I wake up, check my phone, walk to the bathroom and turn on music while I shower. After getting changed, I sit down with my phone for a while, then walk to the Caf with earbuds in. I get my food, sit down and stare at my phone. Someone might sit down next to me and even then, I continue to scroll through Twitter. This probably isn’t the case for everyone, but I know I’m not alone in this.
I might be the best example of someone who is consumed with their phone. Twitter, Instagram, fantasy football and Snapchat are all forms of my phone consumption, and it’s not even worth guessing how much time I’ve spent on my phone doing these activities. All that matters is that it’s evident that myself and many others are much too consumed with our phones and social media.
Social media is not an evil in and of itself. Many organizations and people use social media for wonderful causes: bridging the distance gap between friends, fundraising for disaster relief, shedding light on horrific tragedies in our world, etc. Plenty of people further the Kingdom and attempt to use social media for God’s glory. However, it is our overconsumption and the non-reality of social media that is the problem.
One of the worst parts about social media is that most people do not post reality. For the most part, people post the highlights of their lives, the good times, their perceived profound thoughts (this is me) and neglect the rest: the struggles, the bad times and the wrestling with sin.
People do not see the whole picture of who we are on social media, just who we want to be. We cannot truly get to know people and who they are by scrolling through their Twitter feed.
Christ has called us into life in Him. How much of life have we missed out on—hanging out with our friends, intentionally approaching the person down the hall you know is going through a difficult time, God speaking to us through a message at chapel or digging into a Scripture passage and prayer, because we were consumed with what the latest trend or funniest meme was. For me, I can’t begin to comprehend the possibilities.
This life cannot be lived through 140 characters, crafted snapshots, Facebook posts or even the notorious game “Second Life.” We are called to live a life of loving God and neighbors.
It’s difficult tolive this life by creating an identity that isn’t ourselves, by constantly comparing our “followers” to others and by our self-worth being driven by how many favorites we got on our last tweet. This leads to massive self-centeredness and only turns ourselves inward.
This week: challenge yourself to put the phone down—When you’re going to class, when you’re eating with friends, when you’re at chapel, when you’re doing homework or even in your dorm room. It’s hard to miss out on life when you’re fully present in the moment and focused
