Take a look around campus next time you walk from one building to another. I would roughly say around half of the students walking are on their phones. It’s okay, I’m guilty of this too sometimes!
I wanted to take a step back and remember how it was like before social media by giving it up for Lent.
Texas Wesleyan is a Methodist University. The Methodist Church recognizes the Season of Lent. Lent is a 40-day period of fasting. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. The purpose of this season is in commemoration of the forty days in the Gospel when Jesus spent forty days of fasting in the desert and resisted temptation from the devil.
As a Catholic, I also recognize Lent, and like many other Catholics, I practice it by giving up something.
This year for Lent, I gave up social media. Many people I know were surprised that I gave up such a popular thing since nowadays our generation is very technology-driven. Many of my friends and family would say, “I could never do that.” I thought the same thing until I gave a commitment based on the changes I wanted to accomplish.
Along the way, I noticed a lot of positive changes from giving up social media.
Part of my inspiration was from my cousin Elisa and a friend from high school, Jasmine, that gave up Facebook for Lent. Also, seeing a Ted Talk Youtube video called “A year offline, what I have learned” by Paul Miller, gave me a similar idea of how I can focus more on myself. From this, I learned several things:
I think the two things I missed about social media was looking at more updates from my other side of my family that lives out of town and posting photos on Instagram to express myself since I like photography. After Lent, I think I will still probably not get on social media as much in order to focus on my school assignments; I just don’t feel inclined to be on it like I used to. Social media does have some positives by keeping us connected. The usage of it, however, just takes moderation.
Whether you’re a Christian or not, Lent is a great way to practice a positive change and commit to it. Even if you do not have a religion to commit to, I think it’s interesting to learn what others believe in because it helps us grow together.
Texas Wesleyan is a Methodist University. The Methodist Church recognizes the Season of Lent. Lent is a 40-day period of fasting. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. The purpose of this season is in commemoration of the forty days in the Gospel when Jesus spent forty days of fasting in the desert and resisted temptation from the devil.
As a Catholic, I also recognize Lent, and like many other Catholics, I practice it by giving up something.
This year for Lent, I gave up social media. Many people I know were surprised that I gave up such a popular thing since nowadays our generation is very technology-driven. Many of my friends and family would say, “I could never do that.” I thought the same thing until I gave a commitment based on the changes I wanted to accomplish.
Along the way, I noticed a lot of positive changes from giving up social media.
Part of my inspiration was from my cousin Elisa and a friend from high school, Jasmine, that gave up Facebook for Lent. Also, seeing a Ted Talk Youtube video called “A year offline, what I have learned” by Paul Miller, gave me a similar idea of how I can focus more on myself. From this, I learned several things:
- My productivity increased.
- I focused less on unimportant things.
- I was more focused on myself.
- Ironically, I became a bit more social.
- Most important, I grew stronger in my faith.
I think the two things I missed about social media was looking at more updates from my other side of my family that lives out of town and posting photos on Instagram to express myself since I like photography. After Lent, I think I will still probably not get on social media as much in order to focus on my school assignments; I just don’t feel inclined to be on it like I used to. Social media does have some positives by keeping us connected. The usage of it, however, just takes moderation.
Whether you’re a Christian or not, Lent is a great way to practice a positive change and commit to it. Even if you do not have a religion to commit to, I think it’s interesting to learn what others believe in because it helps us grow together.