Counterfeit Connection

THE MORE CONNECTED WE BECOME THE LESS CONNECTION WE HAVE.

RECENT STUDIES ON DIGITAL CONNECTION LEADING TO RELATIONAL DISCONNECTION:

Only 13% of U.S. adults have ten or more close friends—down from 33% in 1990. Meanwhile, those reporting zero close friends quadrupled from 3% to 12%. [1]
Loneliness has become a public health epidemic, with the U.S. Surgeon General warning that chronic isolation is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. [2]
40% of young adults report feeling lonely, and nearly half of high schoolers say they feel persistently sad or hopeless. [3]
Research shows heavy social media users are twice as likely to feel lonely as light users. [4]

[1][2] https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/

[3] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-happens-when-ai-chatbots-replace-real-human-connection

[4] https://health.oregonstate.edu/news-and-stories/2025-10/loneliness-us-adults-linked-amount-frequency-social-media-use

AI “FRIENDS” AND CHATBOTS.

The average user of Character.ai, for example, was engaging in 93 minutes of chatbot conversation per day in 2024
The top use cases of AI in 2025 are no longer just productivity or automation, but “companionship and therapy,”.
“We are wired for connection—but in its absence, many are now bonding with machines.” — Brookings Institution
Extended chatbot use made participants less likely to socialize with real people.
Loneliness draws people toward AI, but AI deepens the loneliness cycle.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-happens-when-ai-chatbots-replace-real-human-connection/

SATAN WHAT GOD CREATES:

REPLACING THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH
REPLACING COMMUNITY (THE CHURCH) EXHORATION & ACCOUNTABILITY WITH ISOLATION &

Hebrews 3:13 - Encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.

Hebrews 10:24–25 – Let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, 25 not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other.

John 13:34-35 – I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

HOW AM I ENGAGING IN COMMUNITY:

DO I SERVE AT CHURCH? IF NOT, WHY NOT?
DO I ATTEND A CREW? IF NOT, WHY NOT?
DO I LEAD A CREW? IF NOT, WHY NOT?
DO I ATTEND CHURCH GATHERINGS OUTSIDE SUNDAY MORNING? IF NOT, WHY NOT?

“Take heed, then, to come together often to give thanks to God… For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith."

- IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH- (Epistle to the Ephesians, 13:1)

1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Romans 15:1-5 -We who are strong in faith should help the weak with their weaknesses, and not please only ourselves. 2 Let each of us please our neighbors for their good, to help them be stronger in faith. 4 The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope. 5 May the patience and encouragement that come from God allow you to live in harmony with each other the way Christ Jesus wants.