See you in April

One of my pet peeves is when a person makes a dramatic announcement on social media that they are leaving the platform. Then they linger for a few days, disappear for a few more days, and are back on social media a week or two later.

I’m not sure why it annoys me. Maybe it’s because social media has made us all so convinced of our “importance.”

So at the risk of annoying myself, here’s my own announcement: I’m deactivating my social media accounts on Monday, January 5 because I am starting a program which requires me to do so. It’s something that will very likely convince me of my own unimportance, among other things.

 I’ll be joining a group of about ten other women at my church, who are beginning a program called Magnify 90–a 90-day discipline of prayer and an ascetic way of life designed “to make room for silence to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.” It begins next week and continues until Easter.

My brother Mel did a more rigorous and stringent program for men called Exodus 90 last year. I was fascinated by it, especially because he strengthened his relationship with God in very tangible ways.

Some brief backstory: This past September, after just under a year of work and prayer, I came back into full communion with the Catholic Church. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and it was worth it. I believe it was the inevitable result of a years-long, circuitous quest to rebuild my own relationship with God.

During Lent last year, I stayed off of X for 40 days and was happier not scrolling obsessively through the political and behavioral sewage. Then after Easter, I opened the app and fell right back into it, at once hating it and being compelled to look at it.

This year for Advent, I abstained from X altogether and curtailed my time on Facebook significantly. Honestly, it was easy to do, and I felt freed from something that had owned me and was doing nothing but making me anxious and angry. When Advent became Christmas, I had no desire to dive back in. FOMO did not get the best of me. I can live with not knowing “what’s going on” if it means I am not a slave to social media, politics and people behaving badly with one another online.

Halfway through Advent, I had a moment of clarity about all this as I checked Facebook one night:

The algorithm is the devil.

I don’t mean a figurative devil. I mean Satan. The Evil One. The Enemy. The Father of Lies.

The Enemy wants us to be in a constant state of frustration, anxiety and slow-boiling anger because it keeps us away from God. From the peace that surpasses all understanding. What better way to keep us in the maelstrom than an algorithm that feeds us more and more of our own anxiety, anger and fear?

 So I won’t have any kind of presence on Facebook or X until sometime in April. Maybe longer. Who knows? I’m deleting Instagram permanently because I’m never on it anymore. Long ago it became ridiculous and kind of sad to me. The IG compulsion for beauty and “perfection” is just hollow. And dangerous, IMO.

I’m not sure about Pinterest. It’s been my cookbook for many years and only that. I kinda need it. I’m not on TikTok, Snap Chat or any other app.

This morning when my stepdaughter Lori called to wish us a Happy New Year, we talked a bit about social media. Lori did away with social apps years ago. She said people often say to her, “I can’t believe you’re not on Facebook.” She tells them that she is much better off without it. Lori is a successful business person and a talented artist. Since moving on from social media, she is spending more time on her art, which has made her happier and more fulfilled. I think she’s got the right idea.

So I’ll see you on social in April. I’m sure I’ll write a blog post about what I’ve learned by participating in Magnify 90 and what’s changed for me. I’m confident that good things lie ahead. I hope I talk to you in person, by text, email or on the phone well before then.

Peace.