We live in a social media driven society. Everyone now- a-days wants to be Instagram famous or a social media influencer. Everyone wants to be on stage; everyone wants a spotlight. We scroll down our timelines seeing one perfect image after another. Why are we so infatuated with other people’s lives? Why are we so adamant about showing other people the glitz and glamour of our own? What motivates us to post every beautiful moment of our lives? Why can’t we just keep our photos for keepsake or memories? The moment something funny or beautiful happens, our first inclination to is to pull out or phones. At concerts, artists sing to cell-phones instead of people. At restaurants some wait 10 minutes, trying to capture the perfect photo of their food to share before indulging in it. There are people who only do good deeds, in order to share with the rest of the world the good deeds they have done. There are people who only travel and go to events, just to show others that they’ve experienced it. My friends, we are currently living in a society that lives to post.
I can’t say that I’m innocent from doing some of these things myself. Honestly, I don’t have the healthiest relationship with social media. Not only do I waste time on it, but sometimes it distracts me from being present in the moment. These past couple of years, I’ve found myself living to post.
When I realized how unhealthy social media could be, I began to take frequent breaks from it, especially Instagram. I’d delete my app for a short period of time and return. But I found that even when I was off of Instagram, I’d go to another platform for the same “high”, and when I’d return, it’d be worse than before. Research shows that social media is, in fact, addictive. Scientist and psychologists have all agreed that social media interaction is dopamine inducing (a feel good chemical in the brain) hobby. There is a large addictive component that plays into the social media phenomenon, but like any other addiction, it stems from somewhere deeper. I knew my problem was rooted in something else.
One day, on my way to work, I was talking to my boyfriend about how my relationship with God had been distant lately. Then God chimed in, “You’re distant from me because I’m always competing for your attention.” He said, “Where do you run for validation? Where do you run to vent? Where do you run to show off your new outfit or meal you made? Where do you run to get the latest news or information in pop culture? Where do you run to chat with your friends? Where do you go to share information? Where do you run for comfort when things get tough? Where do you run when times are good? Where do you run when you need to laugh?”
If I’m being honest, the answer to all of these questions, for me, is Instagram and social media. I get online and I either post or scroll aimlessly until I receive what I went there for. I didn’t just get on social media to fulfill due to an addiction, I went to fill a void.
This is idolatry. An idol is anyone or anything you put above God. It is the thing or the person loved more than God, treasured more than God, desired more than God, or enjoyed more than God. It could be a boyfriend, your career, your education, a sports team, the approval of other people, success in a business, your physical appearance, a celebrity, music, or a friend. A wise man once said, “Idolatry starts in the heart: craving, wanting, enjoying, or being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God.” You see, it’s easy to idolize worldly things, especially social media, because it’s always there, competing for your attention.
According to statistics people on average spend about 2 hours and 33 minutes per day scrolling through social media which is about 16 hours per week. How much time have we wasted aimlessly scrolling through our Instagram or twitter feed? Can we honestly say we spend 2 hours a day talking with our friends or family, exercising, or meal prepping? I wonder how many friendships and relationships have been impacted due to our lack of ability to truly be present in the moment. I wonder how many exams have been failed due to the distraction of social media. I wonder how many moments were missed because we were too busy trying to pull out our phones to capture it. I wonder how many businesses were forfeited due to our inability to use social media with intentionality and discipline.
But most importantly, I wonder how many times, we’ve neglected God for our inability to disconnect from social media. I wonder how much healing, deliverance, wisdom, and moments I have truly missed with Him, wasting my time looking for “connection” in all the wrong places. I wonder how much better life would be if I took the time to disconnect from this crazy world daily and reconnect with Him.
In John 15: 1-8 Jesus says, “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
The metaphor in John 15 is of a vine and branches. The vine is the source and sustenance of life for the branches, and the branches must abide (stay connected) to the vine to live and bear fruit. Jesus, of course, is the vine and branches are people (believers). In order to live, prosper, and bear fruit (show Godly character) we must stay connected to Him. He then warns us, that if we disconnect from Him, we can do nothing and it will lead us to a spiritual death. This is deep.
Have you been feeling spiritually distant? If so, maybe it’s because you’ve unknowingly been disconnected from the source and connected to every thing else. Are you more connected with the vine (Jesus) or more connected with pop culture? What does your relationship with social media look like? Is the first thing you reach for in the morning your phone? Who or what are you desiring to connect with first and why? –and what could possibly be more important or urgent than spending time with God? This next decade, I am determined to be more present and stay connected to the true vine, Jesus, even if that means losing connection with other things or people in my life. Sisters, I want YOU to stay connected as well, to Jesus and the right things and the right relationships, and sometimes that means being intentional about disconnecting from the wrong things in your life.
I love ya’ll and Jesus loves you even more,
Xoxo,
Tori