Social Media Detox

Okay, hang on! Before you freak out! It's really not as bad as it sounds. I promise! I'm on day 13 of it and it's really honestly enjoyable! January 1st, after encouragement from a friend, I decided to delete my Facebook and Instagram accounts (I don't have Twitter or Snapchat and I'm not really ever on Pinterest) from my phone! I didn't disable the accounts. I just simply don't have them on my phone unless I get on the computer or pull up the web browser on my phone. A couple of months back I was thinking about doing this. Honestly, I'd say it's been on my heart for probably over a year now. I simply lacked the courage to do it! For those who don't know, my husband is constantly deployed. Three months gone, two months home with day working and twenty-four hour duty in those two months (not including any work related schools/classes/travel). I spent the majority of my nights, alone. Social media has been an amazing tool to use to fill that void of loneliness! Especially on Facebook. Besides my friends being on there, I have Mom groups. Need advice? No problem! There's a Mom group for that! Homeschooling! Need advice for that? Yup! Got a group for that too! What about a Christian group of women? Yup! On Facebook! Oh, you need to sell something? No problem! Facebook and Facebook local groups makes that easy as well! It's amazing! So many people bash social media for how much time it soaks but I'm here to tell you that it's also an amazing tool!  For someone who spends many of her nights alone with very little communication from her spouse when he's gone, it's been an amazing thing for me! Not to mention I can easily update close family and friends (even when we don't live near them! #militaryprobs ) with the simple upload of a photo onto Instagram that magically also displays on your Facebook! I mean, seriously though! Social media gets a really bad rep for soaking up all your time, but I really feel it has more to do with WHAT you're doing on that social media. Of course with everything, comes negatives. The negatives are that most people don't reflect their Facebook as their true life. I mean, it's called the highlight realm for a reason! People tend to only post the good stuff. Awhile back, I made a vow to post the bad stuff too, and wouldn't ya know it? People attacked me for it. It seemed my Facebook was too whiny, or I said too much, or it was too 'tmi'. I mean, sometimes you can't win. But when I think about social media and what it means for me personally, I think about how I feel when I'm on it. I think about how often I'm on it. I think about what God says I should be doing with my time. I think about "am I tending enough to my responsibilities (aka children/husband)" I consider whether I'm being the type of person that God calls me to be. Loving, kind, honest, hard working, teacher, etc. I've honestly realized that I do need to spend less time on social media platforms. I do NOT need to update my "status" constantly. It's okay if people don't know my every thought. I need to make sure that when I'm on social media, my responsibilities and duties are done. It's totally okay for me to have social media. However, I think every now and again, it's completely worth it to detox from it. To take a break! To live in the moments that Christ gives us! Each moment is a blessing! We are put on this earth for Christs' benefit! Not our own! I use my social media, sure as a place to brag and post about my life, but the majority of what I do is make connections with like minded Christians, witness to new Mom's, share my knowledge with homeschooling, life, military and even surviving cancer. Social media is an endless platform for so much good! But it's still good to take a step back and "smell the flowers!" It won't hurt you! The first week detoxing honestly flew by. Mostly because of holidays and my husband finally being home. After the first week I did struggle in my moments of boredom because my habit was to turn my phone on. But honestly, waking up to no notifications is amazing! Seriously! Have you ever tried it? I highly recommend you starting your day off with simply waking up! Lately, before I open my eyes, I say a prayer. I pray that God bless my footsteps throughout the day, that He clearly guide me where I go and what I say. I pray that I show more grace and kindness to my children. I pray over every weakness I have. It's highly refreshing! I have gone on Facebook three times via a web browser. One time to show my husband a picture, one time to email someone and one time because of an event I needed to get information for! That's it! Each time I've simply logged in, done what I needed to do and that was it! I'm almost halfway through the month and I find myself sort of dreading the demands social media comes with. Notifications to check, comments to respond to. hahaha It does all get so overwhelming. Not that I don't appreciate the love people show me! I totally do! But it can pull your focus away from what you should/need to be doing. So, all of this is to say, I've found things to do with my moments of boredom. Open up my Bible app on my phone! Blog! Email/text people who I haven't made as much effort to lately. Clean my house. Play a game with my children. Honestly, there's endless things to do! And it does give your brain a good workout, trying to find ways to stay busy! But I promise you, it's totally worth it. This wasn't about bashing social media. Of course it has it's flaws like everything else! But take a step away every now and again. Reevaluate your life. Who you are! What path you're on! Truly, sit and reflect! I bet you'll realize things you've never realized before. I also bet you'll start noticing things in real life that you've never seen before. Social media is totally fabulous! But real life is too! Don't forget to see it!