Ah, the scroll. One little ‘I’m gonna just jump on here real quick’ turns into a bunch of minutes, possibly hours spending time scrolling mindlessly.
I was listening to a podcast a few months back about taking a social media break. I had loads of excuses of why I didn’t need or want to do it. “It’s the way I destress, it’s the way I relax” I told myself. Yes, but maybe the pendulum swung a little too far on the relaxing side of things and less on the productive side.
I kept putting off time away from the ‘Gram until I interviewed Amy Hale. She has taken many social media breaks over the years and the freedom she shared kept coming back to my heart and mind after our conversation.
I felt pressure in not posting everyday because what if people forget about me? There’s a lot of the words, ‘I’ and ‘me’ and ‘what if’ in that sentence right there. So, I prayed and asked God what He wanted my social media break to look like. I decided on taking Fall Break and the weekend after to set my phone down. I took the apps off my phone and celebrated that one small step.
Before I share what I learned from setting my phone down, I want to tell you how much I love social media. Like love it. Love the connections, love the community, love the friendships I have made in real life and online. If you know me in real life, you know how years ago I would have never typed those words, much less meant. Just a few years ago, I was determined to never get on FB. Never. Well, let’s just say never say never.
So, here’s what I learned. Hope it will be helpful to you.
It was shocking, SHOCKING how many times per day I picked up my phone to touch one of those little social apps. And, then I realized those lil apps were gone. I have heard that the average person checks into FB 14 times a day. Yowzers. Was it because I was bored? Was I procrastinating a job? Was I looking for validation? Probably all three. If for no other reason to quit social media for a few days, this showed me how many times I habitually pick up my phone to check in a day for no real reason at all.
The pressure was off. I want my followers on Instagram and FB to feel like I give them value every time I post to my feed. But, here’s the thing…it is not my responsibility to give my posts value, God does that. If my focus is on Him and what He wants me to share, then I don’t have to conjure up what I want to say, it’s what He wants me to share. And that comes easily. So, I really think through what I post. I try and only post to my feed what I feel will be helpful to you and what God leads me to. No longer posting just to post.
Refreshment: It was so refreshing to be in the moment those five days. To go to the Zoo and not insta-story it. To go to dinner and look at my family with both eyes. It was really refreshing.
Motivations. So, literally TWO HOURS into this social media break thing (that I knew God called me to), I met one of my most favorite Christian music groups, Point of Grace. I laughed with a friend later over text. I said I JUST MET POINT OF GRACE…BUT, I CAN’T TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT!! We laughed about that…but I started thinking…what was my motivation? To brag and say I met them or to share why I was happy I met them…how looking up to those women in my high school years when I was at a very impressionable age was huge. It was not lost on me. It was delightful to be in the moment of hearing the words they sang instead of posting about the words they sang.
Focus: I really wanted this social media break to matter. To focus on my family and what matters most to me. To focus on reading a book, to do other things I sometimes skip because my down time was used up on an app.
————— I would love to encourage you to schedule time away from the ‘Gram/FB/Twitter. It’s what you feel will make an impact…could be an hour, a day, could be a few days, could be a week, or even a full month! Enough where it makes a difference, but not where you abandon it all together unless that is where God is leading you. —————
Okay, so where did I go from here? Below are three things I am working on to help me in being disciplined in time on social media.
Taking one day a week to be away from the social media outlets. For me, it’s Sunday. Time to be at church and with my family without any distractions.
Working at putting my phone in the other room from 3-8 pm. If anyone really needs me, they will call:)
Heeding the screen time app limits on my phone. You pick how long you want to be on social media per day and a reminder will pop up when there are 5 minutes left for the day! PS I’m encouraging myself to actually heed it and not push the ignore button…ha!
RELATED: Here are a few podcast episodes on time management and social media.
ep. 102 Jill Atogwe: Marriage & Motherhood
ep. 104: Amy Hale: Heeding God’s Voice
ep. 26: Kristi Hall: Practical Obedience
The Jennifer Allowed Show: Monday Fire 7: Social Media Boundaries Challenge
The Jennifer Allowed Show: Monday Fire 9: All About My Social Media Break