Springtide Research Institute’s most recent report, The State of Religion & Young People 2023: Exploring the Sacred, showed that while some young people didn’t believe sacred moments could happen online, others expressed that they could—and could be as meaningful as those offline. Young people’s descriptions of what made those moments sacred varied greatly, but the common thread was how digital interfaces allowed them to connect to someone or something important.
In this case, digital spaces acted as connective tissue between the physical, the emotional, and the metaphysical, serving as a container for young people to experience connection and the accompanying emotions—more often than not, those moments benefited their well-being.
So what if social media could be part of the wellness solution rather than the pathology problem? Current research is beginning to explore these more nuanced dissections, pointing to how social media interactions can promote positive outcomes.