creation > consumption
We are enslaved by choice to content consumption & it's time to break the chains
Dear self,
I’ve said countless, willing, and even joyful goodbyes to content consumption. Weeks pass, and then I am back into the habit. Why can’t I break it off for good? I dislike Facebook and Instagram and Netflix-binging more than I enjoy it, so why continue? I’ve never smoked, but I imagine that’s what it’s like. It’s an addiction, and in my life specifically, I feel it has to stop. I want to break these chains.
Is it ironic that I am penning words on enslavement to social media and publish it on a website that revolves around consumption and subscriptions? I feel Substack is detached from the social media giants, an outlet where I can better control what I’m consuming and still express myself through writing.
Back to this addiction enslavement to content consumption…
My biggest vices are Facebook and Instagram, mostly Instagram. YouTube only if I’m really bored. Amazon Prime Video to pass the time while doing menial tasks like folding laundry or washing dishes. Mostly Instagram. I’ve narrowed it down to a few reasons why I am drawn to it, and can’t seem to quit.
Curiosity. By far, I consider this the top reason. It’s not only curiosity on what my friends are up to, or those late-night moments where I suddenly wonder what ever happened to that one 2nd grade classmate that glued ladybugs to his desk. This curiosity extends to being able to search for weather, road conditions, homeschool advice, local happenings, breaking news headlines, etc. (which brings me to my second reason…)
Community. As cheesy as it may sound, there was a time when social media was actually helpful. I distinctly can recall the most useful time was in the early stages of motherhood. I didn’t have a tribe yet, the first of my friend group to have a baby, not yet involved in church, and just starting to practice using mother’s intuition. Community groups on Facebook were a blessing as I navigated this time in my life, and later, other groups were my support system in my writing, marriage, homeschool, and walk with the Lord.
Learning. I have, thanks mostly due to homeschool groups and bookworms, discovered an array of books, curriculum, and resources that I would not have otherwise found. Quotes saved, field trip ideas, amongst many other things.
These three are my biggest excuses. How do I rectify this? The first, curiosity, is nothing more than online gossip. There’s no problem I have that is satisfied with my first excuse, and often just fuels my battle with anxiety. My second reason is hardly used anymore. The Lord has graciously provided to me a community of friends, who have come alongside me in replace of this superficial online community. It really shouldn’t be on the list anymore, but I use it as an excuse. My last excuse, learning, is most difficult to say goodbye to. Do I not trust that when needed, the Lord will provide it?
What are the reasons that are convicting me to say goodbye to social media, to break the chains of consumption slavery?
Time. The average amount people spend on just social media (not including tv time, netflix, etc) is 1,300 hours. Or, better put, 54 full days. How important is time to me? I'm already short on it. I’m in the stage of life where it feels there isn’t enough time in my days and if 2025 was my last year on Earth, that’s 54 days I’m spending doing something non-productive, non-lifegiving, non-God glorifying, and steals precious time away from the people I love most.
Emotionally draining. It isn’t always, but in an extreme example, I was sucked into X for a month, that was an emotionally-draining rollercoaster of being called horrific names simply for holding to pro-life beliefs. It’s the farthest from lifegiving. During the election, all social media giants were draining. And it’s still emotionally draining as I scroll past constant news updates. As much as I love being “in the know” and value the importance of knowing what’s happening around the world, we were not designed to process news 24/7. Hourly reminders of the wicked or downright idiotic world we live in adds nothing to my day except anxiousness. Do I pray over these worry-some updates? Usually, no. Has being kept “in the know” helped my day or family?
Evil. This ties in with above. We are desensitized to evil. The amount of heartbreaking, depressing, soul-aching things I come across don’t seem to balance with the good.
Comparison. It truly is the thief of joy and fuels our need to fit in. I don’t have a desire to fit in, or keep up with the Joneses…but the more I scroll, the more the temptation dangles in front of me.
Distraction. From my family. My daily tasks. My hopes and goals. The purpose for Instagram was to create a platform for my writing…but I’m not writing as much this past autumn. And to create a platform means to create content for overconsumers, with a platform that constantly changes, who restricts the posts of the “outside-of-the-box” thinkers who don’t conform to societal standards.
I don’t want to come off as pretentious. This letter is for me, and for those who have wrestled with the same thoughts. To cut out social media feels like cutting oneself off from a society whose fingers are wrapped around consumption. My husband hasn’t used social media since our son was born, an admirable quality in my opinion. More free than I. He’s not cut off from anything. His true friends know there’s an effort on their part beyond the click of a button - a text or call instead. They seek out to know. They are intentional. That’s more desirable in my opinion, a clear sign of the thoughtfulness of a friend, yet we hover around the refresh button checking for how many likes we get on a post when our message notifications remain empty.
After contemplating this desire to cut consumption, @im_anneliese_ (IG) shared her thoughts on the exact topic which hit my heart at just the right time:
“I think a lot of times, we suffer from an inexplicable feeling of lowness because we spend more time consuming than creating. We then self medicate through more consumption. Social media content, food, drinks, shopping, binge-watching tv. This creates a vicious cycle in which we’re always “eating” but never satisfied. Feeding off of others’ creativity only feels good for so long. We are made in the image of a God who is CREATOR, and it’s in our design to want to build and grow and contribute and put our ideas and gifts into the world. Begin by recognizing when you are in a consumption spiral. For me, my consumption spiral happens mostly on social media. When I recognize what I’m doing, I can make a conscious choice to pull away. Then replace consumption with an act of creativity, movement, or learning. Write, do a workout, bake, attend to that task you’ve been avoiding. It’s not that consumption is evil in itself, it’s that consumption without a proportionate level of creativity is draining and demoralizing for beings that were made for satisfying work. It is a lie that our worth or righteousness is found in our contributions. But it is also a lie that our contributions are utterly divorced from our general sense of purpose, satisfaction, and fulfillment.”
Realistically, laziness and passivity have taken over in my life. I’ve greatly reduced my consumption in the past years, but I still greatly desire to break this one bad habit. This one thing is often the cause of my spiral into ‘doom scrolling’….the lie that I’m just going to unwind for a little. If social media consumption does not fill my cup, then why do I reach for it? I want to cultivate my soul and say “my cup runneth over”.
“What feeds the soul matters as much as what feeds the body.” -Corrie ten Boom
What does fill my cup? God’s Word, long walks, the satisfaction of cleaning & organizing, embroidery, crochet, & sewing, writing, cooking (sometimes lol), reading, family time, painting, drawing, photography, church (and Christian podcasts), music.
What empties my cup or doesn’t fill it? Screentime (phone, tv, movie, etc), specifically when absorbing alone. Family movie night is different. Isolated scrolling or melting into the couch alone is often emptying.
I need a dopamine detox, a sabbatical from consuming unfulfilling things.
With that…my 2025 resolution is….
“creation > consumption”
I’m going to rewind the clock this year, back to 2005 when blogging was popular, when social interaction was face-to-face, when authors connected with their readers with newsletters, in-person events, and guest posts. I’ve done one author event, in 2018, and stopped because of imposter syndrome. If I need a creative outlet to write, it will be this or Scrivner. Otherwise, I’ll be checking off all of the “cup-filling, joy-bringing hobbies” that I set aside because I’m too busy consuming.
Moving forward, I’ll continue on as usual minus the social media in 2025. Like I share in my About page, I enjoy caring for my family, I love creating things, cooking, giving the floors a deep scrubbing, and reading a good book….I really love writing. Most importantly, I love the Lord and it’s in my seemingly mundane life that I find the goodness of God. This Substack will have updates about my writing accomplishments and general tidbits on the happenings in my life, but mostly it will be focused on seeking God, seeking His Kingdom, finding Him in the goodness of the everyday, dying to my selfish ways, on becoming less as He becomes greater (John 3:30), on navigating being a Christian woman in the modern world, and pursuing imperfect parenting where I grasp for divine patience and grow in Christ. Subscribing means to join me in my ponderings, thoughts, and studies as I seek the One who has offered me eternal life in an unimaginable Heavenly place. I hope you can find encouragement through these newsletters to draw closer to Him.
Most importantly, if you’re going to read something, and be inspired by something, let it be God’s Holy Word. If you still decide to stick around, I appreciate you putting up with my rambling.