If you’re reading this the chance is big you have a social media account just like anyone who uses a phone or computer. The first social media account I made was back in 2014… it’s been a while. In my nine years of using social media avidly I have seen a lot of things. I have seen both the bad and good. But let’s dive into the bad points I stumbled upon, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this blog after all 😉
Addiction and bitul zman
I almost had every social media app you could think of. I was an avid poster and loved to connect with new people. I was too awkward and shy in real life, so social media was the remedy to that loneliness. Every person yearns for attention and recognition, so it’s more understandable that people go on social media to fill this gap in their life. Before you know it, you will find yourself checking your phone every few minutes for a new like, message, or follower…
Social media is set up in addictive ways. I can’t nor won’t get into all that is addictive on it as I’m no expert in this but the masterminds behind these social media apps know very well what they’re doing. They’re tapping in to our need to feel validated whilst bringing us down at the exact moment by seeing things we are somehow lacking whether that’s physically or materialistic. You’ll be wasting your time away on some app, and your phone will become the second world that you live in. An unrealistic world filled with unrealistic goals.
Hashem gaves us all this precious time for studying, doing mitzvos etc. not for wasting it away on your phone.
Immodesty and loshon hora
The world that you’ll be trapped into will be one filled with immodesty. The world itself is turning upside down and that which we can avoid in real life can’t be avoided on social media. You won’t walk somewhere willingly where people are clad indecently or do indecent things but this can simply not be avoided on social media. You also won’t you walk into a group willingly where people gossip and spread the most awful loshon hora but on social media this is well alive. Rumors are spread for likes and fame. People share their body for likes and fame. People lose their decency all for the sake of fame.
Now you might think “oh come on! I don’t click on such posts or click it away.” which is great but as we all know social media comes unfiltered, TikTok being the worst of all, where you scroll and scroll and have no clue which video pops up next. We have to do our utmost best to guard our precious neshome (soul) from the evil in the world.
Social media became a place for oversharing and throwing our lives out there for anyone to see. From sharing your kids online to marital struggles to sharing our prettiest pictures for any man to see. Whose business is it to see any of our lives or even just what we look like. We should be concerned instead what our life looks like to HaShem!
Secular influences
One leads to another and people get influenced by secular influencers on these apps. It’s so destructive. You see the luxurious lavish lifestyles. Gorgeous clothes, gorgeous homes. Easy money via social media and living life without a worry. Before you know it you want this too.
People get fooled by such lifestyles whilst there is no meaning in such a lifestyle that chases its worth only in money and materialistic things.
You will only find real purpose in a life that’s based on serving HaShem. When we connect to HaShem we connect to what our true purpose in this world is. Outside of Him we have no meaning. Ayn od milvado, there’s nothing other than HaShem!
How to fight this and my journey?
I won’t lie, my journey has been an uphill battle. I struggled with social media addiction quite a lot. Whilst I’m not yet at the end of this journey I am taking steps to limit what I see though the struggles aren’t gone. At the end of this month I’m bli neder getting a kosher phone.
This is also my advice to each and everyone of you to get a kosher phone or to get the phone and all other devices, that you already own, filtered. This way you limit secular influences on your phone and you will have no access to the internet, news and social media.
Till the next time, take care!
If you want to reach out, you can find my e-mail in the “about-me” section 🙂
Aydelkeit 
Leave a comment