Twitter Twits & TikTok Tantrums:
Can Social Media Be Redeemed?

January 12, 2025 ​

Discussion Questions

These questions are just to start and aid discussion. Please skip around in the list, indulge diversions, and let your discussion develop naturally.

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1. When did you start using social media? How has your experience changed since then? What social media platforms do you use now? 

2. What do you think of this quote from the first article linked below?: "The moral isn’t to stop listening to ideas you find uncomfortable or people who don’t agree. It’s to do it in real life, not in the digital equivalent of a pub notorious for glassing at chucking-out time – and preferably in ways that don’t make Musk any richer than he already is."

3. Many people are comparing their current experience on new platforms like Bluesky to the early days of platforms like Twitter. Will these new platforms degrade as well?

4. Can social media be redeemed? If so, how can we help as individuals and small groups?

5. Have you parented, taught, or provided guidance to young people in the age of social media? How have best practices for young people and social media changed over the years? Are you familiar with any up-to-date research on this?

6. Can relational, community-oriented organizations like King's Bridge avoid the problems of social media and still maintain an online presence? What tools should organizations use?

7. Do you tend to go directly to specific websites or do you engage the news, connection with others, involvement in community organizations, and engagement as a citizen via social media?

8. The material fed to social media users can differ widely based on their engagement and the algorithms tracking them online. Are you aware of other people's experiences on the platforms you use? Are you aware of overall trends? Would you ever stop using a platform because of its negative influence, even if you didn't experience these negatives personally?