For years, the conversation around social media has sounded the same. It’s too toxic. It’s too addictive. It’s making us anxious. It’s dividing us. Most people agree there’s a problem. Few believe there’s a real solution.

Then I sat down with Shawn Whitson, founder and CEO of ActsSocial, and I realized he isn’t simply trying to build another social network, he’s trying to rethink what social media rewards in the first place.

His pitch isn’t, “Come to our Christian version of Facebook.” It’s much bigger than that.

As Whitson told me, “A lot of people call us a Christian social media app. We’re really a social media app for everybody. It’s just our rules, our algorithms, our backbone are all Bible and Christ-centered.”

That distinction matters. Because ActsSocial isn’t asking users to simply escape the internet. It’s asking whether the internet itself can become healthier.

One sentence on the ActsSocial homepage immediately caught my attention:

“You’re not addicted. You’re starving for gratitude.”

Whitson believes today’s social platforms aren’t just consuming our attention, they’re quietly shaping our hearts.

“I think one of the things that Jesus left behind with us was, man, if you’re just grateful, it is amazing how your anxiety, your stress levels and everything… if you will just learn to be grateful throughout the day,” he said.

Contrast that with today’s feeds.

“The reason that a lot of people have a problem with traditional social media is that rage… those algorithms just bait you, bait you, bait you… and gratefulness is almost all the way gone.”

That’s where ActsSocial makes its biggest philosophical shift. Instead of optimizing for outrage… it optimizes for gratitude.

Every major social network wants one thing:

More of your time. ActsSocial intentionally doesn’t.

Whitson told me his team spent three-and-a-half years, employed 18 developers, and invested $3.5 million studying the biggest social platforms before building something completely different. “We studied everything that TikTok and Facebook and all them did,” he explained. “We ran it against the Bible and flipped the algorithm completely on its head.”

How does that work? “If you get on and downplay somebody, you get buried. You come in and lift people up—you go viral!”

It’s refreshingly simple. Instead of rewarding controversy, ActsSocial rewards encouragement.

Instead of promoting bullying, it buries it. Instead of rage bait, it amplifies gratitude.

In today’s digital world, that’s almost revolutionary.

Here’s the part that made me laugh.

One of ActsSocial’s biggest promises isn’t that you’ll spend more time there. It’s that you’ll spend less.

Their website proudly declares the platform is “Designed for you to log off.”

I couldn’t help but ask Whitson if investors had questioned that strategy.

He laughed. “I know… the investors call and want to talk about this part,” he admitted. “But the true reason for this is to help human society.”

Then he said something you’ll never hear from another social media CEO. “We know that you shouldn’t be addicted to your social media. So we have not put anything in there that’s going to rage bait you or make you continue to scroll… you’re done. You should kind of feel done. I know that doesn’t sound like the best business model… but it’s not good for you to be on this type of stuff long-term.”

Imagine that. A social platform that actually wants you to put your phone down.

Another feature that immediately stood out is ActsSocial’s insistence on verified human accounts. No anonymous trolls. No bot farms. No armies of fake profiles.

Each account is tied to an actual person. “If we’re going to have an honest platform, we’ve got to have people with heartbeats in their chest.”

That philosophy feels increasingly relevant in an age where AI-generated content, fake engagement, and anonymous accounts dominate so much of the internet.

ActsSocial is betting people are hungry for something real.

One thing I appreciated is that ActsSocial isn’t just thinking about individual users.

Whitson pointed out that many churches currently rely on Facebook Groups simply because there hasn’t been another viable option.

ActsSocial changes that.

Churches can create communities, send prayer requests, communicate through group notifications, and engage members without forcing them through the noise and negativity that often accompanies mainstream platforms.

For ministries already creating content online, ActsSocial provides another place to build authentic community without sacrificing biblical values or quality user experience.

“What Would Jesus Post?”

Late in our conversation, Whitson shared the story behind one of my favorite slogans.

He was wearing a hat that read “WWJP.”

Someone asked him:

“Would Jesus even be on social media?”

His response became the heartbeat of the platform.

“I came back and I said, ‘Would Jesus repost the content you put on social media?'”

He laughed remembering her reaction.

“It wiped it all off her face.”

“What would Jesus post? Consider it all public, even in front of Him, every time you hit Enter.”

Whether you’re posting on ActsSocial or somewhere else, that’s a question worth asking.

A Different Kind of Feed

After spending time with Shawn Whitson—and after exploring ActsSocial myself, I came away impressed. Not because it’s “Christian.” Because it doesn’t feel like a compromise.

Too often in the past, faith-based alternatives were built with great intentions but lacked the polish to compete. ActsSocial doesn’t feel that way.

It feels modern. Fast. Thoughtfully designed.

And, perhaps most importantly, intentional. Whitson believes the platform can become “a breath of fresh air,” and judging by the early response, that vision seems to be resonating.

If you’re looking for another place to argue online, ActsSocial probably isn’t for you.

If you’re looking for another platform to endlessly scroll until midnight, it definitely isn’t.

But if you’re looking for a place where gratitude is rewarded, where real people matter more than engagement metrics, where churches and ministries can build community without navigating outrage, and where the goal is to spend more time with people than on screens, ActsSocial is worth exploring.

As Whitson put it, “We’re going to teach people how to act on their social again.”

Disclosure: This article is part of a paid partnership between CCM Magazine and ActsSocial. While sponsored, the interview and opinions expressed are those of the participants. We only partner with organizations and companies we believe will be of interest to our readers.