I recently took two months away from social media and it had a lasting impact on my relationship with God, myself, and others.
At the end of October, I deleted all social media apps off my phone to break my dopamine-fuelled doom scrolling addiction, deepen my relationship and connection with God, cook some hearty meals for my friends and family, and get in touch with a simpler way of living. I had been feeling the spiritual urging to do this for a long time (quitting for a few days or few weeks at a time), but suddenly that quiet urging became much more audible – kind of like God was giving me a stern warning to go cold turkey. It became clear to me that much of the discouragement I had been facing at the time had been coming from the façade of social media.
I’ve quit a lot of things in my life: cigarettes, booze, and a few other things I won’t mention, but this was one of the hardest things to let go of. I spent the first few weeks scrolling through the utilities apps on my phone out of sheer habit of picking up my phone. I eventually got bored with that and found more productive things to fill my time.
Instead of picking up my phone, I found myself picking up my bible. In fact, it became my lifeline. Through my time of spiritual refreshment, I learned the following life lessons:
Don’t be afraid to be the odd one out. I’ve learned there is freedom found in a life away from a screen even it that means you don’t look or act like everybody else. Maybe you’re the only one at the dinner table who isn’t scrolling on your phone, but maybe that means you take more time to savour your dinner and enjoy conversation and life more deeply.
Less is more. Ever find yourself hitting “share” on that reel that made you laugh only to have an out of touch family member message you, deeply concerned by your sense of humour? Yeah, me too. In truth, there is information overload on social media and it is all too easy to engage with content that isn’t authentic to you. I’ve learned there is value in quality over quantity. Now I ask myself is this worth sharing? Does this resonate with who I am or is it just mindless brain rot?
Comparison is the thief of joy. God made each one of us unique and filled with purpose. We aren’t like anybody else in the world and we’re not supposed to be. I have to remind myself of this when I see someone I graduated high school with having some extravagant birthday bash or getting ready to celebrate some new life milestone.
A big one: Things aren’t always what they seem. Social media doesn’t depict reality and in fact it can oftentimes give a completely wrong impression of someone’s life. Most people have all kinds of hopes, dreams, and hurts you’d never know about them from social media. I’m learning to take the time to get to know people in real time, communicate my heart openly when given the chance, and seek the truth at all costs.
Words have power. Scripture tells us there is the power of life and death in our words (Proverbs 18:21). What we post or say on social media has a lasting impact. I’ve learned to be sparing with my speech. Instead, I aim to be Holy Spirit led. I said “aim,” that doesn’t mean I’ll be perfect at it. In fact I can guarantee you I’ll mess up a time or two (or three or four).
You’re not missing out. The fear of missing out is an illusion. So what if you miss out on a few trending reels or some talking heads going on about the latest news headline? Trust me, you’re not missing out. There is so much peace in not keeping up with the Joneses. As a former journalist, I am a little sheepish in admitting I avoid the news at all costs.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it. That might be a quote from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but it is no less relevant to my post (I’m an 80’s girl at heart). The point is: social media wastes so much of our precious time. James 4:14 tells us that life is a vapour, appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Coping with my mom’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment imprinted this on my heart.
God speaks in the silence. It can be really hard to hear the urgings of the Holy Spirit when you are filling your mind with the clutter and noise of the world. In fact, the deepest spiritual growth happens when we step away from what feels good in the moment to pursue lasting satisfaction in God. Fasting from social media and prayer has been paramount in my spiritual journey.
There are many other lessons I gleaned from my time away from social media, and so much more I could say about the spiritual benefits of logging out, but maybe I’ll save some of that for a future post.
Scripture tells us “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” (Romans 12:2). According to the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans, the solution to discouragement and anxiety is to surrender what the world offers for what God offers us in the spiritual realm.
But how exactly do we renew our minds each day to be transformed? We focus more on Jesus and less on what the world has to offer, a great step in my life towards this goal has been to take some time away from social media.
I hope this has been encouraging to you. God bless!
It's Carmen Rae 
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