Social Media, I Bid You Adieu For Lent

Every January and February as Lent approaches, those of us who celebrate try to get creative as to what we are going to (and hopefully stick to being able to) “give up” for 40 days.  If I am being honest, there are many years that I have skipped giving up anything altogether, and others where I have failed miserably to stick to my guns. Especially since everyone who knows me (or anyone who is my Facebook friend) knows that I enjoy posting and sharing my life through social media. 

I do not work outside of the home, so on most days, this is the most consistent adult “interaction” I get.  While there are some things I could live without seeing on social media, for the most part, I love waking up and viewing my friends’ and family’s lives through a tiny screen.  I joke, but without Facebook, there are some people that I would no longer know anything about.  I have noticed a trend with my social media usage.  The more I’m on it…the more I’m on it.  I will find myself mindlessly scrolling for long periods of time and missing out on what’s right in front of me…the really important things. 

Facebook, I bid you adieu.

 Facebook and social mediaA couple of years ago, Lent was again approaching and I made a decision.  I was going to do it.  I was going to surrender my Facebook account.  Facebook would cease to exist to me.  It was the perfect time to take the plunge, after all, look at everything Jesus had given up for me.  So, for 40 long days, I said goodbye to the world that I created with my keyboard.  Don’t you think crazy on me, now—of course, I didn’t actually delete my account.  I have excuses miles long as to why I just couldn’t go that far.  I also did, and still do, have an Instagram account, but I started with the idea of solely giving up Facebook.  Baby steps, people.  To begin my quest of living entirely in reality, I started by making my official statement on my Facebook status.  I am positive that some of my friends shed tears that day, knowing that they wouldn’t be constantly staring at my children’s faces on their news feeds. 

After I updated my status, I deleted the Facebook application on my iPhone. 

This may seem small and trivial, but this was what made it work for me.  There were no longer “notifications” building up in the app and constantly alerting me to look.  I contribute the majority of my success to the deletion of the app…that, and my wildly impressive ability to abstain.  

Long story short…

I did it. 

I survived the Lent season without Facebook, and I have to say, it was liberating.  While there were things I missed seeing about my family and friends, I never felt as if I was missing out.  I didn’t have FOMO.  The sun kept shining — in fact, brighter than ever.  I had time for things because I began to use my time differently.  I made even more and even better memories with my kids and my husband without the distraction of social media.  I didn’t post my every move, looking for relevance from others.  The only person that needed to know the things that I thought, the things I was doing, and the memories I was making were me, and it was refreshing.  I can honestly say that taking a time-out from social media was one of the best things that I have ever done and I plan on doing so again this Lent.  There are times I wish I could delete my account indefinitely, but I do believe that there is good to come out of using social media.  I get to keep in touch with those who live far away, see my friends’ and family’s beautiful lives, and they get to see mine.

Have you ever tried living without Social Media? 
What do you plan on giving up for Lent in 2019?

jaimeemartin
Jaimee was born and raised in Omaha. She is the wife to handsome Bret, and stay-at-home mom to three beautiful boys, Cooper (November 2012)) Crue (January 2015), and Cade (June 2018). She is also a "dog momma" to Mitzy (Poo-chi), Bentley (Yorkie), and Chloe (Yorkie). In her spare time, Jaimee loves to write and catch up on her favorite television shows, which consists mostly of reality T.V. She attended UNO where she received a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. Jaimee hopes to return to the world of teaching once all of her boys are in grade school. Jaimee and her family are self-proclaimed Disney fanatics and enjoy anything that deals with Mickey Mouse.