Are we facing an epidemic of information overload?

on Apr 23, 2026

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: The hearings about the destruction that social media platforms are causing are frightening. The resources children and teens have at their fingertips in this crazy, technology-driven world are alarming. Dangerous information is constantly threatening our youth, but it seems that there should be some responsibility on the part of the parents and others who provide the devices that seem to be glued to the hands and eyes of all age groups. There seems to be an epidemic of information overload. – D.C.

A: There’s more knowledge in the world than ever before. Computers can transmit information in a millisecond to any part of the globe by satellite. More information has been processed than in all of the other centuries of human history combined.

Turning away from the wisdom of God leaves mankind further from solving its basic problems. This alienation from God produces wars, crime, and all of the other social ills. Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (NKJV). The troubles and problems of the human race have stemmed from the fact that it has followed the wisdom of the world rather than the wisdom of the Lord.

The Bible says there are two kinds of wisdom in the world. First, there is wisdom that is given by God, viewing life in terms of eternity. Scripture says, “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17, NKJV).

The second is the “wisdom of the world,” which God will one day destroy (see 1 Corinthians 1:19). It’s man’s responsibility to shun sin. This cannot be done in our own power, but with the strength and truth of God’s Word. Our duty is to pray that the Lord will cleanse our hearts and determine to set nothing wicked before our eyes … that it will not hold us in the clutches of sin (cf. Psalm 101:3).

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)