As I have utilized and immersed my life in these social
media avenues I’ve come to some realizations about them:
Your profile and
page do not really communicate who you are
Step back, look deep.
Is your Facebook account really who you are? The answer is no. The truth is that we are all both a lot better
and a lot worse in real life than what we show through social media.
Social Media
relationships are not as meaningful as REAL relationships.
1 real true friend is worth far more than 1000
Facebook friends.
Man cannot live on
Social Media alone
At your funeral Facebook will not be there, real people
will. Facebook does not feed your
family, your real job does. Facebook
does not need and depend upon you, your real children do. Facebook does not love you, your real spouse
does. Facebook did not give His son for
your, a real God did. Facebook cannot
loan you its shoulder to cry on, your real friends can. Facebook cannot give us what a real God, real
spouse, real family, real friends, and real job can.
Time spent looking
on Social Media is time not spent elsewhere
Social media often robs time and attention from work,
family, driving, rest, and God. The real
world needs more of you and you need more of the real world. Social media causes us to rob attention from
the real world actually happening around us. The people with and around us deserve more of
our attention because they are actually investing their time to be with you…the
“friends” on Facebook are not.
Social Media
adultery leads to real world adultery
Though it may seem as an innocent chat, the enemy can
turn it into more than that. If you are
hiding accounts or conversations you have on social media from your spouse then
you are being unfaithful to your spouse.
Social Media can bring
out the Worst in Us and Others
Post a rant, complaint, boast, simple gossip and more
than likely the “likes” and “comments” will roll in like wild fire. Satan glories in this, God does not. If you have a complaint or rant, go to the
source or cause, not to Facebook. When
you just complain or rant nothing positive is accomplished and Satan’s head
just got bigger.
Social Media can
become addicting
For some reason it has a tendency to grasp us in such a way
that we cannot go but a few hours without it.
We feel like we are out of the loop when we can’t look at it. It may not be drugs, alcohol, or nicotine,
but the damage an addiction to Social Media can cause can be just as costly
over time.
You can still live
without Social Media
You will not be cast out of your friendship circles and die
alone. And for that matter your business
will survive and your ministry will still thrive without social media. You may actually find yourself developing healthier
and more meaningful relationships the less you invest in Facebook and the more
you invest in real people.
Social media can take up too much of us and it can become larger in our lives than it needs to be. Here’s a few things that I’ve learned to practice to keep
Social Media from becoming larger than it needs to be in my life:
-
Try a Social Media fast
- Schedule or limit your time on social media
- Use social media to speak of God and Godly things. Encourage someone. Post about what you are learning from God’s word. Drop a word about what you learned from the sermon or Sunday school lesson at church. If the world of Facebook is going to see what's happening in your world, show them what God is doing.
- Don’t post too much. The more you post, the less people read what you post
- Enjoy something awesome and don’t post about it. Go on a date with your spouse and keep it a secret from your social media friends. I’ve found that I enjoy some activities and people more when I’m not trying to let the world in on what I’m doing at the time and who I’m doing it with. Privacy amongst spouses and friends can be enriching to those relationships.