I recently read an article written by a lovely entrepreneurial blogger where she spoke openly and honestly about how it frustrated her that she had let social media consume her. She went on to say, how at one stage it would bother her knowing or not knowing “who followed her, liked her posts, or commented on her social media posts.” How interesting that in this day and age, this is becoming the norm – finding our value and self-worth via what others think of us online – when in actual fact we don’t even know these online followers, so why should it matter to us?
We have become a bit consumed by social media. It lures you in, then it occupies most of your day – because we feel that it is our duty to post everything that we do online. Then of course, it’s great knowing that people ‘like and engage’ with your social media posts – as it makes you feel recognized, that in itself is addictive, and that is where the danger lies.
We now live in an era where young people grow up knowing this to be the norm, when we need to consciously remind them and ourselves that we are worth so much more than our phone, and our social media updates and engagement statistics. We are worth so much more than our so-called online followers, and we are worth more than the all the likes and comments combined.
Remember who you are, you are not your social media stats
Let me ask you this, if social media did not exist:
- What would you be doing with all that spare time that you would have spent doing social media stuff?
- Would you perhaps do things that you love?
- Outside of the social media realm, what do you love doing, do you even remember?
- Who are you outside of social media, or have you forgotten?
If social media has become a distraction in your personal life, so much so that you feel emotionally tied and bound to it, and you feel as if your worth and value is attached to it – may I encourage you to take a break from it. Go back to the basics, and remember who you are, who God created you to be, and know and remember what God says about you.
Social media is great to stay in touch with others, and for creatively expressing oneself, but be mindful of guarding your heart, when it comes to not letting it become an idol in your life. You are worth more than your phone, more than any social media stats or engagement! If you are finding your phone, along with social media to be some sort of distraction in your life, then maybe it’s time to have a social media ‘detox’ of sorts. You will feel so much better for it!