You look at your phone. It has a dozen notifications on the screen. The last picture you posted got more likes. It has a few comments.
You pick up your phone to check it out. And you start the never ending task of scrolling through your feed.
Social media has become a major part of our lives. It takes up most of our day and consumes our thoughts.
Whether you are on all social platforms or just a few, you probably know what I mean.
Social media affects our lives in many ways.
First of all, it makes us feel as if we are missing out.
Scrolling through other people’s posts and seeing what they have or what they have been doing makes us feel as if we are missing out on what they have or what they have done.
Seeing people go on vacation, get a new car, or eat at an expensive restaurant will make you compare your life to theirs. Although you may be in a totally different place physically, spiritually, or financially.
When you scroll though your social media feed and begin to feel like you are missing out, turn to God and ask for His help. Pray to Him and realize that you are in a different place than the person on your screen.
Secondly, social media will often lead to comparison.
Just like the feeling of missing out, comparison is caused by seeing what the people you follow have. But it also has to do with comparing your body to theirs.
This is one cause of the depression social media gives so many girls.
When girls scroll through their social media feed and see other girls with great bodies, they begin to compare themselves to them.
If this happens to you, just remember that you were created by God. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). You are His handiwork (Eph. 2:10).
Thirdly, social media affects our time.
Whether it’s Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, or another platform, scrolling through the post of the hundreds of people you follow takes a lot of time.
We spend hours on social media, without even realizing it.
I once heard it put this way: If you spend the same amount of time in your Bible as you do on social media, you will either have to cut down your social media time to just a little bit or have to spend a whole lot of time in God’s Word. It’s true though, isn’t it?
However social media affects your life, try to take control of it.
Whether it’s the feeling of missing out, comparing yourself to others, or not using your time wisely, scrolling through your feed takes away from loving others and growing in God’s Word.
In His amazing love,
Hannah Marie
What are your thoughts? How does social media affect your life?
