It all started when I realized I was knee-deep in the glamorized fitness industry. How did I get here? For ten years, I was weight training and truly loved the process of changing my body composition, meal by meal, workout by workout. I was a student of the game; you could find me at church or the gym. About eight years into my consistent training regimen, I met my now husband. Shortly after meeting, we got married; God’s perfect timing.
We were later blessed with a beautiful baby girl; this is where the events took a turn. I felt a lull in my workout; I needed that push you sometimes need, so I turned to YouTube for help. YouTube led me to Instagram. I am not sure how on earth I would turn to Instagram; I had previously banned Facebook; I thought it was just a platform made for stalkers and overzealous wannabe politicians.
Like most social media platforms, it has a sneaky way of changing our perspectives. Many of the creators of these platforms don’t use them; that should tell us something! They also keep their children away from them, another telltale sign that something dark is at work within them.
Instagram became the platform of my choice; its simplicity and user-friendly ease of posting pictures made it much easier to engage. The “likes” make you feel like people are interested in what you say or how you look. This is an unusual way to get a dopamine fix.
What does dopamine do to a person?
Dopamine is responsible for allowing you to feel pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. When a user receives a like, dopamine triggers the reward pathways in the brain.
I had a long history of vanity, dating back to when I was about ten years old. Yes, just ten years old. Three decades later and many convictions, it no longer has a hold on me. Instagram was the perfect tool for taking my weakness and magnifying it. Using Instagram for motivation later led me down the rabbit hole of bodybuilding. I dialed into the community reasonably quickly. For the next three years, I competed at some of the best shows alongside some of the best talent. I earned my PRO card during this time.
I did better than I could have ever imagined and could have continued to compete at a PRO level. There are a few reasons I share this information; one is that to reach that level, you must dedicate all of your time and effort to the sport. Second, most of the top athletes take steroids. I do not have an ax to grind about steroid use; this is a personal choice, but the average person might not know this side of extreme sports.
What would my life look like today if I had continued on that path? Something changed in me from one day to the next; I could see what I had given up for this lifestyle: time with my family. There is ALWAYS a tradeoff when you’re pursuing a goal. During this process, there were many dark times; not a single soul would have known from the outside looking in.
I was in optimal shape, every meal and all macros accounted for, but I had no peace. I deleted my Instagram and came back to reality.
The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. -John 10:10
We must be vigilant about what we watch and engage in; they can change us slightly, day by day, and we may wake up one morning and not recognize who we have become.
Some of the creators of social media had this to share:
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- “Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse.” — Sophocles
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- “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.”
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- “It’s the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your behavior and perception that is the product.” — Jaron Lanier
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- “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” — Arthur C. Clarke
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- “Algorithms Are Opinions Embedded in Code” — Cathy O’Neil
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- “There are only two industries that call their customers ‘users’: illegal drugs and software.” — Edward Tufte
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- “Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment…” — Buckminster Fuller
Social media is designed to be addictive. When a user receives a like, dopamine triggers the reward pathways. The ad revenue depends on your engagement. A slight change in your behavior induced by social media will keep you returning. I had no peace as a social media consumer, so I deleted my accounts. This is what happened after I quit social media.
1. Vanity no longer plagues me.
I no longer look at unrealistic figures and try to attain them. Vanity is written all over most Instagram influencers; Botox and plastic surgery are entirely normalized. When I was growing up in the late 1980s and 1990s, this was something only Hollywood celebrities would do. We did look at them in awe, but it was never something we considered doing. It is a dangerous time, and vanity has only increased. Since I deleted my social media, vanity no longer plagues me.
2. I have privacy.
Posting personal details has become socially acceptable. There are no limits to the things that people post. Celebrities have gained popularity by opening the doors to their most intimate moments—the more outrageous the post, the bigger the reward. I was posting my workouts, meals, and even time with my family; this is such an interruption to LIFE! Imagine enjoying a moment with your family and stopping to post a picture. Of course, you’re not posting the first picture you took. You are posting the 4th picture you took. People you have never met in REAL life feel like they know you enough to direct message you. We subscribe to this when we allow people into our homes through a simple post. I love having privacy; nothing is worth losing those precious moments, they are best shared with the people who are there.
3. I started chatting more with my true friends.
Once I deleted my social media accounts, I felt a sense of calm. The engagement with the online community filled a space that is now filled with my true friends. Friendships that are solely based on bonds built over time, having shared values, and things that cannot be falsified.
There is a community online; it is superficial. People can be whoever they want to be online; it’s all based on perception, not reality. The Metaverse, expected to launch in 2023, is another conversation, but WOW, where are we headed as a culture?
4. My workouts became about health.
My workouts are now based on health, not vanity. The bodybuilding diet has numerous workarounds for staying lean while maintaining lean muscle, which, in the long term, left me feeling physically and emotionally depleted. I now focus on health. Everything is better! My mood, gut, and I enjoy my workouts again. I also keep my workouts in their place; I have balance.
5. I am present.
I am present, living in the moment. There is no pause to life for a picture. When I take a photo, I take one or two for our family albums and move on. I also do not need to check my phone constantly; there is nothing on there that is calling for my attention. How many times have you posted content and then checked your phone numerous times to see how many likes you got? It’s comical when you think about it.
6. I no longer get wound up.
Social media has become the new public square. YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are the latest ways we consume news. I would leave YouTube feeling wound up and divided as a culture. I have not missed any news worth knowing since I quit engaging in the gossip posted on these platforms.
7. Influencers do not influence me.
I no longer get sold on the next best thing. I had bought into the BCAAs, protein powders, and protein bars – nothing beats the real thing. Nature has it right regarding food and just about everything else.
8. I read more.
A feature on the iPhone notifies us how much time we have spent on each app. I was shocked at the amount of time I had wasted. Since I have deleted my social media, I have more time to read.
9. I started a blog.
My mind is decluttered, and I have time to create. I replaced the noise and constant distraction from social media with a creative outlet, my blog.
Final Thoughts
The platforms themselves will evolve alongside us, influencing our thoughts and actions. These platforms were created to grab our attention and sell us something – a thought, an idea, a product. The top priority of social media is revenue; it is a business, and you are the product.
Is the 30% good it offers worth its 70% adverse effect on society? These numbers are arbitrary and based solely on my encounters with people. Every person I have ever discussed social media with has stated at one time or another that they dislike it, but keep using it for the sake of – fill in the blank. I cannot think of any other medium that the ordinary person struggles with more than social media. Is it truly worth our time