Freedom from Social Media

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the need to limit our time with social media. In fact, President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints challenged the youth of the Church to disengage from social media for seven days. The prophet of the Lord had his reasons for making the request.

I acknowledge that there are positives about social media. But if you are paying more attention to feeds from social media than you are to the whisperings of the Spirit, then you are putting yourself at spiritual risk, as well as the risk of experiencing intense loneliness and depression.

            President Nelson was not asking them to give up social media permanently but simply to “fast” from it for seven consecutive days. How did the youth respond? According to this site, there are some mixed feelings. While most of the youth realize that they can waste a lot of time on social media, they feel that there are some positive aspects of it, such as keeping in touch with friends and family.

            I joined the youth in disengaging with social media. I did not do a complete “fast” because I am in the midst of planning a family reunion, and I need to connect family members on our group page on Facebook. However, I did a complete fast from the rest of Facebook. I would go on Facebook long enough to see if a family member had posted on the group page. If something was there, I read it. If no one had posted, I was immediately off Facebook.

            My experience confirmed what I already knew: I waste a lot of time on Facebook! I learned that I get much of my “news” from Facebook. I felt disconnected from world events and was hungry for knowledge – much like one would be hungry for food. I was relieved when the week was over and I could get my fill of news! The experience was a good one for me in that I limit my time on Facebook now. I want to be able to hear the whisperings of the Spirit, the main reason for the Prophet’s request.