Social Media Fasting

One night, long after my son and I had said good night, I was all tucked up and ready for my movie for the night when he walked into my room. He asked if he could sleep in my bed. I said yes, but I also asked why. He told me he was afraid because of a story he had overheard me and some ladies discussing; about an incident that had gone viral on the blue app. I remembered immediately. I had been a bit shaken by that story myself.

He stayed with me and while he slept, I started to replay the discussion and I began to get upset with myself. I advised myself; I said I would cut down on my social media time because he is almost always with me. I started gradually, it was difficult in the beginning, but after a while it became easier.

Social media has proven to be a very important tool and medium for many of us. It has helped some of us reconnect and connect with school mates, family members, old and new friends and more. Social media has also helped many businesses and individuals move from zero to hero. It has also given a good number of people the opportunity to be heard.

In the same way that social media has helped many, it has also done a bit of harm to some.

Unfortunately, as we all know, bad is stronger than good. Bad has a way of swallowing the good and making it disappear. To prevent this with our social media activity, we must find a balance.  It is not news that a balance in anything that we do is the key to a productive life.

If you have a healthy social media activity level and it does not affect your life in any negative way then you may have absolutely nothing to worry about. However, if at some point you feel that your social media time is affecting other areas of your life and encroaching into your productive time, preventing you from spending quality time with friends, family or in prayer, making you to feel sad or depressed because of negative news feeds or cyber bullying or making you feel less of yourself or if it simply just makes you sit and scroll for hours and do nothing then you may need to take a few measures to stop or control these negative effects.

One way to go about this is through a fast. Yes, you read me right. We generally know fasting is abstention from food and drink. Fasting has many other definitions but for the purpose of this piece, I will define fasting as a period of giving up food, drink and any other thing that could distract you and prevent you from focusing your thoughts on God and your spiritual growth for the period. This is a religious definition.  

I have outlined a few steps and I believe that if you desire to cut back on social media or take a little break every now and again, these steps may be helpful to you.

• Know exactly why you want to fast from social media: For every decision we make, there is always a reason. The first question you will have to answer before you begin your social media fast is the ‘why?’ in the decision.  What prompted the decision? What do you plan to achieve at the end of the fast? Is it a one-time thing? Have a meeting with yourself and answer all the necessary questions before you begin as it is a personal conviction.
• Set a specific duration for your fast: No matter what we do, it is always important to set a time frame to guide us. Durations for the fast could be 3 days, 7 days, 21 days, 40 days, 6 months or even a year, depending on how important your activities on social media are. For some business owners, bloggers or public figures, it may be important to take only short periods for the fast. However, you could still employ the use of social media handlers if it is very necessary for your social media presence to remain active but you really need a break from it.
• Find and prepare substitute activities in advance: In order to successfully complete a fast, you will need to find an activity to replace the time you would usually spend on social media. You could decide to select a few books to read, find interesting things to watch on TV, take a few physical or online classes (gym, yoga, art etc.), games to play, schedule long walks or you could take the time to reorganize your space.
• Journal the experience for future reference/appreciation: Putting down a few noteworthy thoughts and experiences during this period is important because it may serve as a guide and reminder for the next time we decide to do it again.
• Decide how to go about it: Depending on the duration of the fast and the intensity, you will have to decide if you want to test your self-disciple and keep the apps on your phone and simply avoid opening them or if you want to completely delete them for the duration of the fast. This decision can only be made when you are honest with yourself.
• Submit yourself to someone: This is a way of remaining accountable. Find a reliable friend or family member that can check on you for the duration and encourage you throughout your journey of abstinence.
• Start your fast.

Just like any other thing we abstain from, it is likely that when we return to it, we may try to cover up for all the time we missed it. This then negates the entire purpose for which we started in the first place. The thing to always keep in mind is the reason we started in the first place.

Purpose is the watch word.