I've already decided to take this break from social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and to be honest, I hope this can be an eternal break :-) But it may not be a break for the many reasons people give, like a spiritual fast, too much political talk, too much divisiveness, too much spam and advertising, etc...Here are my three reasons...
1) I have found jealousy and envy rear their ugly heads in my heart more times that I would like to admit. As the great theologian Taylor Swift once said, "it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me." There were times I could see other people's posts and updates without feeling this way, but more times than not, it was the primary way I felt as I scrolled. The people I am friends with or followed didn't change how they posted, but my heart definitely did, and I didn't like it. So, I'm trying to put to death those destructive feelings and mindsets and allow God's peace and love to fill back up in my heart.
2) I wasted far too much time on social media. I was one of the people who actually didn't have the apps on my phone, which made the user experience clunky and hard to navigate. But even still, I would "check" something and all of a sudden it was 30 minutes later, 30 minutes I wasn't able to get back. I would get in this cycle of checking and realized I was doing it to distract from how I was feeling. Sad, discouraged, anger, bitter...the antidote was vegging out on social media instead of dealing with how I was feeling with Jesus. So, I'm trying to sit in more silence when I feel those things and not distract my mind with mindless activity.
3) I couldn't celebrate others' success. For some reason this one doesn't hit me on LinkedIn (maybe because it's not really a platform for pastors, but maybe it will hit me one day and I'll have to take a break). But in the past year of promoting my first book, I found it so difficult to be excited about and celebrate what God was doing in and through others. I always liked and shared posts or resources that were helpful to me because I wanted others to be helped. But I found myself further down the road than just being jealous, I wanted others to fail. Ugh, that was in me.
So, if you're feeling like any of these, maybe a "break" is what the doctor is ordering for you. So far, I recommend it, 10 out of 10. Thus, I won't be around on social media for awhile, a long while. But if you're trying to contact me, good 'ol fashion email is your best bet (kyleisabelli@gmail.com) I check LinkedIn sparingly anyways, but I am always open to connecting for a cup of coffee or a zoom call! Hope this can help you wherever you're at today in your social media use!
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