I gave up media for a month, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
I love social media a lot. Facebook is always so welcoming when I’m procrastinating, and that pile of homework doesn’t have to be done right this instant. Those Snap Streaks won’t stay alive if you don’t keep up with them. And everyone obviously needs to see that artsy picture of the sun setting that you took from the top of the parking garage five minutes ago.
But the thing is, those are all just excuses to immerse ourselves in a virtual reality instead of living in the moment and enjoying the life we have right in front of us.
If we let it, social media can distract us from what really matters and take up an exorbitant amount of time. Extend that to all media -- Netflix, iPad apps, video games, TV -- and think how thoroughly it controls your life.
So, my boyfriend and I gave up media as an exercise in spiritual discipline.
The rules are as follows:
1. No social media of any kind (school email is obviously an exception).
2. No iPad.
3. No video games.
4. Internet is acceptable only for homework and other school purposes.
5. No TV, Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, DVDs, recordings, VHS tapes or movies of any kind.
Yes, it was tough. The idea was that by drastically cutting out media from our lives for a month, we would gain valuable time that could be spent together in God’s Word and also reevaluate the amount of media that has become a habitual part of our everyday life.
I spent the month counting down the days until I could check the 70+ useless Facebook notifications. However, despite all the frustration, it was also a wonderful month rich in quality time spent with the people I love the most.
Instead of mindlessly scrolling through my news feed, I got homework done early, so I had time to hang out with friends.
Instead of sitting on our phones playing Words With Friends, we sat down to play dominoes and card games.
Instead of binge watching “The Walking Dead,” we read the Bible and prayed together.
The lesson here is not that media is evil. The Internet is full of crazy information just waiting to be found. Video games are a great release after a long stressful week. Facebook is a fantastic tool for communicating information about clubs and classes and for keeping in touch with friends who are hundreds of miles away.
The lesson is that we need to back up and see just how thoroughly media has saturated every aspect of our lives. The lesson is that media is only a tool, and we shouldn’t let it distract us from the things that truly matter. The lesson is that the people in our lives are infinitely more important than those little red notification bubbles on our phone.
