A Social Media Free Summer

It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down and made time to see if I can stare at a blank screen for long enough, that it will trigger some form of creative thought in my mind.

and even then, it took me 2 days, having given up within moments of nothing flowing.

which reminds me of what I originally thought I may write.

I don’t want to be the one who falls into trends for trends’ sake, but equally, I have to allow the chance that confirmation bias and algorithms had an influence on my decision.

To me, it felt like an invitation, one that you read and think “Oh yes, that would be nice, I’ll pop it in my diary” and then it sits in the letter rack for a while. Now and then you pass it by and think, “Oh yes, sometime soon”, you may even pick it up and look at it. Yet it sits there, patiently waiting.

This invitation has waited for my attention for a while. I’ve kept giving reasons as to why I can’t attend to it, it kept sending me reasons why I could. Moreover, why I needed to.

Giving up social media for the summer appears to be quite a trend this year. I have spoken to a number of people who have felt drawn into the invitation. Women who want to enjoy summer with memories more than the media. Women who want to have a slower pace that doesn’t need to come with photographic receipts. Women who are compassionately led and who need a break from the scroll of negative news and views.

I made the decision in early July, though of course, I put it off. Eventually, I knew, this wasn’t about all the things I was saying it was about, it was about obedience. God was calling me to sacrifice my ‘God’ of social media, now it was down to me to say yes.

Instead of social media, I was to focus on three other areas of my life: wellbeing, my business (outside of socials) and prayer. To fall in love and prioritise them again. Currently, I am halfway in – 3 weeks in, 3 weeks to go and here’s what I’ve noticed.

My Hands

I’ve noticed how often I pick up my phone. I still do it and click through the apps. I’ve even found that I will scroll through my bank transactions to get that feel for scrolling and filling space.

Conversely, although my screen time has barely changed (probably because I am listening to more podcasts), I have noticed how much less I need my phone. I spent a whole morning lost in gardening, I went out with a friend and didn’t whip my phone out, I’ve been for walks and forgotten my phone and this has not led to panic.

My Head

Yes there is peace, but I have still noticed my need for filling space. I have watched more TV than usual, and as I said, I’ve listened to more podcasts. I was hoping to read more, and that has not transpired yet.

I am not sure my head is much more creative and I am still struggling to find focus. I can tell my attention span needs more time, and practice of patience before it can allow itself to not want to flit between screens and scrolling.

I have however enjoyed the tasks as they have come along each day, these things just take time to unlearn.

My Heart

Ultimately this was the part that needed the most work. I noticed my pride, competitiveness and loneliness were taking hold in an ugly way. I believed I was gaining a connection but this connection was in many ways false. I told myself I lacked the time to work on my business, but the analytics told a different story. I was obsessed with metrics, not my message. It was confusing me and it was stealing my peace.

Can I be honest with you? I know I am currently in waiting mode. My heart is still drawn to these platforms. Not to the creativity but to the false ‘connection confirmation’. I know I’m not yet comfortable with being bored, and I know something more needs to change.

However, I also know I’ve prayed more for people than before. More than this, I’ve heard God speak for nearly everyone I’ve prayed for. I’ve pushed into devotional times, even when I haven’t wanted to. I no longer react and pull away from praying or journaling to every ‘ping’, and I enjoy the space this brings.

We’ve got three more weeks, let’s see where this goes…

#god #prayer #socialmedia #wellbeing