By Thurman Hayes

As we enter a new year, perhaps you have made some resolutions or, at least, determined to do better in some areas.

This year, my determinations are about spiritual and physical health. Spiritually, I have begun a new Bible reading plan. Physically, it is time to get back to my running, which I have neglected lately.

But there is something else, and this was spontaneous. A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at my Twitter feed and taking in all the negativity and breathless emotions that are common to that platform, and I thought, “What if I just gave up Twitter … or at least drastically cut back on it?” Then I had the same thought about Facebook.

To give you a context, I was a late adopter of social media to begin with. I didn’t even get on Twitter until 2014, and didn’t get on Facebook until 2017. In both cases, I got on with the purpose of tweeting or posting things that would be spiritually helpful to people.

But here is how social media works: If you are not really careful, you find yourself picking up your phone or tablet more and more each day to “check it.” And that habit carries with it some negative consequences we’ll talk about in a moment.

There are positive things. Both platforms do allow you to be encouraging and helpful to people, and find links that are encouraging and helpful, to yourself and to others. That’s all good.

But there is also a discouraging side. In the case of Twitter, the negativity and rage and sheer depravity of people is discouraging. There are a lot of people acting like pompous, arrogant, poorly behaved children on Twitter, beginning with the current occupant of the White House. The daily barrage of anger and vitriol was just too much for me.

Then there is the distracting side. I really didn’t know how often I checked in on social media, but a couple of weeks ago I decided to experiment. What would it be like to just quit looking at it?

For a day, I didn’t check it. And here’s the thing: It wasn’t hard. I enjoyed not checking it. Another day went by, then a week. Now I am at about two weeks, and it has been wonderful. I’m finding myself reading more books, without the constant urge to “check in” on social media. I’m finding that it is easier to concentrate, without that urge to check Twitter or Facebook. I’m finding that my attention span is better. My spirit is more quiet and relaxed. There is more calmness without the daily or hourly exposure to people bashing one another.

I’ve decided not to completely give up social media. There are still helpful things I want to post on Facebook. There are still times I want to check Twitter for breaking news on some specific matter. But my days of aimlessly scrolling through social media are over.

I would encourage you to experiment with this. You don’t have to go cold turkey. But try cutting back and see what happens. I think you’ll enjoy the results.

Trust me, you don’t need “likes” to be validated. There is a God who “loves” you so much he gave his Son for you. Find your acceptance in Jesus.

Dr. Thurman R. Hayes Jr. is senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Suffolk. Follow him on Twitter at @ThurmanHayesJr.