Hey guys! I'm back
with my second Faith Post Friday! As many of you know, my topic for
the month of September is Invisibility. Last week I wrote
about the Invisibility of Motherhood. Today is all about the
Invisibility of Social Media. Before I go any further, I want to be
clear that there's a lot of good that has come from social media.
But, like with most things, us humans can misuse it. My words today
are meant to encourage you that you are not alone in the struggle to
keep a social media balance.
Love
/ Hate
I have a love-hate
relationship with social media. I love that it truly helps me feel
connected (I mean, otherwise I'd have no idea what my second
cousin's baby looks like) but I also hate how it makes me feel
disconnected (Why visit my cousin when I can see all her baby
updates with the click of a button?).
Once upon a time in
a land far far away (circa 2006ish) I had regular coffee dates with a
good friend of mine. We would meet at Starbucks and talk for hours. I
didn't realize at the time how amazing this was. I took it for
granted. Fast forward to 2017 and I haven't had coffee with my friend
in yeeeeears. I joined Facebook in 2008 and our coffee dates got less
and less frequent until finally they stopped altogether. It wasn't a
conscious decision. It just kind of happened. She had babies and my
babies grew and now we're so busy it's more convenient to stay
connected on social media.
I miss talking with
my friend face to face, rather than texting or posting. I crave
geniuine human connection but it's hard to make time for friends when
I'm so busy. My days go by like a blur and at the end of these busy
days I find myself wanting to zone out and scroll through my facebook
(are you feeling me on this? Surely it's not just me?). It's a cheap
substitute for human connection, kind of like eating a granola bar
for lunch. It ties you over for a few but it doesn't really satisfy.
I scroll and see all sorts of interesting things; news stories
(mostly sad & disturbing), funny memes, inspiring quotes, photos
of family and photos of friends with their friends.
This counterfeit
social experience gives us a surge of momentary fulfillment, kind of
like a candy bar gives you a sugar rush, and we all know the rush
eventually crashes. So we either go back for another hit or the
loneliness sets in. But who wants to feel lonely? So we go back again
and again. Some of us are addicted to this dysfunctional roller
coaster. Let me restate that, I am guilty of letting myself
ride this crazy train.
Comparison: The
Thief of Joy
Remember when
ignorance really was bliss? Here's what I mean.
Have you ever been
in a pretty good mood and then after ten minutes on social media
you're depressed? This 180 degree turn occurs when you have access to
information you normally wouldn't know anything about. For example,
photos of so-and-so's seventeenth vacation of the year.
“Man, I haven't
even had one vacation.”
Comparing my life to
other people's lives never ends in joy. Never.
Oh, then there are
the posts of your friends hanging out with your friends and you
weren't invited. Ouch, that one stings.
“Why would they
not invite me?”
Don't get me wrong,
there are a lot of days where I'm genuinely happy when I see my
friends hanging out and having fun. I try to be a cheerleader for the
people in my life and I LOVE to see my friends feeling loved and
happy and successful in all areas of their lives. But sometimes, on
those lonely days, it hurts to see people I'm friends with hanging
out with people I'm friends with and knowing I wasn't invited.
Close
friendship can start to feel
more like
an illusion, a social media mirage.
Bait
& Switch
This
is the point when
the connectedness of social media betrays you and switches to
disconnectedness. It happens so fast that you don't even realize it
until you find yourself feeling sad, lonely, and even mad at your
friends. You start to feel forgotten, invisible.
As
a Believer in Christ, I truly believe this is a spiritually
vulnerable place we put ourselves in, and
I am guilty of it. The enemy
loves to isolate us, like a wolf isolating its prey. And when we are
alone he whispers all sorts of accusations against our friends (Look
at them having fun without you, they never really loved you)
and accusations against us (You're worthless and
unloveable).
Satan
baits us with a false reality, a false sense of connectedness and
once he snags us he makes us feel invisible. That is when he does his
best work, whispering lies that sound so true.
Jesus
says Satan is a liar...
“When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8: 44
and
he's a thief...
The
Power of Community
“Let us not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another...” Hebrews 11:25
This verse is at the heart of
what My Journey of Faith is all about. God created you to be
in community with other people. In fact, it's scientifically proven.
When you spend time with a friend, your brain releases a hormone
called oxytocin, also known as “the feel good hormone”. This is
why you feel so much better after a girl's night!
I just experienced this today. A sweet neighbor friend of mine came
over and we talked for a couple of hours, by ourselves, no
interruptions.
(Let's pause for a moment to thank God for this small miracle!)
She shared with me what God was doing in her life and she gave me a
perspective on God that I haven't even thought of. She encouraged me
in ways I never expected and I felt anything but invisible. This week
I encourage you to limit your social media and make the effort to
connect with a friend, face to face, even if it means inviting
someone to your messy house.
Jennifer
No comments:
Post a Comment