Kicking the Dust of My Blog

 Hello all.  This morning I announced on Facebook that I would be deleting my account as a result of an internal wrestling of my own soul over the past several years relative to social media itself.  I was convinced a couple of years ago that social media produced unhealthy habits, addictions, and interactions in people's lives.  This conviction has only grown deeper the past year.  One of the reasons I was hesitant to "get off" of social media is that it provided a platform for me to communicate commentary on issues related to the Scriptures, the Christian faith, and life.  I desire to continue to have that platform, but it will not be through social media.  I have decided to kick the dust off of my blog and begin writing more often through this platform.  

As I have mentioned earlier, I believe social media is causing a tremendous amount of damage in the lives of people.  Here are my primary concerns.

1.  Unhealthy Interactions:  Social media is a place that lacks nuance and body language when communicating.  It also empowers people to say hurtful things that one might not otherwise say face to face.  Relationships are being torn apart through extreme rhetoric, snarky comments, sweeping generalities meant to demonize whole groups of people, and unhealthy debate.  There are also a plethora of assumptions made about a person who posts a certain piece of information that a person might not agree with or understand.  I have especially seen it from all sides of the political spectrum.  These types of interactions are too quickly destroying relationships.  It is one of the most unhealthy ways to have a debate or discussion about topics where there is disagreement.  It also causes pain and stress in the lives of so many who get caught up in these interactions.

2.  Cultivating Addictive Behavior:  How many people do you know constantly check their social media news feeds.  They cannot put their phone down and are constantly reading about what is happening in the lives of others.  Our screen time has increased to the point that many spend more time on social media in a day than they do sleep.  There is a good article on the addictive nature of social media HERE.  In some ways, social media is very new to our society and so there has not been a ton of research on it or its long term effects on the brain.  Psychologists believe about 10% of the population suffers from social media addiction, but I would certainly think that the number is higher based on what I have observed over the last several years.  Social media actually affects your brain, and is perhaps one of the major causes of people not getting the rest they need.  This addictive behavior exacerbates other outcomes like stress and anxiety.  In our already overloaded lives, social media piles on more and more.  We are simply not built to handle all of it, but we continue to engage because of how it makes us feel.  Another outcome that this addiction can create is spending more time with your screen than with real people, especially your spouse or kids if you have them.  

3. Unhealthy Source of Identity:  Too many people will gauge their worth as a person based on the amount of likes or comments that they receive on their posts.  Another issue is that people compare themselves to what another person posts, and let's be honest, most people craft their post to put themselves in a good light.  Some compare themselves to photoshopped images and genuinely believe it to be the ideal image they are so desperately trying to become.  Too often social media becomes the source of our own identity.  Both of these behaviors can easily lead to depression and despair.  

So there you have it.  Just a few quick reasons why I have concluded that social media is damaging our society and why I needed to remove myself from them.  Of course I have seen some of these unhealthy realities in my own life as I find myself constantly scrolling through my newsfeed when I have a spare moment.  So this is something I needed to do for my own health, but it is also something I needed to do for the sake of my own conscience.  I simply can not justify myself having a presence on something I feel is ultimately destroying people's lives.

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