Is Social Media is a Joy Sucker?

We all know or have been told by someone that social media is bad for mental health and self esteem, but have you personally evaluated if that's true for you? I've watched many videos of people who experimented with their lives by deleting social media for a time to see what changes occur in their lifestyle. They are always motivating to watch, but scary to think about following through with, especially long term as media has become a daily part of most of our lives. It's scary to think about getting rid of apps that cause an instant dopamine rush just by opening it and scrolling because often times that's the easiest way to give our brain a "mental break".

I would watch the videos and then decide to set limits on certain apps because I knew I spent way more time on them than I wanted to, but each time I found myself ignoring limits or reaching toward another app to fill my media void. I've known it felt like an addiction for several years, and my screen time can testify to that; I never had the gut to completely get rid of it because, well... there are true pros and cons to many apps that I had; I allowed the few pros to make my deciding factor despite the fact that the cons were outweighing them.

For me Instagram -pros, love seeing pictures of my friends and old acquaintances to see how they've changed and stay updated; I can share the gospel or reach the lost. Cons - even when I followed only a few accounts I spent way more time on the app than it took to stay updated on new posts; it's overall people posting the highlights when they look their best, unnatural, or just creating an unrealistic mindset of comparison making a place for false reality; and probably the biggest time drainer was when they added the reels section, sometimes it's just impossible to stop scrolling.

All that being said, I've been going through listing pros and cons for each app on my phone the past few months deciding which ones have to go and which can stay in moderation. As a christian there was just too much of my time each day being taken up on worthless scrolling, it would be a lie to not call it an idol. In having the main issue gone, I've found more motivation to be outdoors, spend quality time with people, message people directly to share moments and overall be more creative.

There are literal "feel good"chemicals tha get released into the brain when looking at a screen and it causes addiction and a hard time focusing on things. You can easily look this up and do research for yourself. I realized that with media it's very hard for me to take moments and slow down to relax such as pray, read a book, or do any activity that takes a quiet mind. It's way easier to pull out my phone and watch reels that makes me instantly occupied while feeling a crash of emotions when I put it down and decide it's time to do something else. I've always known that but I encourage Christian's to examine their screen time as I still am, and see if it aligns with who they are created to be in Christ.

Another reason it's damaging to the Christian walk alongside it being an idol, it's literally giving you temporary feelings of happiness, satisfaction, contentment or peace that all end when the phone turns off. God is to be our provider of all those things and we shouldn't feel like we have to be on our screens every time we feel bored or lonely because He is the one we are to run to before all else. He doesn't make His laws to harm us but to keep us in His provision and give Him glory. God knows that the things we put before Him will lead us astray into darkness every time no matter what it is and He commands us put Him first. I encourage you to take a month and slow down the pace of your mind, set aside any dopamine triggering areas of your life that you turn on before you go into prayer and reading the word and see how God can fill you with His unending joy. We sometimes wonder why we don't receive the things He promises us and overlook the big idols that we think are no big deal... if we go to it before God it's an idol, idols are sin, sin seperates us from God; separation from us and God causes lack of communication and filling of His spirit. That's why we can't receive all His blessings because of a heart that isn't prepared for Him.