Recently I’ve been on a complete social media cleanse. I watched a documentary on Netflix called Social Dilemma, and it really opened my eyes to the manipulation power that social media has over its users. (I really suggest that you watch it.)
Slowly in the last year, I’ve started to see the true implications of technology on our society and how it affects the psyche. Since I began limiting my social media use, I’ve found that I walk around with less weight on my shoulders. I’ve felt much more free from the chains and burdens that come with social media.
THINGS I DO TO LIMIT MY SCREEN TIME
- Turn off your notifications for social media
- I noticed that notifications had become a huge trigger to my mind. For example, if you see that you get tagged on an Instagram post, you instantly stop what you are doing to look at the post. Every single time you get a social media notification, it distracts you from what you were doing and grabs your full attention. That is one mechanism that social media creators use to keep you on their product. Another reason I turned them off is because the notifications kept going off when I was reading my Bible, which distracted me and drew me right back to the phone and away from reading God’s Word. By turning off your notifications you are limiting the power that your phone has over you.
- Unfollow people/organizations that are not placing God-pleasing posts on your feed
- I went through my Instagram and unfollowed a large majority of accounts I had been following previously. In place, I followed accounts that post quotes, encouragement, and scripture. I’ve noticed a huge difference between my previous social media feed and the one I have now. The feed I had prior to the unfollowing cleanse often left me discouraged. The feed I have now is far more encouraging.
- Spread positive messages, not negative messages
- Social media has opened the door for things like cyber-bullying, unrealistic expectations/false reality, addiction, depression, anxiety, and so much more. A new app called YOLO was introduced this past year and it is a prime example of the epidemic social media has become. To explain this app in simple terms, it is a link you post that gives anyone access to say anything they want anonymously. At first, everything was positive. The comments I saw people receive at that time were kind. But then they started to become cruel. Some of the anonymous comments I have seen people receive are absolutely appalling. However, that app was not intended to be that way. It was intended to spread positivity, just like many of today’s social media platforms were intended to do. Something created to be good turned bad when hate stepped in. It doesn’t have to be that way—hate doesn’t have to win. Everything you post on social media is a choice; you decide what intended impact your words and actions leave on the recipient. Instead of writing something negative on someone’s post that will tear them down, try posting something positive to encourage them. SPREAD POSITIVITY, NOT NEGATIVITY.
I hope that you got something out of this post and intend on using it to please the Lord the next time you are on social media. Blessings!
WALK ALONGSIDE ME 