Have you gotten to a point in your life when you feel you just want to take a break away from all digital apps on your phone or you’ve consistently had this feeling that you want to be executed from the social world? I’m sure they’re times when you feel the social media is steadily ruining you and you’ve been hooked up in its pangs and trap.
Actually, this is the sad reality of life, social media addiction is everywhere and we all feel we can’t handle it neither can we help ourselves. Statistically, out of the world’s estimated 7 billion people, 6 billion have access to mobile phones and the internet. Though social media has arguably been the most transformative tool of our time, it’s subsequently the most damaging as well. But I hope this post gives you the ability to reflect on your own relationship with social media as you take ownership of your emotions to improve your overall mental health.

The reality of social media….
I’ll say who is the master and who is the slave? If when you’re talking to someone and your phone rings, you have to leave the conversation pending while you answer your impatient caller. Or you’re a kind who has gotten so invested in smart phones that you’re losing sense of your surroundings and less socialize with people around you. Do your online friends outrun the number of your real life friends or are you the type who’s desperate to have 10,000 likes and comment than he is about his purpose and plan for the future? Do you control technology or it controls you? Probably, you even keep believing the fabricated version of reality others are feeding you with. You sum up your self worth through your online engagement and activities and that becomes your major goal and target. Actually, I’ll say social media is the only platform where people have the opportunity to post fictional account of their lives and ultimately live fake lives. A platform where comparation and competition comes in with envy, jealousy, strife and relative deprivation becoming the order of the day.
Social media is indeed a two edged sword, it can either work for you or work against you. All that matters is your approach towards it.

The Problem isn’t social media, the problem is ‘YOU’
Our problem had never been social media, the problem had always been you and I. We can’t blame technology for our shortcomings when we have a Genesis 3 hearts in a Romans 1 digital world. Social media has weaponized the way Satan battles for our souls. It has triggered the morale of Satan’s appetite and he uses it as a device to entice, addict and destroy. It promotes our appetite in ways that are deeply deceptive.
I’ll say Social media reveals the true root nature of our heart, portray the things we spend our time doing and ultimately the exhibition of our motives. The Bible says out of a man’s heart cometh all the issues of life so I’ll say in a sense that we are what we tweet. From the outflow of the heart, a man Instagrams, From the outpour of the mind, a man facebook, From the obsession of the soul, a man tweets and definitely from the formation of a man’s thought, he keeps up with his WhatsApp status update.
Actually, I’ll say many people consume social media like they consume food. They start out disciplined and upright but overtime can’t resist the appeal, the urge to feel among comes in so they lay down their pattern and go on a crash diet. Deeply immersed in the social world, we plug in headphones, shut our ears from the reality of our society while scrolling through latest Instagram posts. So we appear healthy and bloom externally but inwardly, we are unhealthy, exhausted and fatigued. We’ve made ourselves all “Technological zombies”, Digital slaves and social media victims.
We are all guilty of this so there should be nobody acting like an ALPHA and OMEGA.

* YOU CAN USE SOCIAL MEDIA WITHOUT FORFEITING YOUR LIFE!!!!

Over the years, with the little discoveries and trainings I’ve been exposed to, I’ll say there three basic ways to approach any form of technology including social media…

1) As Slaves
This category of people are always numerous, they’re those who embraces social media indiscriminately. They fully accept its good and bad without a concern for how it shapes their character, habit, mindset or if at all it even aligns with their principle of life

2) As Solitaries
This group of people totally abandon social media. They completely ignore it without a second thought of the good things it has… At time people like this miss out life changing opportunities and networking skills. Actually, I won’t really blame them, most of them do such as a result of the pain they’ve faced in the quest for attention on the media.

3) As Stewards
This is the major way of wisdom and opportunity. Stewards of social media recognize both its reward and risk, they’re well aware of its benefits and harmfulness. They know it could either make or break them, they see it as a two hedged sword that can either build or destroy. So they choose to follow its duties rather than dangers. They keep updating their mind with the media, get opportunities, network, educate and inspire while examining their heart altogether in this digital world of ours.

We don’t have to be slaves to social media and we don’t need to be constantly plugged to our phones, so I think we need to step away from the screens occasionally and actually enjoy some of these parts of life that we take for granted.
As I said before, I’m guilty of participating in basically everything “wrong” with social media. It’s something I definitely need to work on, I know, and I plan on trying to unplug more often. Social media is both a blessing and a curse and I think it’s important that we try our best to find a balance between our time spent online and offline.
So I’ll end the article on this note, “Your approach to whatever thing determines your reproach or reward and for you to live an uncommon life, you need to have an uncommon approach”
“APPROACH SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A POSITIVE MENTALITY”