Getting rid of social media was a freedom I didn’t know I needed.
I made a radical choice several weeks ago. I fully deleted all of my carefully crafted and curated Instagram accounts. There were years of content created and shared on those platforms. Photos of my family, writing, and God moments. I know what you are thinking... “There is no way that I could delete mine.”
It wasn’t an impulsive decision. I have been wrestling for a year or more with the weight of a social media-driven world, a constant influx of information, overwhelming anxiety, and a deep pull to measure up.
Deleting the app, setting time limits, and honoring social media-free days wasn’t enough. Again and again, I found myself back in the same place of anxious thoughts and the pressure to put out content.
Social media has stolen every bit of my peace. The worst part, I allowed it.
So, I screenshotted a few of my favorite captions from over the years. Made sure all the photos I shared were saved on my phone and in my files, and I pulled the trigger. I blessed the decision, released control, and I haven’t looked back. It’s been a tough habit to break, not getting rid of social media but the habit that has been ingrained in my brain to pick up my phone every time I am bored or have a lull in time.
Getting rid of social media was a freedom I didn’t know I needed.
I think it is time to ask ourselves some tough questions. What is social media doing to us, and is it time to give it up for good? Is it time for parents to also help their kids give it up for good?
There are five things for us to consider when it comes to the internet and social media:
1. Are We Redeeming Our Time?
According to Gallup Surveys, in October of 2023 over 50% of teens spend an average of four and a half hours a day on social media. This includes YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc. TikTok and YouTube being the highest in usage. Teens are consuming information at an astronomical rate.
Adults aren’t much better; they spend an average of two and a half hours per day on social media. We lose on average seventeen and a half hours a week to social media. Teens are losing double that amount of time each week. The thought is staggering.
Time is a precious commodity; we only get 24 hours in a day. Our bodies need sleep, at least eight of those hours. Adults are working another eight to nine hours in the day. The rest of our hours shouldn’t be wasted in front of a phone.
Get outside, be with your people, read a book, go on an adventure, and stop wishing and wasting away in front of a screen that is robbing you of truly living.
2. Are We Made to Know Everything?
Not only are we losing hours of our lives to social media, but we are pushing the limits on what our brains and emotions can take in. There is only One who has the capacity to know everything: God—and we are not God.
Our brains with every swipe or scroll are taking in information. This information can be fact, opinion, or speculations, etc. That information always produces an emotion or reaction. Our brains are doing this every five seconds when it comes to platforms like TikTok.
This constant intake of information is taking a toll on our mental health. Studies have shown that the use of social media causes depression and anxiety.
3. What Are We Consuming?
One of the biggest problems I faced with social media was in what I was consuming. The content was always producing a great deal of anxiety. Anxiety that I wasn’t doing enough, being enough, or that catastrophe was just around the corner.
Maybe that's not what you're finding on social media, but are you laughing at sinful behavior or coveting what others have and are able to do? Are you questioning your value or purpose based on the content of others? Those are problematic things.
Romans 12:2 says, ”Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Our lives and minds are being conformed and transformed by something. Is it Christ or is it social media? Looking at the state of the world, many of us are not conforming to Christ.
4. What Are We Missing?
I think the thing we don’t realize at the moment as we are scrolling online is that we are failing to live our lives. Relationships are ignored, health is ignored, and things of value are ignored.
We are fracturing the things that matter most with every second we waste online.
The common complaint of the day is that life is moving too fast. However, the reality is that we set the pace of our days. We can choose a different way of life. We can choose slow. We set the calendar, the appointments, and the tasks. If I am giving hours a day away to something that has no value and missing out on real life, who is losing? Me or maybe the people right in front of you?
I think Covid woke up a lot of people to what we have wasted. We get one life to live. Our children are only in our homes for a short period of time. Our spouses are neglected, hobbies go undone, and our lives pass us by. When we are eighty, will we look back and say, “Man, all those reels and TikTok videos I watched were awesome!” Or will we say, “I wish I had done more with my life!”?
5. What Is the Purpose?
If I asked you right now what the point of social media is in your life, what would you say? I am sure you can justify it, but what if I asked you to prove it? If it is to connect with people, why not connect with them in real time rather than through an image on their feed? If it “relaxes” you, what is that relaxation costing you? If it's because you're bored, why is being bored a bad thing? If it is because you are afraid you will miss something, you won’t actually.
What is the real purpose of social media? I believe the real reason is distraction.
We pick up the phone instead of picking up God’s Word. We pick up the phone instead of having conversations around the dinner table. We pick up the phone instead of getting to know the people we work with. We pick up the phone instead of getting that work out in. We pick up the phone instead of slowing down and breathing in life.
Our wasted time will add up, and it will be time we cannot get back. I am not willing to give social media any more than it has already stolen.
I have broken up with social media for good. Since hitting delete I have snuggled with my kids uninterrupted. I have taken walks, been present, and not worried about content to share. I have done things to take better care of myself and I have found time to pick up those books I kept putting down for my phone.
Maybe you have been thinking about it too. Maybe you know exactly what I am talking about but have been afraid to fully hit delete. Don’t wait, friend—don’t miss out on one more second of living.
Photo Credit: ©Sara Kurfess/Unsplash
Michelle Rabon is helping women be disciples who make disciples. Michelle has her MDiv in Ministry to Women from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently serving as Women’s Ministry Director in her local church. She is also the author of Holy Mess. When she is not writing or teaching, she enjoys reading, being close to the ocean, and drinking a lot of coffee. You can connect with Michelle at www.michellerabon.com
