Instagram, they put videos on TikTok, they put videos.
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And if you look at it, it was quite up quite,
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famous preachers who have who broadcast,
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their services on social media accounts on YouTube there’s even this program
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I attended once and it was held on YouTube all over the world.
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So I think that
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that's what we can use all those means to propagate the Word of God.
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You could have a YouTube channel and put videos on Instagram.
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You could put pictures to Tik Tok,
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you could make short clips about the Word of God,
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about even a testimony, something God has done for you.
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But I think the essence of all those platforms is for us to use
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it as children of God to send out the Word of God,
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which will impact people's life, because the Word of God truly has power.
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Amen to that.
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I notice we've just been joined by,
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Pippa she just joined us on the call. So.
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Hello Hi.
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Hi Pippa we're going to we're talking about faith and social media.
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We've only just about started,
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and we were talking about how we can use social media as a mission field.
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And the couple of examples we've spoken about now,
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sharing the Word of God
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through the social media channels, that for me would be the obvious one.
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But how would you and I'm going to direct this question to you Pippa
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maybe you can come in on this one.
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How would you go about sharing God's love
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and the Word without being, I'm going to use the word preachy.?
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So, you know, some people might get turned off as soon as you start mentioning
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Jesus or the Bible or stuff like that, because they just think
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it doesn't apply to me and I don't want it.
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I don't, I don't I didn't come on here to hear that.
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So how would you go about
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still showing God's love through your interactions on social media?
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But without what people are calling.
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I think
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maybe in the sense of like creatives online,
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it really depends on what speaks to a person.
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So I'm like really invested in things like comics and art.
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And I've been following this one account recently that posts like
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it's like her own,
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visualization of the New Testament.
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So she's made this whole comment, this comic,
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following like the disciples and things and even people
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who aren't like, baptized aren't followers of the faith or anything.
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They find that they enjoy engaging in content like that because
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it feels very human for them.
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The same way that The Prince of Egypt was such a big blockbuster movie,
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and it was about the Exodus, about Moses’s story.
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It's because there's a way that art, I feel like relates to people,
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especially through like channels, like social media, being able to share
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like, creative visualizations, a story like that.
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And because they are stories, there's like always ways to,
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make them relatable in a sense,
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make you feel more human, more, realistic than sometimes.
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Myths and fables tend to be and that;’s like the difference
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with like sharing the Word online in these kind of formats,
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because it feels more like a just a story, like a human story
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that could happen to anyone, if that makes sense.
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Yeah, that sounds quite right.
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I was going to say as well, I think.
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Was it Fran or one of the preachers in recent times did mention
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something about the ability to be able to preach without saying a word.
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So sometimes when you're interacting with people on social media
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as well, the way you interact can actually show the love of God.
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So they might be talking about something else
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and your manner and the way you respond and the language you use or don't use.
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Could also, in a way, make people
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kind of sit up and take notice and go, what's this person about?
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I'd like to know who you know. Where do they get that optimism from?
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Where did they get that bright, attitude from?
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And the more they kind of delve in because like you say,
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if you find something and you like their content
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that kind of appeals to you, you might start looking for more content.
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And the more they get involved in what you're about
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and they start to figure out, oh, okay, this person is a Christian.
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This person follows God.
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And maybe that's why they are as bright,
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optimistic and hopeful and faithful as they are.
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So that's another way of doing it.
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So that's that's fine.
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So we know social media is a minefield of everything
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good, bad and ugly, mostly the bad and ugly. So
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what what ways can we
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kind of stay true to our values when we're engaging in stuff?
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So, for instance, what would trigger me now is if somebody puts post out about
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maybe Trump or something or some injustice or something to do with racism.
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So how do you how do you stay true to your values
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when you're faced with those kind of situations?
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Or do you not get involved in those kind of conversations.
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When you see those conversations, you just walk away,?
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Not necessarily.
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I won’t walk away In most cases, I hope as long as I'm not,
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I don't let myself get angry about
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at times.
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It's possible to get mad about it but I also remember, I remind myself that
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As a child of God am allowed to get angry.
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that is true I should learn how to control my anger?
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And I should not let it get to me.
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Rather My pastor once mentioned
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that the church is a place for people who are sick.
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So me being more aware of the fact that these people saying
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these or doing these things, I know of the fact that most of them
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are not aware of the fact that what they are doing is wrong,
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it’s my job as a child of God, as a Christian, to indeed correct them.
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So it's true.
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If someone posted a comment or something that is quite rude or quite insulting,
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insulting the person back is very is is
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doesn't solve it.
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Two wrongs do not make a right do they?
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So I think the best way to heal person is to show love,
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as you mentioned earlier about that.
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And anther way of sharing the Word of God
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so you can share the work without having to talk,
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but the way in which we talk
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or the way in which we respond to people can still show God's love.
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So I think, for instance, an instance,
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the best way I shown the best thing I think I can do is to respond in love
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so the person can see the person is trying to provoke,
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response out of your native response.
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They respond in love and the person sees that there's something,
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no matter how different people people are in the world.
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Love is something that everyone wants.
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Kindness is something everyone wants.
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So I think the best way to respond to this is show love and to show kindness,
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irrespective of how it makes you.
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Irrespective of how
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So how bad it may seem or how hurtful we may have been for you.
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Even Jesus was, Stephen was taunted A lot of disciples,
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went through a lot of terrible things they were stoned
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and by people they were preaching to for them to get saved
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But still they didn't curse
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even when Stephen was stoned because they will say,
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father, please forgive them, for they did not know what they are doing.
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So the best for me, the best reaction.
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What I've learned so far on the Word of God is always to show
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love, also show kindness, and always to and to pray always.
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Let God help these people to come to know Him
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so that we all can be transformed, and we all can be changed.
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So actually.
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It's kind of a toxic environment as well. It's also,
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how do you I mean,
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there's a challenge there as well, how you don't get sucked into it.
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I'm not sure if you've ever heard of the Berean Cell or something like that.
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It's almost like
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where you're trying to the people you're trying to reach.
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If you're not careful, you can be tempted and end up
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making the mistakes that they're making because you're kind of sucked into
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that space.
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So I'm just wondering how we deal
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with those kind of toxic influences.
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I'd say a way of dealing with it is,
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I think, going back to, you know, who we are and what identity is.
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And as believers as, as those in the body of Christ,
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we know that certain standards we’re meant to uphold.
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And certain values are meant to not only, abide by, but to share also.
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And, you know, as Lum was talking about how we engage and showing love,
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you know, showing grace to people and praying people as well.
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You know, we understand that, about art, carnal, the spiritual.
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So in that regard, as we know that
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when it comes to and influences of certain people,
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we know that it’s not necessarily the person we're dealing with
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but it’s the spirit behind that person we're dealing with.
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I think that perspective does help, and I think sometimes
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the best way to combat that is either to not engage in those circles.
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But when they do arise or you are being attacked, directly
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it is to confront, as Lum says, with love and, it's easier said than done.
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But I do think even what Lum touched on to, before we saw discussion
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about being intentional with,
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what we do and how we respond to things does matter.
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So being intentional with, how we talk to people,
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how we interact with people and ensuring that we're still showing our love
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and that grace.
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I think those are ways we can, combat those, negative influences on social media.
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You know?
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But yeah, I agree as well.
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I think one of the common, I don't know if pitfalls is the right word,
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but something I see a lot maybe not,
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in the UK specifically, but on like people
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I follow who are Americans videos and things on TikTok.
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The comments that they get on videos not really relating
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to faith or religion, where there's a lot of Christians in the comments,
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saying that they want to pray for them, which is a kind thing to do.
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And it's like the way that you lead your life as a Christian.
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It's just something you go out of your way to do because you care
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about the state this other person's in, and you would like to
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just say that you're thinking of them and they trying to do good things for them.
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But at the same time, it's kind of,
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putting them at a disadvantage because
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it doesn't really like it doesn't relate
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to what the person's like talking about or sharing online,
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but it's not something that they wanted if that makes sense.
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So now they feel like they're being somewhat attacked in that sense.
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So I feel like navigating social media, especially comments
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and like those kind of like discussion groups.
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As a Christian, I feel like sometimes we can feel like we're very much
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not wanted in this discussions or that,
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help or advice isn't wanted.
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And it feels like there's a very negative connotation.
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But I feel like if we
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like address
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the not correct situations with situations
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where someone's open and like, willing to hearing us out or hearing that,
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that kind of perspective,
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because I feel like sometimes on social media everything's very
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everyone's in a bubble.
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It's very close minded.
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No one wants to hear the other side's point or just hear
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anything that they think they disagree with.
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So I feel like that's something with social media as well.
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That quite happens quite a lot.
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I think that's one of the reasons why it's always good to get,
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that kind of, I would say balanced opinion.
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I think it's, it's what Lum said about prayers is important because before
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you go into that kind of territory, you do need to be prepared
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because you can easily slip and slide into,
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a mire of comments and stuff that could trigger you.
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So going in prepared is always good.
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I think monitoring
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how much time you spend in those areas as well is also good because,
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nowadays with the algorithms, the kind of stuff is fed to you.
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It comes at you in such a torrent on on the news today that we're talking about,
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these kids died from doing that challenge challenge
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a couple of years ago or so, and they're suing TikTok.
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Because they said the amount of material and stuff
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that was coming at them based on the algorithm was more then
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I guess it's for someone and can deal with can handle.
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So you might not even realize you're
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being you’re being, what's happening to you?
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You're just getting stimulated by all of this content just coming at you.
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So looking after that screen time, I think is, is is is an important thing.
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Just checking yourself to make sure you're not staying on there for too long,
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setting your boundaries on that and what content you engage in.
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And I think as well, it's also important to kind of be discerning
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about the content you engage in, because some of it starts off as innocent,
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but it's always good to find out the source.
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Like you said,
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if someone's giving you if you see something you like
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liking it straight away without finding out
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what else this person's about or what else ihs, channel’s about,
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you start to get stuff from this.
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And what they give you might just be to entice you in
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because it kind of appeals to you.
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But then what they’re really about isn't that so?
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And I hear what you're saying, Pippa about in some of these places,
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what we've got to say, may not always be welcome.
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But if you think about it,
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Jesus always had a word for people who didn't want to hear his message.
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And I think it's how you frame it.
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It is whether or not they want to hear your message.
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And yes, I think I know social media is very polarized right now.
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You have to pick a tribe.
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You belong to 5 or 6 of them
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and not really know which one you stand for in the end of it. But
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if you kind of spend a lot of time in prayer,
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God will give you the words you need sometimes to just
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decide, I'm just going to leave this word
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here in the comments and whoever takes it takes it whoever.
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I don't take it. It's good.
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I've done my bit
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I’m moving on
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because you can't bash somebody
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over the head with a rock and say, you must believe.
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You must believe.
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So, I mean, we talk a lot about the dangers,
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and I think it's important of us understanding, the data, social media.
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And, I mean, we've got grown people here all over 20.
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So I'm sure you pretty much know the dangers of social media.
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You might not have known about that when you were in your teens.
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Things
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like cyberbullying, addiction and fake news.
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I mean, what's what's what's been your experience of those three
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and how kind of advice would you say you are at picking up
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on that kind of, that kind of stuff that's out there?
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And with if I'm traveling, this is something I've experienced
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personally because I don't put content on social media,
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or if it's not the scripture, then I'm not there at all.
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I can just view won't do anything with cyberbullying.
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I've seen a couple of people,
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but these people are not even Christians and other people
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I don't know, but at times could check in your comment sections.
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I see some many bad things, so definitely just don't kill yourself.
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I'm looking at it.
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Makes me feel like, oh, how do we manage to get to the point
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where they and I can just tell someone will kill them?
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So like the human being that someone's child, a son, sister
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or family like empathy is something that
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be. What about Christians or not?
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At least we should have.
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But then we see that it's so rampant nowadays.
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People insulting online, people wishing the worst for each the online
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and it's so bad because then the new generation,
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the young generation that's coming up, that's all the
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those the kids are exposed to that they see and they pick it up.
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Knowing that is easy.
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It is is so much is is just looking for someone online.
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If you want to say things to people online, remember listen to this person.
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Want to possibly Facebook?
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Click on the person said
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The reason she doesn't let those things affect her
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is because she knows that the people in the anglophones
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who write those things online, they did probably meet her in person.
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They won't be courageous enough to say those things to their faces.
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So I just I just want to realize that because what
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whether or not we are Christians as well, if our words have an impact
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in what you say to someone, what about what comes out of your mouth?
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Missus will understand that
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we'll give an account for every word that leaves us mouth.
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So strange for myself, wanting to be cautious of something, to be.
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Oh, well, I want to be careful.
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Now, what do I think I'm saying?
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I should be cautious with the fact
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that it won't have a negative impact on someone else.
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What if you just tell someone?
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Okay, so when a person's going to make that a mental breakdown or something
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that actually goes and kills himself, can you be responsible for that?
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And is so,
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the thing is false for thought to oh well, Devils, let's be careful
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also for all of us to know that our words have an impact.
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Both truly have an impact on first.
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So trust. Well, some
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sensitize you to what these are.
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Friends are colleagues or classmates about the way
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we talk to people who have nothing good to see.
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Just keep quiet.
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You will see something if you have nothing positive to say, nothing good to see.
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Just keep quiet and it won't hurt anyone.
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You know there's a word for that.
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What's it mean?
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So Ephesians 429
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says that do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth,
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but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.
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They may benefit those who listen.
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I guess if I was to be a English translation now I'm doing the translation.
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You must not let any unwholesome look come out of your mouth,
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but only what is beneficial for the building up for the one in need.
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That it will give grace to those who hear.
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So kind of sums up what you just said, the apostle.
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You're going to say something?
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Yeah, I'll just speak in agreement.
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When it comes to,
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what we say, even online, is true.
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Everything carries an energy.
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And, you know, as part of life and death on a tongue.
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So we have to be very careful about what we say.
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And as Liam said, perfectly.
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You know, if we have nothing good to say,
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it's not to say anything at all about the dangers.
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I think with,
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social media or online
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communication is the anonymity that provides.
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It kind of provides this false sense of, what we disseminate
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and it doesn't have any consequences or doesn't carry forth,
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you know, a spiritual energy.
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And that's very dangerous because as you talked about,
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we can easily, these someone astray or,
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you know, disparage someone or,
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conversely, we can lift them up, we can encourage them.
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So again, social media is a medium.
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That's what it is.
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And we can use that for good or for bad and even for them for now,
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when it comes to fake news and how to navigate that.
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I think
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one thing that's important is to really,
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pray for the sermon about
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what are the agendas behind a message or post is because ultimately,
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whenever something is posted or creates it, there's always an intent behind it,
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and it's asking for at the summit to see it because,
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you know, we don't know everything.
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And each of us have, as much as we shouldn't
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be impartial, we do have our biases on our own.
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You know, leanings.
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So it's very important, also discernment to really decipher what exactly is
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the saying and is edifying, for one and two, is it true?
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And, there's so much noise, misinformation, disinformation out here.
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And it definitely is.
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Only to really grace and, you know, the spirit that in this day
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and age we can really pick apart which true and what isn't
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because of how much there is, out there right now.
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But yet but I've, I've seen this as a cyberbullying.
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I've seen instances of where, people trying to deceive others online.
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And in both cases, it really is about, I'd say, pray for discernment.
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And again, being intentional
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with, where we're going and who we're, engaging with.
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Yeah, I like that.
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We're engaging with, I think as Christians,
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I think it's important to be mindful about what you post
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and making sure that whatever you post or whatever you even like nowadays,
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see, just a casual like needs a lot of trouble.
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So what you post what you like or what you kind of endorse, as it were,
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needs to align with your beliefs, because we do get a lot of scrutiny.
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And if we say, oh yes, we're Christians, we're child of God and all that
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kind of stuff, and you go liking a post that doesn't quite align with that belief,
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then that harms people who are looking to people who say
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they are children of God for guidance because they'll think, well,
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if that person is into this and likes that, that's a bit confusing.
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I don't get it. And then you've lost someone there.
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Oh, awesome.
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I'm grateful I've never had a bad experience with social media.
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Personally.
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I think, on social media, I'm just more of a private person,
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so I usually interact with my friends or interact with content
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from like the source.
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Like any media I'm interested at the time,
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I would only like, really have very,
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a very passive interaction with social media.
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I would say, I'm not really want to look at comments, I'll get into that.
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But I mean, I feel like everyone knows someone in their youth, like, especially
-
around the age of the younger members of this podcast who's gone
-
through some sort of cyberbullying or seen or heard or something similar to that.
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It's really bad around that young age when they don't really have them, or
-
maybe the the tools to properly understand,
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like just how much of themselves are putting online.
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Sometimes they don't really know how to distinguish between that
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social media presence and then their personal private lives.
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They kind of just mix the two, which I think is where the danger
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kind of lies sometimes social media use.
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But, like one advice
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I probably have for the young Christians on social media
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is to have that kind of that line,
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to be able to have a very clear distinction
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between their social media presence, whatever they put online,
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as long as it is not putting them in danger,
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things that they would like to post, to share,
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and in their personal life, I feel like you can't give yourself
-
too much of yourself away
-
to social media, regardless whether it's C is very positive.
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I feel like
-
you just do have to protect ourselves when it comes to something
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like social media, because in the end, it's it's all terrible.
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Social media is never going to be benefiting the user.
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I was going to say it's fun, it's nice to use, but it's definitely important
-
to distinguish the difference between
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like how you interact, the
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and then like
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maybe not who you talk to in person, but more like.
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Yeah, just being able to acknowledge
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that these people are behind the screen and they feel very emboldened by that.
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The things they say they'll probably never say to someone's face
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because they don't have the courage.
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And that's why
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comment sections online are terrible because they feel
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emboldened by the sense of animosity.
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And so the bullying police accounts, something quite
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interesting said about what you said, almost like a letter to younger self.
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You know, they've been talking about this.
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What I mean, what do you what do you feel about this?
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Move towards restricting under 16 from social media.
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So Australia I think they've I'm not sure if they've gone into law now.
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It feels like as I think they ban social media for under sixteens.
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Would you say that was harsh.
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You'd say that sexual assault to save a few.
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I don't know how they're going to what's the word
-
log policy,
-
how they're going to be restricted, like how they're actually going to physically
-
make sure that's the thing that's being upheld, because I feel like
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any child would still bypass it in some way, shape or form.
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So I don't know how they're going to,
-
actually criminalize it, if that makes sense.
-
Well, I think if you look at the way we look at,
-
making it illegal for some people under a certain age to buy alcohol,
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so it's illegal to buy alcohol in this country
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under the age of 16 or 18, I can't remember.
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I should,
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18, 18.
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But when you're within the family, like, you can't really police
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something like that, especially with phones.
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WhatsApp's legal age is 16.
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I think you said 15 otherwise.
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Chris Wood 15.
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Yeah, but kids who have WhatsApp
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because their parents give them WhatsApp by the age of ten,
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it's like, I don't know how they would actually police it.
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So you would hold the adult responsible.
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So if a cyberbullying incident happened and the child
-
ended up harming themselves or something related to that, not in the panel.
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We also wouldn't have to go that far if it could be proven
-
that the child has been given access to social media,
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so there would have to be a reason for the police to get involved now.
-
Yeah, it could be something
-
as simple as another kid finds out that somebody under 16,
-
their classmates has got a WhatsApp account, could be as simple as that.
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And then laws being broken, someone's going to be held responsible.
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Could either be the social media firm for not making the right checks,
-
or could be the parent for not looking after their child properly
-
and maybe giving them the account, because to enforce some things,
-
they will ask you to have an ID to sign up for, maybe a WhatsApp account.
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You need a credit card, which you have to be a certain age maybe to get it.
-
So there are ways of enforcing it,
-
but doesn't mean they're going to get everybody but
-
do you think anyway, just putting aside
-
how difficult it will be to police it, do you think it's a good idea?
-
I personally think no, because I don't think it's
-
going to do much to stop kids getting social media,
-
maybe from very young ages because they're old, like kids
-
who are below 13 on social media, which is terrifying.
-
But as soon as they get into secondary school, that age range,
-
I don't think it's going to stop them from finding any source of social media.
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I'll just kind of clarify the alcohol one.
-
It's illegal to give alcohol to children under five.
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However, it's not illegal for a child aged 5 to 16 to drink alcohol at home
-
or on other private premises.
-
So now we know.
-
Yeah.
-
What do you think about the idea of banning social media for under 16?
-
Do you think is a bit harsh,
-
or do you think it's actually going to save some lives?
-
She didn't mention that.
-
They didn't think them to be effective, which is probably true.
-
The first two kids on the aged in conscious way
-
that we should avoid drinking alcohol.
-
That's to drink alcohol.
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But I think just the fact that the government has taken a step,
-
I've made an attempt to try and limit this.
-
I think it's a good step because kids, kids are quite a child
-
is that they can container when they're young and whatever
-
you put in them then forms them and shapes them to the other, they become.
-
So I do believe from the age of 0 to 16,
-
if they go back and try to limit the exposure to social media,
-
although it may not be 100% effective, I do think
-
at least a child who would benefit from this,
-
I think is I think it's a good idea personally.
-
Okay, okay, I'll put you.
-
I'd say it's a good idea, but not not
-
not standalone.
-
So I do think it's as important,
-
if not more so, is teaching children of the age to understand
-
the dangers of social media and what they may encounter,
-
because restriction in of itself,
-
I feel well for children of age.
-
Sometimes it does incite rebellion because children naturally
-
go rebellious to order.
-
So I would say what's just as important is ensuring they understand
-
what the dangers are and informing them so that when they now have the reins
-
to access that domain, they know how to do so responsibly.
-
But you need of itself. I don't think that's a bad thing.
-
I do think that there
-
definitely should be an age limit when it comes to access to social media.
-
And to be honest with you, with how much information is readily available.
-
I think for young individuals, you know, their minds are like sponges.
-
Sensory overload is real.
-
I do think that that age limit isn't a bad idea, but
-
it must be accompanied by some element of, guidance and understanding as to why,
-
they need to be mindful and responsible how they,
-
engage on social media.
-
Okay. Yeah.
-
I mean, oh, good points.
-
And I can, I can see, I can see the points in all of these.
-
And you're right, because if you think about some things
-
these personally I think, I think it should
-
be banned because I, I'm at that age
-
where I think anything that's not good for kids should simply be banned.
-
And I was rebellious, as one might say.
-
I'm sure lots of teenagers, every teenager you've
-
you've rebelled at some point in time about something because you used to it.
-
You get to an age where you question why, what, why, why can't I do this?
-
But over time, habits change.
-
If we didn't have this, if we if you don't,
-
if you don't ban it, or if you don't let people know that it's harmful to people
-
and they should be exposed to this
-
because they're too young to get know what they're getting into.
-
Then,
-
you can't really
-
start with the education bill, because first of all, the first things
-
I will tell you, what is not illegal is nothing wrong with it.
-
So we could we could like on social media.
-
So anything else that is age restricted, whether it's alcohol,
-
whether it's underage sex, whether it's drugs, people will rebel,
-
whether it's driving.
-
I mean, would you put a 14 year old behind the wheel of a car?
-
So, I mean, there's even campaigns
-
as well about that to kind of restrict people of a certain age
-
for having for carrying passengers or for driving at night
-
because the number of young people that have died in road accidents.
-
So I can see where you're coming from, bring things.
-
That doesn't mean anything is going to be hard to enforce.
-
I mean, it's been illegal for kids to buy
-
cigarets and, alcohol for years, but it doesn't stop you from walking up
-
to the end of license
-
and seeing kids hanging outside asking if you could buy them alcohol or cigarets
-
that will always be there, but saving some lives.
-
I guess this generation coming through seems
-
to be more concerned about their health
-
and well-being than previous generations.
-
So you're seeing less alcohol consumption.
-
You're seeing more people going for the non alcoholic stuff.
-
Maybe there are other devices that are picked up by social media.
-
Well, eventually, over time, I think we'll get to a stage where,
-
people will understand the dangers of social media and hopefully
-
they'll be more mature before they get into it.
-
So but yeah, good conversation.
-
So I guess for me, I would say maybe the challenge here is you've got channels,
-
you've got, you got you got channels to be able to spread the word,
-
to stay true to your values, to share God's love.
-
And as part of this group,
-
my call to action for you
-
would be, how can you stop using the channels we have already?
-
Because we've got some social media accounts
-
which say nothing at the moment, because we haven't got anyone to
-
generate the content that needs to be out there.
-
Ideally, and certainly the podcast is a good one because this is good content.
-
Well, we need to probably get better at creating more content
-
and sharing more content out there to kind of be our own contribution
-
to silence the fake news, the, toxic stuff that we find out there.
-
So that's all I'm going to leave you with today.
-
But, thank you for we we've gone for ten minutes.
-
This has to be edited down to 30.
-
So thank you for your contributions today.
-
Okay.
-
Thank you. Bye. Good luck.