The title of the post was "I Am Enslaved to Social Media."
So, I will openly admit it as well, in a different way than she did: not only am I a slave to social media, but I am addicted. More than I'd like to admit.
Usually when you think of addictions, it's drugs or sex or money, et cetera. But this is a bit different than the "usual." I am extremely addicted to social media, and have been for a very long time. So much so that I am practically glued to my nifty little iPhone and laptop.
This addiction has caused a lot of problems in my friendships, as well as any other relationships. Because I am on my phone, scrolling through Instagram or Facebook or whatever else, so will my friends. And hence the relationship dwindles.
About a month ago, I was convicted by this through a video on Youtube called "I Forgot My Phone." (I'll link it on here.) But that wasn't enough to make me stop looking at my phone. I still did it, and my face-to-face interactions became distant and almost indifferent. Then I was convicted again, even worse, when what happened in the video actually happened first-hand in my life.
That apparently wasn't enough to snap me out of it... Until I read the blog post that worded stuff a little differently to me. Then, and only then, did I view it as the same truth of my life.
When I first signed up for MySpace, then Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest, and so many more... did I expect it to ensnare me the way that it has? Not in the least, but it most certainly has. Time and time and time again. And I can almost guarantee that I have spent a shameful amount of hours on it in my day.
Not only has it been put above my relationships with others, it has been put above my relationship with the Lord, which is probably the hardest for me to admit. Instead of spending my morning or evening in the Word or in prayer at the beginning and end of the day, you will definitely find me on my phone or laptop, tweeting or editing pictures or scrolling up and down on my Facebook news feed. No joke. And I am extremely embarrassed and ashamed of that, to be honest.
But you know what is the most freeing about all of this? It can, and will, change. Things don't have to stay the way that they are for me. I have the power to stand up to it all and make a change. I don't have to feel the shame and guilt and humiliation, because I have a God that tells me He is sovereign and He reigns over it all, and He will take it away. With this, though, I know that I can't do it on my own strength; God can help me more than I can help myself. It may take quite a bit of time, deleting things off of my phone and spending less time on my laptop, but I can do it.
I don't have to be defined by editing my pictures a certain way, posting them on Facebook or Instagram, or even how I myself look, and I do not have to be defined by the lives of others. I am defined by the One who chose to look upon me and call me His daughter - daughter of the most-high King. And that's what matters most to me.
