Social media - good or bad?

Kayleigh Mills, 28th Aug 2018
Tags: Life Blog Culture Friendship Insecurity

You’ve heard it said before, and here I am telling you again. Social media - it often feels like it does more harm than good. 

We believe we’re engaging in platforms that encourage our connection, but in reality, the media we consume is often charged with insecurity, or an ability to make us feel insecure.

Image Credit: tenor

I recently went away for a month, and while I was gone there was limited access to Wi-Fi. At first I thought it would be a major inconvenience as I wouldn’t be able to ‘connect’ with people everyday, but I found it to be a blessing in disguise.

Real connection happens face-to-face.

You see, real connection happens face-to-face. 

It’s the contexts where we actually sit down and enjoy a meal together, or we go for a walk with a friend and actually hear their heart and what’s going on in their life. 

This connection has the power to bind relationships, making them stronger.

Image Credit: tenor

My grandparents say that they don’t understand how our generation have become so consumed with online communication, when there is something so rich about being able to swing by your friends’ house and spontaneously hang out. 

That’s what they did when they were younger, and the idea of that attracts me. I love the concept of prioritising face-to-face communication as opposed to online communication; it means we get a better picture of how the people we love are actually doing, rather than assuming their life is amazing and ultimately that ours isn’t.

Social media platforms have convinced us that we are the only people who struggle in life.

Unfortunately, social media platforms have convinced us that we are the only people who struggle in life. I know this is true because I used to think this too. 

Now I know that we are prone to just showing our highlights on social media; like when we pass an exam, or when we get engaged. Those are the moments worth documenting, and we want to share them with the world. 

The problem is, our highlights are consumed by our friends, and it causes them to build a picture of our life. It’s an incomplete picture because we don’t want to publish the bad days – like when our mental health is bad, or when we’re feeling rejected by someone we love.

I compare my ‘very real’ life to your ‘highlights’.

I then compare my (what I call) ‘very real’ life to your ‘highlights’ and think that I’m not happy enough, or skinny enough, or successful enough.

When in reality, Jesus says you’re perfect, fearfully and wonderfully made, and created in his image, therefore you are enough. When we’re rooted in God’s love, and his truth of who we are, there is no room for comparison or insecurity.

I’ve known this for a long time, and I’m now able to recognise when I’m slipping into old habits from staring at my friends’ posts on Instagram. 

I’m a child of God, and my ‘very real’ life is a blessing.

I’m a child of God, and my ‘very real’ life is a blessing. It’s not perfect, but perfection lives in Heaven, so I’ll take what I have here on earth and give thanks for it.

If this is something you struggle with, why don’t you start by making a list of all the things you’re thankful for in your life? 

Image Credit: tenor

Call a friend, arrange to go for a walk, and talk about these things. Tell them how social media is impacting your ability to be thankful for who you are and what you have. 

Connect with people in ‘real life’ settings and just embrace this crazy, imperfect, beautiful life that we are all so blessed to live.