Why I {pretty much} Walked Away from Social Media?

Deeper Dive

What kind of value does social media bring to your life, if any? I wish we could sit down to chat about it.

I’ve heard people say that social media provides a place for them to connect with family and friends or reconnect with those they had lost contact with over the years.

There is also the benefit of using social platforms for promotion of business and services, as well as announcements going out to a particular group. Today, it’s how most of us get our news when it comes to school, church, government, favorite restaurants, and more.

So, though we’ve acknowledged a few benefits, I have always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with social media. I’ll not name which platforms, but I could say ‘all of them’ and mean it. One reason may be due to my personality—I’m private and like to keep my business ‘my business.’

How should Christians behave on social media?

One thing I struggle with on social platforms is the negative behavior of some people. You, too? Look, I am not perfect, but in my online actions I like to think I try to treat others with respect. I’m learning to ‘walk away’ when someone says something that makes my blood boil.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden…In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5.14-16

Those of us who call ourselves Christian may benefit from the reminder found in this passage in Matthew. If we want to glorify God, Jesus said, “…let your light shine before others.” Maybe we should practice this on social media.

In his letter to Philippian believers, the apostle Paul admonished them to strive for unity by staying mindful of whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, and anything that is praiseworthy. Note to self: Think about such things when on social media! (Phil. 4.8)

Can we handle one more? In John’s gospel, he shares Jesus’ words, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13.34) Sounds simple, but we know it is not always easy to do in this life—especially on social media.

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After I began writing this newsletter, I remembered I wrote on this topic before. It was a few years into my writing journey. At the time, I was overwhelmed with all that needed to be done to achieve ‘success’ in the blogging world.

Visualize a pet hamster climbing on his little wheel, spinning round and round and round. Some days, this is what it feels like to be creating content, images, reels, posts, and then doing it all over again. Not to mention the time needed to schedule all of it to your various social channels.

About this thing called ‘success.’

As you can imagine, Christian writers on a mission to share truth and inspiration often experience challenges on many levels when it comes to maintaining a successful online presence. For one thing, what constitutes success in ministry-related endeavors?

My mission is to share what God gives me and leave the rest of the work to Him. I am not here to see my name made famous or become successful in the process. If God desires to bring more individuals on board as followers of my Substack or socials, I believe He will make it happen.

My job is to continue to work on my craft, do my best at writing what He gives me, hit the ‘publish’ button, and leave it in His hands. For this reason, success is a bit of a complicated thing when it comes to working for the Lord.

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Friends, after a summer break from writing, I have turned ‘paid’ subscriptions back on. If you are new here, Deeper Dive posts like this one are generally ‘paid’ content. You can read the remainder of this essay by using your free pass, or save it for a later post.