S.3 EP.9 - Does your social media use leave you feeling not good enough?

Jun 28

Studies show that social media use is increasing the amount of anxiety and depression people feel on a regular basis. A lot of this is rooted in the comparison that happens online. What does the Bible say about it? And how do you align to God's will? Carla shares the 4 steps she had to take to break the online comparison game and start living in God's plan for her life.

Key Takeaways:

Carla opens by sharing how this episode will be TOUGH, but she aims to empower & champion listeners!

Carla shares that social media is designed to be addictive, capitalizing on dopamine releases. Studies are showing that its effects on us are negative, leading to depression and anxiety, rooted in comparison. It is also a time and sleep thief! It also leads us to comparison, judgment, discontent, and keeps us from seeing the abundance in front of us and minimize our own blessings.
Comparison is a natural human response! We are wired to see how we measure up, by assessing information to infer how we are processing. The problem is that the comparison we often participate in is done with a distorted focus. Our comparison was never meant to be horizontal, but we are meant to see how we are walking like Jesus.
The Bible is an excellent tool to measure healthy comparison!
Social media emphasizes comparison distortion - to strangers AND friends. We don’t actually do real-life interaction. This leads to resentment & jealousy.
Carla talks about the power of guarding your heart, and how important it is to guard your heart in the realm of social media.
Social media is not reality. It is a curated experience based on what the poster wants you to see. So you end up comparing the hard stuff in your life with the best stuff in the lives of others.
God calls us to celebrate the gifts in the lives of others, not compare them to our own. We need to check our hearts in the area of how He gives gifts.
Carla shares her own journey with surrendering social media to God.
There is abundance in the Kingdom of God, not scarcity. Remember to rejoice in thanksgiving with your blessings and the blessings of others. We need to stop using social media as a checklist for the things we don’t have.
Do an audit of how much power social media has in your life:

Do an audit of how much time you spend on social media. Set a timer when you start, stop it when you finish.
After this, do an emotions audit. Check in with how you feel. Sad, depressed? Joyful?
Take notice of what you took in and how it contributes to your emotional audit.
Four steps to taking power back over social media:
Realize that social media is not reality. You don’t see anything but the things the poster wants you to see.
Confront comparison with biblical truth. Remember who God created you to be.
Curate your feed. Unfollow and mute accounts that lead you to sin.
Redeem your time. Take ownership of your boundaries and ask how you can serve others with your time.