Over the past 10 years, I’ve spent an enormous amount of time as a student of social media. I’ve studied, experimented, implemented, and ultimately created hundreds of strategies to help extend my evangelical reach to a world in such dire need of God’s saving Word. In doing so, I’ve neglected many of the needs of my community, my family, and my soul.
After a decade of delving deep into the missionary fields of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. I’ve decided to leave social media altogether.
Let me tell you why:
1) None of My Favorite Saints Would Have Used It
I can’t see St. Joseph tweeting. Mary would not have a facebook account. St. Dominic would likely loathe Instagram. Had social media existed during the times of my favorite Saints of old, I highly doubt they would be used at all. Most of God’s best examples of heroic virtue were those who went against the current of the societies they made an impact on. Like St. Benedict and John the Baptist who left the world to become more to it, I’m choosing to leave the digital town square of 3.5+ billion users to better sustain their needs in the spiritual realm.
2) I Don’t Want a Fragmented Mind
If you haven’t read the book Deep Work by Cal Newport or The Shallows by Nicholas Carr, please do so immediately. Our dependency on technology has truly altered our capacity to think, pray, focus, and ultimately live truly happy lives. Granted, there are huge benefits to technology use, but until you read those books, you’ll likely live your life like I did, lost in a torrent of digital distraction.
3) I Want My Work to Be Better
While social media has proven to be an effective means to get my work out to the world, it has also proven to be a huge time consumer. I’ve had to sacrifice time to social media marketing that otherwise could have been used to fine tune my craft, focus on the creative process, and ultimately create better content. So, I’ve decided to do away with social media for the opportunity to become better at what I truly love: writing, video production, teaching courses and working as an international missionary with my family. More on those in future blogposts.
4) I Want to Focus More On Reality
While I’ve enjoyed my brief breaths of digital air that cure my boredom, I’ve decided to opt for boredom. So much good happens when we are bored! When I am in line at the store, doing my business in the bathroom, or waiting for my child’s swimming lesson to finish, I want to allow my mind to recognize the needs of the world around me. It bothers me to no end that, because of social media, I’ve likely missed a life-changing conversation with a stranger in that line, a profound thought in that bathroom, a smile from my kids as they swam in that pool. It is time to get real.
5) I Can Save More Souls Without It
While I am not 100% sure what my return on investment has been for my social media presence, I can safely say that I’ve had more of an effect on the souls of those who I come into real contact with than those with whom I have not. I am also confident that every Hail Mary I’ve prayed has had a million times more of an impact than any status update I’ve made. I’d like to say more Hail Marys; she does a lot more with what little I am than I ever could.
6) I Want to Focus on Relationships
My family is more deserving of my time than anyone else on this planet. Also, I am a sixth grade teacher and those students need my complete attention during the school day. I cannot be God’s hands and feet if my hands and feet are cast about the waves of the digital seas. I need to regain my land legs and journey through the seemingly deserted island that is today’s world and rediscover the people whose lives need me the most.
A Disclaimer
As a disclaimer, I will be keeping my facebook account, but I will be deleting all friends and acquaintances that are not part of my extended family. The reason for this is because much of my family’s goings-on and communication are scheduled through facebook and it would be less efficient if I were to abandon it completely. This just goes to show that social media isn’t a bad thing; it can be used for efficient purposes.
And that is the primary reason why I’ve decided to leave social media: it has become more of a negative form of entertainment than an efficient facet of life. It has done more to harm my soul than strengthen it.
I have a sense that I am not alone in this…
Now What?
My goal is to become a digital minimalist so that I can spend more time lost in contemplation, silence, and advancing God’s kingdom through this blog and my work at the Dominican Institute. From here on out, I plan on being notoriously difficult to get a hold of, but if you really need to contact me, you’ll find a way.
