The average person is on their phone for hours everyday for recreational purposes (not counting the time those in school spend doing schoolwork).
My husband and I are currently rereading the book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. This book is phenomenal!! One section in this book talks about how distracted we all are these days. We are not meant to be consuming other people’s lives as often as we are. We were not created to be staring at a screen for hours upon hours each day amongst YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
Now, social media is not all bad. There are a lot of benefits to it! (maybe not Tik Tok though LOL; I’m thankful I don’t have that). We can get inspired by others, we can connect with people we normally wouldn’t, we can stay in contact with those we don’t live close by to, we can relate with people in similar seasons to us, we can learn new recipes, be a witness through the content we post, etc.
But, I don’t think the cons of social media are talked about often enough.
- comparison to others
- not being present in your own life
- obsession with lives of others you don’t even know and probably will never meet in real life
- scrolling without a sense of time
- that numb feeling you get when you realize you’ve stared at a screen for so long
- it’s an addiction
- feel tied to it
Now it’s your choice to decide whether the pros out weigh the cons or not…
For myself, I’ve come to learn that I enjoy how I feel more when I’m on my phone less, so I’m currently trying to navigate how to approach social media in my life going forward. I don’t want to delete everything (although, that’s tempting) because I want people who live farther from me to be able to see my kids and stay in touch, but I need more balance.
Here’s what I’m going to try:
- take Facebook & Instagram off my phone and only consume on my laptop
- start communicating with friends over a phone call or texts more than through apps like Marco Polo
- choosing to be with my kids, family, & Jesus over my phone/using my time better
- for example, instead of listening to music while I do the dishes, use that time to pray
I don’t want to waste my life away focusing on other people’s lives more than living my own! I don’t want my kids to grow up and say, “My mom is always on her phone.” I want to be more present and connect with people in real ways. And I feel like the social media I’m consuming is eating away at me… am I the only one?!?
So, today marks the start of this journey with the goal of being more present and being a mom that is more about cultivating the Spirit of God in her home than on her phone.
Who wants to join?
Tia Marie
tia marie 