The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity

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See ya socials: the art of disconnection

Like many of my fellow Gen Zers, I love social media. I love my nightly TikTok scrolls, posting my Instagram photo dumps at the end of the month, and perfecting Pinterest boards filled with dream life visions. I can’t get enough of the Brat Summer videos or the Four Seasons Orlando Baby (iykyk*).

Despite this 10/10 entertainment, I recently decided to delete my social media apps. Gasp, I know – I’m sure you’re as shocked as my family and friends were – but joking aside, for me this was a pretty big change.

I was noticing habits in myself I didn’t love – reaching for my phone at every spare moment to check for any new notifications and spending breaks between meetings simply moving from my laptop screen to the small one in my hand.

We live in a world that offers instant updates through WhatsApp chats and Instagram stories. But, in embracing this constant connection, we’ve lost the equally important art of disconnection. I felt myself losing the skill of simply being – with no noise or distraction.

Jesus was the master of being. As we see in Luke 5:16, he often withdrew to lonely places to pray. Even during the peak of his ministry, he prioritised time away from the crowds to reconnect with his Father above. In our culture of constant background digital buzz, following Christ’s example means intentionally carving out space for stillness.

We’re also called to be mindful of how we use our time. Not just the time we spend with others but all our time. Ephesians 5:15–16 says, ‘Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.’ This includes how we engage online. When caught in the trap of an endless scrolling session at work, at home, or on the bus, swiping our screens repeatedly, we should ask ourselves: ‘Is this glorifying God?’ And ‘is this adding to my life or is it distracting me from what matters?’

This is an art I’m still learning, but removing social media has been a helpful way to cut down some of that noise. Disconnecting doesn’t have to mean rejecting social media altogether. Instead, we can use it wisely – setting boundaries, staying mindful of how it affects our spiritual wellbeing, and making room for real-life connections and moments with God. By balancing connection with disconnection, we can live more present and purposeful lives, both online and offline.

Darby Vincent
Digital Lead, LICC

Want to delve into this topic a little deeper? Check out our latest episode of Unscripted for an honest conversation hosted by our lovely Emerging Generations Champion Ennette Lainchbury.

Comments

  1. It’s very telling that that feels like a radical step! It’s bothered me for a long time now but … taking that step … hasn’t happened!

    I hear the bit about mindful use and setting boundaries etc which sounds very sensible but in my heart of hearts I wonder if the addictive element here ( I think there is one) means a period of ‘cold turkey’ might be needed!

    What do you think?

    By Fizz  -  12 Oct 2024
    • Hi there!

      I totally get where you are coming from, I think going ‘cold turkey’ can be a really helpful way to break the inital addiction cycle and really allows you to notice how much your habits are formed around your social media use (or for me it was anyway!)

      My personal recommendation based on my own experience would be to cut it out for while as you suggest to break the habit and then start to reintroduce new boundaries once you feel the social media addiction element has gone! For me this has looked like having instagram logged in on my web browser (after a good while of none at al!) rather than the app so I can check messages and still use it when I want to look something up but has removed the ‘doom scrolling’ side of it and the addictive app features! I have found it much easier to draw fresh boundaries around it after stepping right back:)

      Let me know if you do give it a go and find it helpful:)
      – Darby

      Darby Vincent
      By Darby Vincent Digital Lead

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