social media: it’s too much, and that’s okay
dear friend,
I don’t know about you, but when Instagram first came out, I was about 12/13 at the time and I was ecstatic! Finally, a place I could post EVERYSINGLEASPECTOFMYLIFE to, without my parents knowing or caring (I say this in this way because the only thing I had before this was FaceBook, and let’s be real: adults kinda took over that one)!
I wasn’t popular in middle or high school. But through this newfound realm of social media, the world was LITERALLY at my fingertips! I spent hours upon hours scrolling and refreshing and liking and following, slowly creating a horrible addiction that I, nor anyone else, knew about at that point in time.
We didn’t know social media would have such a negative, profound impact on our generation. We didn’t know that the glorification of selfies — real and fake — were harmful to our development. Kids in an endless, supposedly “free” candy store, we grasped at every single crumb and bit and piece of sugar we could get our hands on.
Years later, the studies came out: social media was DETRIMENTAL to our mental and physical health, as a society and as a generation. Heck, it wasn’t even until my eleventh-grade year that I was writing about the damaging impact of it all, including stories of Instagram model Essena O’Neill deleting her entire social media presence in order to pursue something more wholesome and real, something that wouldn’t encourage her eating disorder and further damage her mental health; and also, the tragic life and death of the girl that placed so much of her self-worth on social media, that she ended her short life by jumping off of a tall building (click HERE for more details on this sad true story).
Every February, my church does a month of prayer and fasting. In these twenty-eight (or rather, twenty-nine, for this leap year) days, as you can imagine, everyone chooses something to fast from. Whether it’s food, Disney+, or even social media, everyone has something that takes their focus away from God and places it back onto themselves and the frivolous, meaningless things of this world.
Two years ago, I decided to get rid of all of my social media apps from my phone. For me, it was an easy thing to do because for so long social media brought me deeper into negative feelings of anxiety and depression and suicidal thoughts. And, as a result of this social media bondage I broke free from, my mental health and my personal relationship with God thrived — so much so, in fact, that I didn’t re-download any of my social media apps until much later that year in November. Since then, I’ve decided to fast from my socials every single February, and I even add in other things to fast from too; I always fast from secular music, and this year, I’m deciding to fast from wearing makeup!
So friend, what am I getting at, exactly? Well, here it is:
— If social media is taking your focus away from God, delete it.
— If social media takes up hours of your time (I’m talking to you, Tik Tok users), making you miss precious moments with those you love, delete it.
— If you get sad looking at other people’s *~filtered~* bodies, relationships, and lives on social media, delete it.
— If you are constantly comparing your life to other people’s on social media, delete it.
— If you get excited to post a photo, but don’t feel like you’re getting “enough likes” every time you post to social media, delete it.
— And lastly, if you place your individual, God-given value and worth on likes and followers through social media, [say it with me], DELETE IT!
Friends, deleting social media is without a doubt the BEST decision I have ever made in my entire life. In fact, I’m writing this post on the first day of the new year in EXCITEMENT to delete my social media for a month (or two, or three… we’ll see what happens, haha)!
I just know that for many people, myself included, social media is that burden that we all feel we have to bear, when, in reality, we DO NOT. The only burden we should be bearing is the light burden that Christ offers us in Matthew 11:28-30 that comes with accepting Him and gaining eternal life.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
So, friend, if you need permission to get rid of social media and gain a better perspective on life without it, this is it. This is all the permission you need! I suggest you take this challenge with me and you delete it. Trust me: not only will you feel refreshed not having to worry about posting or getting likes or followers, you’ll be able to gain an even better relationship with your Savior as you replace that time that was once spent endlessly scrolling with reading your Word and talking to your Lord daily in prayer.
In saying that, I will not be posting for the month of February. During this time, I will live in the moment, taking care of little ones (I’m a nanny) and really focus on my schoolwork and getting a better relationship with the King of my heart. But don’t worry! I’ll (probably) be back next month with new posts every week! Will you link arms with me in this challenge, dear friend?
much love and more,
