I was reared in a Protestant household and have yet to observe Lent, but I’ve been intrigued by the practice for years. I can definitely see a personal and spiritual value in fasting from something that holds too high of a priority—to make room for something or someone that should have more importance. Like Advent, a version of Lent has been something liturgical that I have considered incorporating into my nondenominational lifestyle.
One of the things I’ve seen or heard people foregoing for Lent is social media. I can surely understand wanting to curtail an addiction to the likes and comments, favorites and retweets, shares and pins. If envy and comparison are temptations, abstinence from streams of others’ photos and videos could be a helpful detox.
While I respect those who choose to forego this modern luxury out of worshipful aestheticism or spiritual concentration, I don’t think I could go 40 days without social media. I have gone that long and much longer with Instagram, thanks to everyone pushing their Instagrams to more ubiquitous news feeds. I know I could go six weeks without Pinterest. I used to say that about LinkedIn, but I don’t know anymore. A Twitter fast would be easier for me than giving up chocolate or cheese, but that’s not saying much. Avoiding YouTube would require tremendous focus and determination, and Facebook would be downright impossible. Here’s why.
Social Interaction
I work from home and usually prefer email over phone conversations with my professional connections. If I were to mute my computer speakers, most of my day would be silent. So, Facebook is where my conversations happen for most of my waking hours. I wouldn’t take a 40-day commitment to avoid conversations offline; so, I wouldn’t give the silent treatment to my friends and my family online.
Relational Value
Social media enriches my offline interactions, as it gives me more conversation topics. I attend a mega church and serve in a very public place there—interacting with a lot of people I don’t know very well. Pre-made conversation starters from social media come in handy every weekend. It also keeps me updated on my large, far-flung family and dear friends in an efficient and convenient way. On top of that, it allows me to affirm friends and family in a small way and to praise my wife, my loved ones, my serving team, and my professional peers in appropriate public ways.
Company Promotion
Currently, my biggest sources of new clients are venues where I demonstrate my knowledge instead of my graphic design. Those include semi-annual speaking engagements and my blog posts (which regularly get republished as trade magazine articles). While as many or maybe more people read my blog posts via email than visit my site, the biggest traffic generator for my blog is Facebook—with no other source even a close second. To maintain top of mind awareness, I have to keep an interactive presence online. For someone with little courage to place a sales call, online networking proves an invaluable tool.
If you sacrificed social media for Lent, you shouldn’t be offended by this post—if only because you didn’t read this post. (It’s highly unlikely you would’ve run into this post without being on social media.) Also, I respect your decision and your different relationship with online community.
If you don’t participate in Lent or aren’t fasting from social media, we can learn from our friends who are—by making online sharing more meaningful, more circumspect, and more intentional.
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Stock image purchased from iStockPhoto.com
