8 Things I Learned Fasting From Social Media

Are you addicted to social media?

Let's take a test to see.

1) Do you take your phone to the bathroom with you?
2) Can you check the time on your phone without checking social media sites?
3) Is the first thing you do before you wake up is check your phone?
4) Is the last thing you do before you go to bed is check them?
5) Do you ever click on a social media site without thinking?
6) Do you carry your smart device with you from room to room?
7) At stop lights, do you check your phone?

If you said yes to any of these, you might be addicted to social media and/or your phone.

It was an ugly reality I discovered this summer. I felt led to take 40 days off of social media. Hey, Jesus fasted for 40 days from food, surely I could handle staying away from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

I logged back on yesterday.

It felt good.

This addict got his fix.

But I learned a lot over the forty days. Here is some of what I learned:

1) I'm not that important. How many dire messages did I receive which needed my help? Zero. I'm just not important.

2) Time is nothing more than potential. There is enough time to do what you want. Over the last forty days, I've read more, spent more time with my family, have been learning Spanish, and started running. A month and a half ago I would have told you there aren't enough hours in the day.

3) Our minds are too cluttered. Seeing images and words at the rate we do on social media has to have a negative affect our minds. I found just three days into the fast that I could focus on a task more easily and think more clearly. Not only that but my mind was decluttered from reading everyone else's opinions.

4) People appreciate your undivided attention. It's refreshing to them. My eight year old daughter noticed a difference.

5) Comparing brings complaining. Contentment is found when comparing stops. It's natural to compare yourself to your friends. It's unhealthy, but it's an ugly part of our flesh. Seeing what others have or are doing constantly causes us to compare. Comparing then brings about discontentment which brings about complaining. It's impossible to find the contentment that Paul talks about in Philippians if you are comparing yourself to others.

6) God speaks to us more than we think. I don't think God is on Facebook, because if He was then He would talk to us more there. You can quit worrying about sharing those who do you love Jesus or Satan status updates. I found that by being still instead of continually checking my phone or computer that God speaks to me more than I realize. He does you, too.

7) Our circles are too large. I found myself trying to please hundreds of people. Many whom I've never or will never meet. However, we cannot have that many meaningful relationships.

8) Social media kills creativity and creates minions. Okay, so this is all about balance. I'm less self-aware of who I am when I spend too much time on social media. Not only that but I try to copy the people who I've deemed successful. I have learned more about myself in 40 days than I have in the last four years being on social media.

Are you addicted to social media or your phone? Have you ever taken a break? What did you learn?