Why I {pretty much} Walked Away from Social Media?
The Free Newsletter
What kind of value does social media bring to your life? I’ve heard people say social media allows 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 business promotions, as well as posting announcements to a particular group of people. After all, it’s how most of us get news about school, church, government, favorite restaurants, and more.
Though I’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.
How should Christians behave on social media?
One thing I struggle with on socials is the negative behavior of many people. I’m not perfect, but in my online actions I like to think I treat others with respect. I can tell you I’m trying to learn to ‘walk away’ when someone types something that makes me want to comment back the wrong way.
You are the light of the world…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 this reminder in Matthew. If we want to glorify God, Jesus said, “…let your light shine before others.” Is this applicable to 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. (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.
After I began this newsletter edition, I remembered writing on this topic in the past. It was a few years into my writing journey. At the time, I was overwhelmed with all the follow-up work after publishing a blog post.
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, and then doing it all over again. Not to mention the time needed to schedule all of it to your various social channels.
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 goal is to share what God gives me and leave the rest to Him. I’m not about having my name made famous, or becoming successful in the process. If God desires to bring more followers to my Substack or socials, I believe He will make it happen.
My job is to do my best at what He gives me to write, hit publish, and leave it in His hands. For this reason, success is a bit of a complicated thing.
For those running online accounts, expectations are high when it comes to social media. There are tips and tricks to be gained from a multitude of people, all promising a process that leads to big writing success, large followings on socials, financial security, and more.
Over the past 14+ years of blogging-writing, I’ve developed spreadsheets and calendars to streamline my routine. These would help for a time, until the demands of social platforms got too overwhelming.1
At one time or another, I’ve had an active presence on: Tumblr, Twitter, MeWe, Facebook Pages, Threads, and others. When not working at my ‘real’ job, the untold hours I spent curating images, posts, reels, and captions could have been put to better use—like actually writing!
Where am I still active today, and why?
My Instagram creator account has gone through many changes over the years. Primarily because Instagram itself changes repeatedly. Last year, I wiped my Instagram grid clean, and spent a few months doing only reels. It was an experiment of sorts, but I now basically open Insta to see pictures of my grandkids.
For years, Pinterest has been my largest social platform as far as views and reach (sending viewers direct to my Substack site). But Pinterest is not social media, which is probably why I prefer it. You post your pins and leave them for the world to see. The very private part of me loves this!
So, why did I {pretty much} walk away from social media?
I’ve said a lot of things in this article but may not have adequately answered the question. First, this did not happen overnight. Every time I’ve shut down a social account, I wrestled with the decision. It always felt like I needed to work a little harder (running on the hamster wheel), post more often, be more conversational, and give up sleep to make it all happen.
In deciding to walk away, I determined most of social media had become a huge joy-stealer for me. God helped me to see that I could let go, because my joy is found in Him. This is why I walked away.
Friend, if you struggle with being on social media—whether you are there strictly for personal reasons, or managing accounts for a business, organization, or ministry—pray about what God would have you do.
Ask yourself, “Is spending time on this social account more important than maintaining the joy of the Lord in my life?”
Side-note: Everything you see me write, create, and share is produced by ME. Some writers and creators have the budget to hire a content creator or social media manager. I do not. It’s real life over here!