What Are Some Spiritual Benefits of Disconnecting from Social Media?

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It’s been a while now since I disconnected from social media. While I do still use Pinterest and YouTube, I consider those more search engines than social media sites. Because while they do allow you to interact with others, they don’t provide that intense sense of connectedness you get from more traditional social networking platforms.

I’ve also tried to rejoin social media at different times, but all those were short attempts that resulted in me leaving again soon after.

My reasons for leaving social media are varied. What I didn’t realize after disconnecting, though, was how good not using social media would be for my spiritual life. Now that I’ve had time to reflect, in this post I’m sharing four of the spiritual benefits of disconnecting from social media.

4 Spiritual Benefits of Unplugging from Social Media

1. You have more time and space to connect to yourself.

   Although you might tend to use social media while you’re on your own, you’re still connecting with other people every time you use it. True, you’re doing it online, which means it’s a virtual connection. But you’re still allowing yourself to be influenced by an endless stream of other people’s thoughts and opinions. And all the time you’re spending connecting to other people through social media is time you’re not spending by yourself.
   
   If you choose to unplug from social media, you can use the time you’ve freed up to spend more time with just you. This is how you get to know yourself better—your likes and dislikes, your passions and interests, your values and priorities.
   
   So, what can you do with all this free time? You can journal. You can exercise. You can take up a hobby. You can read something, not because someone told you to read it, but because you came across it somehow and decided to read it. Doing these things allows you to discover who you truly are. And I think discovering your true self is one of the most spiritual things you can do.

2. You have more time and space to connect to your Higher Power.

   When I was in elementary school, I had what I considered to be a beautiful relationship with my Higher Power. But that was before I became deeply involved in religion. Once that happened, my perception of my Higher Power was distorted and I wasn’t really aware of how to connect to that Power outside of religious rituals. And over time, those rituals began to feel hollow for me.
   
   After going through a spiritual crisis, I ended up emerging spiritual not religious. That left me free to understand how I actually experience the Divine. And what I’ve discovered is that you don’t have to perform particular rituals to experience the Divine. You can experience that Force anytime you feel connected to something greater than you.
   
   It could be when you’re wonderfully lost in doing something fun or gazing at the night sky. While I suppose it’s possible for some people to experience something greater while using social media, from my experiences with it, it doesn’t really allow for this kind of deep connection. You’re not even really enjoying deep connections with people on those platforms.
   
   So, if you don’t find yourself connecting deeply to your Higher Power when using them, time spent doing other things is time you could be spending connecting to the Divine. And if you don’t already know how you connect to this Force, you can use the time you don’t spend on social media discovering how you do.

3. You can connect with those you care about in other ways.

   I believe that connecting in a real way with people can be a form of spirituality. But social media doesn’t really allow for the kinds of deep connections I’m talking about.
   
   In this post, I discuss how people can easily forget loved ones who aren’t using social networking platforms. This could be a reason some people don’t want to disconnect from social media. They don’t want to feel disconnected from their friends and family. But just because you’re not using social media, that doesn’t mean you can’t connect with people in other ways.
   
   Why not schedule in-person meetings if people are close enough to you in proximity? Or why not try writing people emails to stay in touch—or even, dare I say it, handwritten letters? I find that long-form writing allows you to connect with people on deeper levels than short-form writing like texts.
   
   Whenever you feel something deeply, I believe that’s a way of connecting to the Divine or to something greater. And when you enjoy meaningful interactions with people, that’s one way to feel that connection.

4. You’re not constantly bombarded by other people’s ideas of spirituality.

   If you consider yourself to be on a spiritual journey, the point of that journey is likely not to adopt other people’s ideas of what it means to be spiritual. You’re likely trying to connect to the spiritual side of yourself. While you can learn about other people’s ideas of what it means to be spiritual and while you’re free to learn about spiritual practices, being bombarded with others’ opinions, perspectives, and ideas can actually leave you more confused than you were before.
   
   If your goal is to develop some type of authentic spirituality for yourself, you need time to digest other people’s ideas. That’s why I would encourage you to read books about these topics rather than relying on social media alone. And then after you’ve done some reading, take time to ponder what you’ve read.
   
   You don’t have to adopt all the beliefs and perspectives you’re encountering as your own. But you can ponder and evaluate whether those beliefs resonate with you. That, in turn, can help you come to understand what you truly believe, which can help you develop your authentic spirituality.

Final Thoughts

If you consider yourself a spiritual person but you’re finding that social media isn’t allowing you to feel connected to your spiritual side, you might want to consider unplugging from it for a while.

It doesn’t have to be forever. It could just be for a few hours a day, a few days a week, or if you can manage it, a few weeks or months a year. Or you can leave altogether if you prefer.

But when you’re not using social media, you can use that time to connect to yourself, your Higher Power, and your loved ones in deep and authentic ways. And you can also take time to explore your own unique spirituality so that you better understand what a spiritual life looks like to you. Knowing that is the only way to start living it.

~ Ashley C.

P.S. If you consider yourself a Christian but would like to start practicing a form of spirituality that feels more authentic to you, I offer spiritual coaching services that might interest you. Through these services, I help Christians navigate the transition from Christianity to spirituality so they can discover how they truly connect to their Higher Power and start living a life that feels more aligned with their values. If you’re interested, simply click here to learn more.