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I quit using mainstream social media. You won’t be able to find me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter anymore and I am going to explain why this was such a critical decision for myself and my family.

Why I Quit Social Media (and maybe you should too!)

Social media (SM) has been a part of my life since the days of Myspace.

I loved that platform. I used it to connect with my long-distance boyfriend who later became my husband. (We met in person and then subsequently followed each other on Myspace.) He used to subtly communicate his feelings towards me by changing up the song on his profile.

I was in college when Facebook first came out. It was relatively basic back then and only available to college students. Over the years I have watched it grow into an incredible tool for keeping up with family, meeting like-minded people, and reselling used goods/services.

In the past few years however, I feel that social media is negatively influencing humanity.

I am going to touch on why I believe social media is heading in a very dangerous direction for the everyday citizen as well as give some personal reasons why I left.

SM is stealing time with God

According to a recent poll, the average person spends about 2.5 hours on social media per day. That means the average person will spend 6 years of their life on social media.

As a busy mom of two, I don’t have a large bulk of time during the day for personal goals or self-improvement.

I do have my phone handy and whenever I had a thoughtless moment, I found myself on SM; endlessly scrolling, oftentimes comparing myself, and sometimes lusting after other people’s lives.

Is this what God wants for us?

2 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV) For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

1 John 2:15-17 (KJV) 15 Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him.16 For all that [is] the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever.

Since I quit using SM, my prayer life has dramatically increased.

I even find myself getting a few more scriptures in each day as I pull out my bible instead of my phone. Perhaps this will translate to 6 more years spent fellowshipping with my Heavenly Father and fortifying the many blessings I will get to enjoy for all of eternity.

SM decreased my ability to focus on one task

Have you ever sat down to write an email or read a book and find yourself checking your SM after a few minutes?

Turns out there is a reason humans have a hard time focusing. It has to do with the dopamine response we get from being validated from others. SM gives us an endless supply of social validation and the more you get, the more you need to satisfy that same level of dopamine response.

Social media is in fact, so addicting, that it is physiologically changing our brain structure by reducing white matter.

SM provides access to a lot of great information, but it is less purposeful learning. It is so easy to get lost down the rabbit hole and end up not researching what was originally intended.

SM affected my mental health

Everyone knows that people put their best foot forward when it comes to posting online. We retake photos, edit them, use filters, and now we have people who actually make a living staging picture perfection.

(I’m sorry but how much vainer can the human race get? How does this glorify God?) I digress…

There are days where it has felt like everyone else’s life is better than mine since they muster up the smiles on days that I am feeling less that smiley.

Research shows that using Facebook can lead to envy and depression.

Generations before us focused on the things that were right in front which I’m sure kept life simpler and in perspective. Now we can focus on someone half-way across the world.

For the majority of my adult life, I have used social media. I am very interested in how my life and perspective will change now that I am not comparing myself or constantly focusing on other people’s business. I feel like it will be much more peaceful.

…And now for the most important reason why I quit social media

Every reason I previously described can be easily argued against.

You can participate in bible study groups on Facebook. You can get functional health advice from instagram “influencers”.

Introverted people can connect with people they otherwise wouldn’t have the energy for by using social media.

The reality is, quitting social media for any of the above reasons is a personal tolerance decision.

But the information I am going to give you now has nothing to do with personal opinion or tolerance. It has everything to do with safety, right versus wrong, and standing up for free speech.

Mainstream SM has become a weapon against the People

Let me explain this in depth because this is a very bold statement.

While SM started out as a great way to connect with others, it has transformed into one of the biggest brainwashing propaganda machines of our time.

This may surprise you, but censorship is happening in so many categories that provide life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

They want to completely control the narrative on subjects of like natural health remedies, vaccines, Christian values, and conservative American politics.

Those of us who lead in the natural health world have seen this for a long time. Our content gets continuously censored. Blog posts get pushed down on Google. Natural health leaders get accounts completely de-platformed.

They don’t want you to question Tylenol or the childhood vaccine schedule. They want you to comply with whatever narrative pads their wallets and gives them more control.

It isn’t just censorship that is a big problem with mainstream social media companies. These corporate giants are directly promoting the socialist movement in America that is responsible for the horrors we experienced in 2020 and the dangerous direction it is heading currently in 2021.

If the people of the world don’t hold these big tech companies accountable for their actions by not giving them their attention, I fear that we will continue to lose more and more freedoms.

Big Tech is spying on you!

There is no such thing as privacy anymore.

Facebook is using your phone’s microphone to listen to you. That’s why when you mention you are having a baby all of a sudden you get ads for baby gear.

Have you ever thought about how far they could take the spying? What if they used your online activity against you? For example to calculate your credit score?

What if all the smart home the technology is used by the FBI to spy on you and then allows agents to show up at your doorstep because you used a gender-related pronoun or you disciplined your kids?

You might think I am a crazy conspiracy theorist even proposing these idea but this is a very real threat and things like this already happen in China. Washington DC is completely disconnected from real people’s lives and are attempting to pass legislation that could indeed make any of these scenarios your reality nightmare.

Let’s Talk Solutions

I made the decision to write this article because I want to protect my readers. This isn’t about fear mongering. I just want you to be equipped with the truth so you can make a personal decision on how to protect your family.

I am going to tell you a few things I plan to do.

1. I quit using mainstream social media. You can find me on Telegram, Clouthub, and Gab. The more people who stand up against these tech giants and stop using their product the less control they have over our lives. I personally feel it is our duty to stand up for privacy and freedom for the next generation because social media isn’t going away. Let’s use the ones that align with our values.
2. We are moving soon but once we get our new place we plan to build a large garage with a small lounging/office space above. This will be where we keep all our electronics. When we want to watch TV or use the internet, we will go to this area and it will be kept separate from our living quarters. This will limit the amount of time that anyone can spy on us.
3. I don’t buy any smart home tech because there are microphones and cameras in these that are being used to collect data.
4. I currently have an iPhone but I am in the process of researching more secure cellphones and plan to save up to purchase one. I will update this post once I have more information on this topic.

Getting off mainstream social media is not about living in fear of the government. After all God says,

II Timothy 2:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

But He also tells us,

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

God gave us the ability to critically think and use discernment. Why hang out online using companies that spy on you?

There was once a time that these companies didn’t exist and humanity got along just fine. We can use other platforms that respect our privacy and don’t sell our data.

What do you plan to do to protect yourself from spying?