So Long, Farewell to You My Friends | Update + Social Media Tips 👩🏽‍💻

"So long, farewell, to you my friends... Goodbye, for now, until we meet again!"

Shout out to 'Out of the Box' for the tunes. (If you know, you KNOW! 😌)

Don't worry! TGOE is not disappearing... well, not totally!

I've FINALLY made the executive decision for TGOE to leave social media *big gasp* lol.

I say 'finally' because I haven't wanted to be on social media for a very long time; I just thought it was something that I had to do, but…

Certainly not God! In fact, I felt like He told me a couple months ago to step away from social media, but I had just released our merch line and I wanted to make sure I was hearing clearly. Nevertheless, the answer hasn't changed & I can't even pretend to be upset! 😬 Social media honestly hasn't been my thing for years now. I took a long hiatus a few years ago to focus on healing and actively enjoying real life, and once I returned, it was never the same. Not only has my life changed, but so has the scope of social media, and I honestly want no parts! 🙈

Though I deleted my personal Instagram a while ago, I kept my Facebook because I had moved to the other side of the country and I felt like it’d be the best way to “keep in touch” with people I know. However, I’m not sure it’s normal, healthy, or even realistically possible to keep up with that many people and take in so much content on a regular basis… Plus, is liking and commenting on photos really “keeping in touch?” Debatable! lol.

Originally, instead of just deleting altogether, I thought “well let me just clean up my friends list and unfollow some people on IG and maybe that’ll make it worth keeping.” It made it bearable and I do enjoy seeing photos of family and friends’ milestones and life events, but ultimately, I’d rather live life in 3-D and go back to meeting people in person, sending letters and photos in the mail, and talking on the phone, tbh… You know, actually engaging and not just keeping up with “engagement.” 🤷🏾‍♀️

But even with being sure of my decision to close my personal account, there were still different factors to consider for TGOE. For example, if we’re not on socials, how will people find out about us? Another big thing to consider was the fact that our blog and YouTube channel are home to more long-form content, so it has always felt a bit misleading and inauthentic to put up posts that are meant to cater to short-form content. It always made me question: am I really reaching the appropriate audience this way? 🤔

Finally, with us being a faith and wellness oasis, I’ve felt dissonance for a good while now with being on social media, knowing the negative effects it has on society and mental health, especially for children. Obviously, people will still continue to do and use what they want whether we do or not, but is that a space that I want people to have to go to find me? It's a no for me! That’s no shade to any other health and wellness page that shares their information via socials. We must all do what works for us, our target audience, and our ideal life and business style. There is much valuable wellness information to be found on social media, like good health facts, recipes, food swaps, exercises, etc. TGOE just won’t be amongst that number anymore, and we’ll either be forgotten or blossom authentically by word of mouth and discovery on our main platforms, the ones that truly reflect the essence of what TGOE is all about. I’m resting on the latter, but either way, I will continue to show up and follow God’s lead, whether we have one, one hundred, or one hundred thousand subscribers. ☺️

So, to get off my soapbox and make a long story long…

TGOE is leaving social media! We will leave our pages up on both IG & FB, so you can always check out our previous posts, but going forward, you can find us posted on our blog at thegardenofepiphani.com, our YouTube @TheGardenofEpiphani and our podcast under the same name.

I've kept our Instagram and Facebook this long, because I felt like that’s what I had to do in order to reach more people and be a Kingdom ambassador in a space with so many worldly influences. However, God never really said that social media specifically was a part of my call, commission, or assignment, and has given me the green light to disconnect. Halleluyer!

I know there are people God has called to spread His light in the darkness over there, but I'm super grateful to say that's not my calling, at least not in this season and hopefully not ever if I can help it. Lol. Nevertheless, His will be done, not mine. So, if you ever see us post on socials again in the future, it will most likely be because God told me to do so.

Before we wrap up, it is wellness Wednesday, so...

I’ll leave you with a couple quick tips for using social media more mindfully and healthily:

One:

I encourage you to ensure you are actively engaged in the moments that matter. Put your phone away when you are eating with others or engaged in conversation. Even resist the urge to fill all of your quiet alone time with mindless scrolling; instead, make sure you spend some quality time with yourself and God everyday!

Two:

Set boundaries for yourself! I love that iPhones will let you pur app time limits and even general screen time limits on your phone. It can help you to guard your time, or at the very least be mindful when your time is being sucked up by scrolling on social media. I’d also encourage you to review your average screen time use every week, at least in the beginning of this process. See where your time is going and determine if you are okay with that. If not, make modifications each week until you are where you want to be. Also, take regular social media breaks, whether it be for a week, a month, or even longer. There is a certain clarity that can only come and remain when you aren’t being bombarded with 10 million perspectives, ideas, and images every moment of the day!

Three:

Do a social media cleanup. This one may take some time and effort, and likely won’t be done in one setting if you’ve been on the platforms for a while. Unfollow people and pages that negatively impact your mental health, self-esteem, outlook on life, etc. or that go against your morals and values. You can do this by intentionally going into your list and disconnecting, or gradually disconnecting as things pop up. I will say, this definitely helped me to stay on social media as long as I did. Our TGOE timeline is filled with positive, beneficial health and wellness content, biblically-sound faith content, and a few business and personal pages that just add a little razzle dazzle! Lol. I say that to say, if you’re going to be on social media, you should at least make it a positive, beneficial experience. I hear that’s a little harder on platforms like Tik Tok, but do your best to proactively guard your eye and ear gates!

Four:

Make time to connect with the people you know personally and share news with them each individually before announcing it to the world online. Write letters, make phone calls, send personal videos, or even just a quick text. Keep in touch with those who matter most to you, and know that it’s okay not to share every detail of your life with everyone, even if that’s normalized in the world now. In fact, resist the urge to make every good moment or memory of your life content on social media, even if you are a content creator. Put the phone down and live sometimes… really, most times!

Five:

GET OFF THAT PHONE when you’re driving. Lol.

Laughing, but very serious! As boring as driving can get sometimes, you are actually operating heavy machinery that can harm or kill you or others, so that picture, post, or text can wait until you get to a red light or to your destination. Just had to throw that one in there, because the amount of people I see going 30 in a 60 or breaking every five seconds with nothing but time, space, and opportunity in front of them has gotten ridiculous, all because because they’re too engrossed in their phones! Don’t let that be you! And for you who just thought or said, "I can drive well and text" this is still for you! Don't do it! If it’s not worth pulling over for, it’s certainly not worth getting into an accident over.

Be safe out there, fam!

That’s the end of today’s episode! Thank you for listening. Please share this with your tribe, especially those you know may need to get a stronger, healthier handle on their social media use. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform or a thumbs up on YouTube.

You can also let me know in the comments:

Are you on social media? If so, how do you use it mindfully and healthily?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Until then, have a healthy and wholesome week, and I will chat with you on faith Friday, God willing! 💖