Your Digital Neighbor

A Curriculum for Christian Youth

Your Digital Neighbor is a six-module resource designed to equip Christian youth to think critically and biblically about the complex nature of social media in their lives. The Matthew 5:9 Fellowship created this in partnership with the Center for Humane Technology, and it incorporates social science research as well as biblical principles. Each of the six modules lasts 45-60 minutes, with the flexibility to adapt to different group or congregational settings.

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Module 1: The Role of Social Media in Your Life

As the generation who has grown up on social media, today’s youth should become more aware of their relationships and responsibilities with digital media and gaming. This module’s lessons help students see how their online presence is now part of their stories. The aim is to teach them spiritual discernment on which characters to develop and which to give a lesser role in their lives.

Module 2: The Attention Economy

This eye-opening module helps students see themselves as the product being sold by social media companies. They will learn to recognize the tricks of the trade and become more educated users online, including positive alternatives and how to use technology in productive ways.

Module 3: Persuasive Technology

Because companies profit from our attention, social media apps are motivated to develop persuasive techniques — notifications, targeted content, and personalized feeds – that keep us scrolling and clicking. This lesson helps students recognize the ways in which their favorite platforms generate revenue and how they can respond in healthy ways.

Module 4: Misinformation: How Social Media Misleads

The internet is designed to keep users scrolling and clicking and feeds us just what we want to see. But too often, this narrowing viewpoint pushes us into smaller and smaller echo chambers that reinforce our perspectives. This module focuses on teaching users how to recognize misinformation and how to debunk it.

Module 5: Be a Positive Influence

This module shifts the focus to ways to be a positive user of online apps and social media platforms. Positive activities and ideas for community service are provided as food for thought for the youth as they navigate a sometimes hostile online environment.

Module 6: Your Digital Footprint

This final module in the Digital Life curriculum may be one of the most important. It teaches youth how to live a healthy life online. We know no one will give up their devices anytime soon, so these lessons help youth carefully choose apps, actions, and relationships as they continue to operate in a digital world.