This article applies Paul Tillich's existentialist analysis of the human predicament, particularly what it means to exist and to be fallen, to social media. I argue that social media heightens feelings of alienation and estrangement, supporting this claim with evidence from empirical research in psychiatry and communication studies. Thus, I offer an application of a Tillichian approach to an area of culture previously unexamined in this way. I identify three primary ways in which social media exacerbates existentialist emotional states: (1) social media allows us to construct artificial versions of ourselves through the use of filters and photo editing software; (2) it provides the means to quantify social approval in groups the size of which the human brain has not evolved for; (3) it extends the size of our social networks but decreases the quality of interactions. Social media is yet to receive significant philosophical or theological engagement despite its prevalence, particularly within younger generations. I argue that this is a mistake – philosophy has a duty to engage with such a ubiquitous feature of modern life.

本文将保罗·蒂利希对人类困境的存在主义分析，特别是存在和堕落的意义，应用于社交媒体。我认为社交媒体会加剧疏离感和疏离感，并以精神病学和传播研究中的实证研究证据支持这一主张。因此，我将提利契式方法应用于以前未以这种方式检查过的文化领域。我确定了社交媒体加剧存在主义情绪状态的三种主要方式：（1）社交媒体允许我们通过使用过滤器和照片编辑软件来构建自己的人造版本；(2) 它提供了量化人类大脑尚未进化到的群体的社会认可度的方法；(3) 它扩大了我们社交网络的规模，但降低了互动的质量。社交媒体尽管盛行，但尚未获得重要的哲学或神学参与，尤其是在年轻一代中。我认为这是一个错误——哲学有责任参与现代生活中如此普遍的特征。