The internet is broken. Here’s how Christians can help fix it

Amid Mark Zuckerberg’s reforms to free speech on the internet, Chris Witherall explores what the Church’s own strategy to transform the digital landscape should look like. 

I’ve been caught in two minds recently. It’s about the internet. I think I’m getting off it. 

I’m trying to make sense of this, because I see the good in it. The internet allows me to see friends in Australia; watch Frasier reruns; research virtually any subject; buy obscure Finnish candy, and obsess over shih tzus. When I’m lost in London (a now boring inevitability), Google Maps saves the day. When I’m fed up, YouTube is an endless source of high and low brow entertainment. Should I ever stumble upon a major disaster involving a camel, a hosepipe and six watermelons; even then I feel confident in the power of the internet to provide an adequate solution.

It’s hard to deny its life altering impact - even for those who can’t access it. It’s a modern miracle which has revolutionised the world. But there are downsides. The internet has opened new avenues for bullying, stalking, and other criminal activity; and misinformation runs rife. It’s addictive - often intentionally - with social media companies employing numerous tricks to keep us scrolling. The thing that I’m finding hardest right now, is how divisive it can be (ironic for an invention called ‘the world wide web’). I’d like to take a closer look at this, and consider what the Church might do to help.