Conformed to Christ or the Algorithm?

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There’s something charming about the optimism of Americans in the 1950s, specifically when it came to their dreams and predictions of the future: flying cars, automated homes, kitchens that cook and clean themselves, and all kinds of developments meant to make life easy, fun, and effortless. The post-war economy was booming, and even the moon itself seemed to be nearly within reach.

Fast forward to now, and indeed, many of those dreams have become reality. A growing number of homes have some form of automation, self-driving cars are becoming more common, communication across the globe is instant and constant, and space travel is not the monumental feat it once was.

We have fulfilled many future dreams that once sparked the imagination of those who lived a handful of decades ago. But there is one fatal flaw: no matter what tool we develop or advancement we make, as good as they are, they are stained with our propensity for evil.

And a standout example of this is ‘the algorithm.’

Whatever you want, right now

“Algorithm” has become a familiar buzzword over the past ten or so years. It simply means systems that categorize consumers based on their habits, which then make personalized recommendations. This can take many forms.

An algorithm may remember what you watch, buy, comment on, search for, or linger on while scrolling. It may remember what you share, where you travel, and where you spend most of your time. All to make it easier for you to connect with your interests. It exists to offer you whatever you want so you can enjoy it right now.

This seems harmless, if not a little creepy, at first. And to a degree, it is helpful. However, it has been proven to be anything but harmless.

After years of investigation and lawsuits accusing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, of encouraging addictive and compulsive use of their products among children without adequately outlining the dangers, the company reached a settlement in August 2026.

In addition to approximately $18 billion in damages, the agreement included a use limit for teens on Facebook and Instagram, muted notifications during school hours, stronger parental controls, and an optional non-personalized feed for teens.

Why is this such a big deal? Surely a few notifications during class aren’t that bad.

The problem is that when we engage with these algorithm-empowered products for prolonged periods, it shapes our perception of reality. Spending multiple hours a day hypnotized by a rectangle of instant gratification deeply transforms how we think and what we expect of the world.

None of us is immune to the enchantment of a little black mirror whispering that we belong on the throne and that this all exists for us.

Regularly scheduled programming

I’m quite guilty of falling into the trap. My phone is like an appendage. I’m acutely aware of it when it isn’t in my hand or in my pocket. In moments of quiet, discomfort, boredom, or anxiety, it appears before my face reflexively, offering escape into something or other. An entire world, curated just for me, awaits to be unlocked with the tap of an icon.

We aren’t left to guess as to how this impacts our mental health.

A 2018 randomized study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that undergraduates who continued their usual Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat use showed less improvement in loneliness and depressive symptoms over three weeks than those who limited each platform to 10 minutes daily.

And it makes sense when we take an objective look at what appears in any given social media feed. Repeated instances of outrageous behavior can make it hard to love our neighbors. A parade of beautiful homes can cause us to covet or feel discontent. Watching others be put down with ridicule or contempt can lead us to think in contemptuous ways.

We may be programming the algorithm. However, it turns right around and programs us. Not by removing our agency or ability to choose, but by supplying repeated opportunities to think, desire, and react in particular ways.

We need to ask how those repeated opportunities are shaping us.

In whose image?

This is precisely the kind of thing Paul was speaking of in Romans 12:1-2,

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Let’s seriously consider the contrast before us. We can choose to be absorbed into a world made in the image of the worst parts of us and be conformed to its lust, discontent, bitterness, hatred, and self-worship. Or we can reach out to God for the strength to break these habits and be transformed into the image of Christ as our minds are renewed by hours spent with the heavenly Father.

This shift doesn’t always happen overnight. It may take accountability, deleting social media apps, completely shutting down social media accounts, unfollowing certain creators or podcasts, and deep reflection to determine what your daily diet of media is feeding you.

American writer Annie Dillard, though not a Christian, wrote these sobering words: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.”

What are we doing with our days? With our hours? Do we grumble about “kids these days” being addicted to their screens while ignoring the very same addiction in our own lives? Have we become more at home in the little artificial space designed for us by the algorithm than we are in the presence of the God in whose image we were made?

Christians, we must carefully steward what we give our attention to. We must always bring it before God and ask Him to show us what has been shaping it so that we can make room for His Word to do its work.

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