My grandfather, one of the most influential men in my life, never opened a Facebook account. Of course, he was 82 when Facebook was founded.
Similarly, my grandfather never had a Tik-Tok account. Of course, he was 95 when Tik-Tok started.
But he proved an important point with his life and influence:
You don’t need to be on social media to make a difference in the world.
In fact, some of the most influential women and men in my life were not and are not on social media. In some ways, I look up to them because of it.
Let me begin, quickly, by pointing out what I am not saying. I am not saying that you cannot make a difference in the world on social media. In fact, nearly every day, I try to use social media positively, to reach people with the message of minimalism, owning less, and living an intentional life focused on the things that matter most.
I am active on several different platforms and have certainly used the power of the platform to spread my message and build a community. There is no doubt I get to do what I do because of social media.
But just because I have (hopefully) been able to make a difference in the world through social media doesn’t mean it is required.
There are countless ways to make a positive difference in the world—and social media is rarely required for any of them.
Even worse, too often, the distraction of social media may actually keep us from making our biggest difference in the world.
Social media steals our time and our attention. It often negatively influences our mood or how we see the world and the people around us. Rather than inspiring us to make a difference, it results in only greater feelings of inadequacy.
Sometimes the people closest to us feel the brunt of our social media use the most. We ignore the conversations right in front of us to scroll endless feeds, or take out on them the negative emotions sparked in us through those feeds. As a result, we sacrifice away our greatest opportunity for impact.
It is certainly possible to make a positive difference in the world through social media. But it is not required.
You don’t need social media to parent your children well.
You don’t need social media to call your neighbor for coffee.
You don’t need social media to show up for your friend’s cancer screening.
You don’t need social media to help your co-worker with that tough project.
You don’t need social media to mentor a young man in your community.
You don’t need social media to volunteer at your local nonprofit.
You don’t need social media to write a letter to a struggling friend.
You don’t need social media to tell your small group of friends about a problem in the world.
You don’t need social media to pray for a loved one.
You don’t need social media to lead others.
You don’t need social media to show empathy, kindness, and compassion.
You don’t need social media to financially help a family in poverty.
And you don’t need social media to share your story—of hurt, loss, pain, success, victory, or redemption.
Social media can be a positive tool, indeed.
But it can also become a powerful distraction.
Either way, it is not required for influence.
Michael johnson says
Hi Joshua. Great article thank you, I struggle with struggle with social media and find going down the rabbit hole of lost time and even find triggers make me angry when I read the awful things happening in the world and how some folks respond.
How do you use social media to prevent this happening to you? I’m sure I would be able to follow your lead on how to do it better.
Warm regards Michael
Jo says
????
Bravo, Mr. Becker, Bravo!
Keep the honesty and transparency coming.
-You- have made a difference in our lives!
Di says
I got a Facebook account after moving to the farthest place on earth from home, to keep in touch with friends and family. But it morphed into something else altogether, just like you’ve described in this article, what can happen with social media has happened, and it’s just a downright bad habit now. I lost my husband to cancer last year, and sharing my pain, suffering and loss on Facebook just highlighted how shallow and surface it is. People who I know here wouldn’t call in for a cuppa and a hug or a sympathetic word but they’ll like my post of grief from their phone. Only to see them share mundane and mindless memes straight after about something totally unconnected. And each to their own, they may be grieving their own way, but it just led me to ask myself ” What good does it do me to be here on Facebook ?” It’s not in alignment with where I’m at in my journey , even as a beginner minimalist and as someone intentionally building a new life for herself.
Dena S. says
Di,
I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on social media. I feel the same and am also a beginner minimalist. I have lost my husband and several close relatives in the past few years. Living with less and with more intention has helped me immensely. I am much happier and more content! Best to you on your journey!
Niki says
Social media was a drain on me. It affected my health and happiness. Sure the thought of sharing pictures and life updates with people is nice but I don’t miss it and most of the people I don’t miss either. Why miss out on what’s right in front of you while chasing after an idea of something better??
John says
I find social media useful as exposure for my writing and artwork, but the key is to update them once in the morning and once at night via my laptop rather than my phone. I agree with your premise, though. We don’t need social media to matter.
Betsy says
I ended any thought of social media when several family members started arguments over postings on Facebook that had to be true otherwise they wouldn’t be posted. We couldn’t get together without a battle. No one cared if I got a great deal on chicken at the supermarket, pictures of my grands or my camping trip. I finally saw the ridiculous waste of time social media was and put an end to it.
Donna says
I also deleted my Facebook account. It was the only social media account that I had but it needed to go. I could relate so much to your article. It was a huge time waster and it also affected my mood. When I noticed that I was angry when on Facebook, I decided it had to go. Really glad I did.
Tammy says
This is an awesome article!!
I left social media January 1st 2020, and have never looked back, dont miss it at all!! My brain was overloaded, so I decided to take a forever break from it.
As Bo Burnam says a little bit of everything all of the time,
Is not a good thing.
Thank you
XOXO
Martha Gordin says
Great article!! YouTube and Instagram are a wonderful source of inspiration and learning for my hobby but also lure me into wasted time of scrolling. It’s a constant struggle to only use social media for good and when I fail I feel lousy
Rhonda says
An amazing read! I got rid of ALL my social media. It was a bit of a learning curve 15 years after first joining Facebook and then others down the line, but as with everything minimalism for me, I went at it one site at a time until I FINALLY deleted my Facebook account and resisted the urge to log on before the thirty days were up. Now? I talk to people I SEE when I am out and within my own community. Not many in my community because they never leave their homes and when they do, it’s with phone in hand taking pictures until the ends of the earth so they can then go home and spend hours posting about what they did and what they saw that day ignoring texts and calls from friends and loved ones.