IG Icon or idol?
Likes. Comments. Action! In comes the influencer, flaunting her 16-inch Peruvian weave, strutting in her size 5 red bottoms, and posing with a designer bag that does not even belong to her onto the pseudo stage that is social media. She begins the scene with the over edited pictures from her recent travels in Dubai. Her air brushed cheeks that are coloured with a blush that adds the much-needed colour to the fake smile she is attempting to pull off. Still, likes — over 10k in 10 minutes, comments: ‘oh my gosh, you are living my dream life’ and action: she is as empty inside as the bag she is carrying.
Social media — some call it friend, others foe and still yet many could not even care less about its existence. It has both connected us with those who are miles away and alienated us from those who are but a breath away. Social media is an effective marketing tool, exceptional business and entrepreneurship hub and a conduit for making meaningful connections. In fact, since the dawn of the internet, it has revolutionized the efficiency of our interactions. But like every magic drug, it has side effects and most of them are mentally catastrophic. Social media has normalized bullying where people bury their hatred in comment sections. It has perpetuated toxic and uncalled for peer pressure whereby people feel left behind and has accelerated the disease progression of existing and/or impending mental incapacitations. Essentially, social media is a potent hammer and whoever wields it can build or destroy. On a more personal level, social media exposed my covetousness and I had to gouge out the eye that was causing me to sin.
In 2021, I started using TikTok and not to create content, but to simply consume it and boy was I glutton for its products. I spent hours binge-watching videos to the point of sacrificing my beauty sleep for the dance challenge clips and do not even get me started on the skits. But it got to a point where I needed to confess my addiction and I left it for a short while. That was since early 2022. I recently reinstalled it in 2024, but I rarely use it. However, my downfall was not on TikTok. It was on Instagram (IG). The carefully curated content that people share with the world was exhilarating at first. I followed people who I considered my inspirations. Black women in business, ministry, and medicine, to mention a few. Then of course, some friends and acquaintances. That is where the problem started. For a long time, whenever I would come across pictures or videos of people my age who are seemingly doing better than me — in relationships, school, side hustling and fashion — I would become despondent. It felt like everyone got a full house of aces and I was not even dealt a hand or even offered a seat at the table. I felt like a spectator at a play that was mockingly depicting the perfect life that my miserable one lacked. So, I convinced myself that I should be happy for them, but I only continued to be sad for me. It drove me insane — for lack of a better term. Then, I tried to post more frequently, but I suck at making IG-worthy content and I find it tedious to find the right photo with the right caption for the right season. After some time of introspection and a mental self assessment, I diagnosed myself with covetousness secondary to social media and treated it with an indefinite social media hiatus. The extent of the disease went as far as envying people that I know more personally, and I could not go around posing as a Christian who is apparently after the heart of Christ while secretly being a glutton that is actually after the appraisal of man. That was it. I left IG. I picked up my stuff and left the arena while the internet-based thespians serenaded the attendees of their shallow play.
Do not misquote me: I am not saying that social media is inherently bad. As I prefaced, it has its awesome benefits. I simply had to prioritise my walk with Christ over the appeal of social media — as great as it is. Furthermore, my social media-induced decompensation was only a sign to the deeper cause: my unbelief in my identity as an image bearer. Over and above being a sin, envy is a double whammy. It deifies those we envy and exalts them to objects of our worship and adoration while it dehumanizes us to mere articles that are infirm of purpose. Both parties are stripped off being image bearers. We then become guilty of an even malignant sin: idolatry. In idolizing human beings who are incapable of affirming my worth, I placed an unfair expectation on them that only God could meet and supersede. The realization was a bitter pill to swallow. The rehabilitation that came with the realization was even more costly. For months, I was clueless to the latest trends of culture and had to fix my eyes on something else. However, the cost was worth it. Most areas of my life improved drastically. I had time to focus on those close to me, I poured my time into spiritual disciplines which I starved of time because of time spent on my phone and my school work ethic thanked me for it. Of course, I still have my moments and now that I use IG to promote my blog, I need to be more cautious and disciplined. However, the low-quality theatre production that is social media no longer appeals to me. I have found something better that does not sap joy out of me, and the discipline has shown me that I can live a disconnected life that is more authentically connected at the same time. Likes — none, comments — not bothered by them and action — peace of mind.
