Deactivate Facebook.
My heart sunk as the words fluttered through my mind. I knew God spoke this command to me. I would not come up with it on my own! Set time limits on Facebook sounds like me. Quit Facebook? That’s the Holy Spirit, friend.
I wrestled with God on this Saturday morning. I was convinced He was behind the timing of two articles I recently read. My friend Misty Oerther posted an article on Facebook about social media usage called Love With Two Hands. She shared her personal struggle with parenting while scrolling. On Instagram Susan Ely detailed her recent prayer to the Lord about counting her days, to which God responded “check your screen time.” Her article Are You Addicted to Your Cell Phone? convicted me.
I was spending too much time on social media. Again.
My heart began to race as I considered quitting Facebook. I’m not ashamed to admit it is an addiction (that is the first step, right?). I’m not alone in this battle, either. A recent article suggests 48% of 18-34 year olds check Facebook first thing in the morning. More mornings than not, I would do the same thing. Another article by CNN reveals the average Facebook user checks in 14 times a day. Sounds about right for me, sadly.
I considered my own recent experiences. I spent 6.5 hours on Facebook and 3 hours on Instagram over a 10-day period just on my phone. I wasn’t able to figure out my percentage on my iPad, but I can assure you it adds to my total hours spent on Facebook.
In January, I read six books and wrote three new blog articles. I felt better about myself. I had more quality interactions with my children, sitting down to engage them rather than scrolling. I had more patience.
In February. I read one book and wrote zero new blog articles. I started to feel poorly about myself. I didn’t interact and engage with them as I had the previous month. I had less patience with my kids and felt frustrated much more. I even found myself highly annoyed over posts by Facebook friends that did not affect me in any possible way. (Please tell me you know what I mean!)
Paul assures us, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV). This verse came to mind that morning. God gave me a way out of my Facebook temptation . . . but could I do it?
The enemy did not want me to obey God’s command. As I pondered walking away from Facebook altogether, the enemy fed me lies:
- You’ll never get published without a platform.
- You’ll disappoint people who want to keep up with your family.
- FOMO! (Fear of Missing Out)
- Relationships will be severed.
The Lord is so good and faithful. For every lie the enemy fed me, God presented truth:
- I will provide the way to a contract in MY way, in MY timing if it is part of MY plan. Obedience comes first.
- Provide a weekly newsletter to your family. They can still keep up with your family and you won’t be putting too much information out on the internet.
- You’ll live. For real. You’ll be invited to the things you need to be invited to, you’ll be told the things you need to hear, and you won’t know what you are missing and therefore won’t feel the negative emotions associated with comparison and feeling left out.
- Connect with writers on Instagram, and keep in touch with your friends through phone calls and texts. I will grow your community. Walk in obedience.
So, I quit Facebook. The enemy’s goal is to steal, kill and destroy but God wants me to live life abundantly (John 10:10). I came to the conclusion that the enemy attacked me with lies because God has something good in store for me. I don’t know where He is leading me, but I know I (ultimately) won’t miss (95% of) Facebook.
Could you do it?
Could you quit Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest?
I’d love to hear your thoughts! Comment below or message me if you’d like to continue this conversation.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:30
Chasing Christ,
Jennifer
*If you feel convicted or encouraged by this article, I would be honored if you’d share it.*
Jennifer Andes 
How are you doing with the Facebook avoidance, sister in Christ?
I frequently deactivate my FB account. Right now, I have it deactivated since a few days ago. I don’t miss it. I find WordPress to have better quality writing anyway.
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Hi! How is the deactivation going for you? In the past month, I’ve logged back on a handful of times. But, I stayed off for a good five months and felt sooo much better about both myself and my writing (although I haven’t written much in a while!).
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This is excellent! As an aspiring writer, it seems that social media is required but I’ve logged off this summer and feel so much better — and hopeful too in this dream of writing being something that’s long-term with God’s direction, not dependent on individual “likes”.
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Yes! I attended She Speaks 2017 and came away with the impression that I had to build a huge platform. That took my focus away from writing, and then I would get so discouraged watching others live out my dream! Since being off Facebook, I haven’t struggled quite as much with it. And ironically, I do feel like God is convicting me to stop giving in to what the world says I should do (platform build) and instead just focus on being obedient in my writing. I’ll be praying for you!
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