“So I sat there staring at the dormant smart device with no remorse. I knew that I would turn it back on, but only for YouTube and quick updates about my life. To be honest, I felt TONS better.

 

I’m just gonna lay it all out for you guys. No sugarcoating. No apologies. No regrets. I feel it on my heart to share this with you guys, especially because of the kind of world we live in today. One made of metal. I think I’ve gotten to the point in my life where, even though I enjoy most of the hobbies that I used to as a teen, I’m not as concerned with other hobbies as I was. For example, social media. I checked the stats for myself, and they show that in the past couple of years, the usage of social media in America has risen above 50%. Basically, everyone has an account on some platform these days. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with social media, I’ll be one of the first people to say that. I have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, YouTube, and…well I guess WordPress is one, too. They’re all amazing in their own way, but I just don’t feel the need to be on them all day like I did in high school.

Like I said before, over the past couple of weeks I’ve barely posted on any social media. Just a couple of updates and funny memes, maybe a selfie or two. When I first started doing this, it felt a little uncomfortable. Kind of like, okay..what now? But I started to realize that it was a bit of a weight off my shoulders. Social media can be very stressful, as some of you know. I felt like I always had to be on it for a couple of different reasons:

#1- I live far away from all my close friends. I’m the kind of person who never wants to miss out on anything that’s going on. I wanna be the first to congratulate my friend on getting the job she wanted, or post a funny memory to someone’s wall when they’re feeling down. I absolutely HATE not knowing things. So I stay on to catch up, and then, almost through some form of concealed hypnotism, I’m scrolling for hours! It’s so important to me to always be up to date that I miss my entire life.

#2- Obligation. I’m always thinking of some new creative idea or project to get into so I can post it on social media. I want to inspire people and minister to them, even from just a little thing. Even though it’s something I enjoy, I do sometimes feel like the stress coming at me if I don’t keep promoting for my blog profiles, or my personal account. I think that stress is highly unnecessary.

Those are basically the reasons I have given myself a break, even though they may seem silly to you. I let myself get pulled in too deep, and I forget about the other enjoyable things in life that have nothing to do with the internet.

 

I think about what would happen if all the platforms suddenly crashed, like some Y2K incident. How would we all react? How many pictures would be lost that weren’t printed out on paper? How boring would life be to some people? I don’t ever want to be the one to sat that my life would be over. I want to be able to say that I have other hobbies, and could still live out life to the fullest. Looking at a screen for too long makes my eyes blurry anyways. Another thing I was thinking about the other day is meals. Yes, meals. Not only do I always have to have some source of entertainment throughout the day, I find that I can’t even eat a single meal without watching t.v. or some funny video on my phone. How crazy is that? Once I realized it was that serious, I decided it was time for a change. I logged out of social media, like I said above, and at first it seemed ind of strange. The only site I visited was YouTube. So I sat there staring at the dormant smart device with no remorse. I knew that I would turn it back on, but only for YouTube and quick updates about my life. To be honest, I felt TONS better. I found that it was somewhat relieving to not worry about how many followers I’ve gained since last week. Or worry about some drama that got started between some of my friends. I’ve truly just put all the petty stuff aside and unplugged. Unapologetically.

I’ve just started going back on social media, but for my own sanity and well being, I will never go back to spending the amount of time on it that I did before. It’s no wonder that God told us to have self-control and moderation. (1 Corinthians 6:12) Some people have gotten offended at the fact I’ve wanted to take a break, insinuating that I haven’t contacted them as many times as they feel comfortable with. But I don’t have to live my life to please other people, nor am I obligated (there’s that word again) to text, call, or message someone everyday. I care about those people, of course, but my journey is not about them. The life that I want to live as a woman of God just doesn’t include counting the likes on every photo I post on Instagram. I wanna do more cardio outside. Clean up and ride the bike collecting dust in the garage. Visit my uncle more so we can have those crazy, in-depth conversations. Relax. I would encourage all of you to do the same. Like I said before, I’m not shaming social media, because I actually DO love it. But the truth is, there is an enemy out there that will do whatever it takes to keep your mind off of God and on what the next new app is. There is an enemy out there who trembles at the fact that today might be the day you pick up that thick, powerful book again, and say something from it that might destroy him. I challenge everyone reading this to take the challenge! Even if it’s just for a day, or for a few hours. Your mind will feel 10x more relaxed, trust me. But I’m back on social media for now, just as long as I feel like I’M the one controlling how much I intake. I really hope that you guys got something from this, and just know that I love y’all so so much and hope that you have a fulfilling rest of the week, growing into people of God who stand for the truth and nothing less.