The Man in the Blue Shirt: Why I’m on a Social Media Fast
By: Aaron Anaya
Tags: Social Media Marketing, Social Media, Leadership, Christianity, Christian Living

The Man in the Blue Shirt: Why I’m on a Social Media Fast Aaron Anaya Jan 18·5 min read

Today, I noticed the man in the blue shirt that I would not have noticed before.

I was at a stop light and my formed habit would normally be to mindlessly make a couple swipes on my phone and end up checking Instagram first, then Facebook.

Bri had some questions.

Bri: What was so special about the man?

Me: Nothing.

Bri: Then why did you notice him?

Me: Because I wouldn’t have if I still was on my phone.

I’ve had a few people ask me why I decided to take this break and my answer has mainly been “For lots of reasons.”

Here are some of those specific reasons:

Politics — I don’t really care where you land on the topic, but can we admit that none of us really feel any better by reading the seemingly endless opinions and “facts”??? These next few weeks are going to be rough and I don’t think I need any more of that noise right now. Time — I came to the objective realization that I was spending between 1 and 2 cumulative hours a day on social media and “article” reading. I have 3 kids, 1 wife, 1 dog, 2 pheasants, a few friends, 2 jobs, a golf swing (jokes), 1 God, and 1 life that all need more of my time. Distraction — More to come on this in a later post, but social media was (is) my adult pacifier. I have FELT a lot more of everything, good and bad, in the last few days. Again, more to come on this later, maybe lots more. Focus — In a similar, but different, way to distraction, I needed to do a better job of being focused. I will relate focus primarily to work and say that my clients and jobs deserve more focus. I believe I do a great job at my jobs, but I also know that I can do even better. I want to do better. Social media was extra weight on the cart, whose benefits did not add enough horsepower to justify the weight. I think I can change this down the road, but we’ll get to that later. My Eyes — I don’t know what half naked women have to do with fishing and golf, but its not worth the potential splinter in the intimacy I’ve formed with my wife. She deserves better. Women, in general, deserve better than to be used to sell us… golf products??? Mainly a problem on Instagram, algorithms have thorns too, and these ones can cause serious infections. While I do appreciate and need the tips on my golf game, the women that cover the cost of those tid(dy)-bits of advice aren’t worth it. YouTube can help me with “How to Not Chunk Chip Shots.” For my Christian brothers, especially those in a covenant with your wives, take seriously the advice of scripture. For me, Job 31:1 has been my prayer. “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman. For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high? Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong? Does he not see my ways and count my every step?” My Heart — I started to realize that my heart was wrapped up in my posts. More on this later, but I found myself checking social media more often if I had posted something to see who “liked” my posts, to see who viewed my “stories,” and to see who left me comments. If I am being objectively honest, I’m doing that because I care and I need to get to the bottom of why I care. My God — I’m going to make this short and sweet. I was spending more time on social media than I was in prayer and in God’s word. Y’all know we need all the prayers we can get and I wasn’t contributing much.

Here is a more general summary of where I am at so you know who is writing this:

The Anaya Family is doing well. Bri and I are going to hit 10 years of marriage in May and loving each other more than we did our first 9 years. I am such a proud daddy. I am super blessed with work. I have 2 great jobs that compliment each other and allow me to work from home a good bit. All is good.

All is not great.

2020 had it’s teeth. We have seen the effects of COVID, political comedy (not the good kind), isolation, polarization, and good ole fashioned sin. We have some tough stuff going on around us, we’ve gotten hit with some shrapnel, and it hurts.

I know God blessed me with great parents who have helped me to become tough and tender. I’m strong enough to handle it because I know I’m weak and need God to help me be strong. I’m wired tender, to care, to nurture, to correct, to help restore, to lead, to guide, to challenge. I can’t not care about things that need caring for. I don’t care what you think about my buzzed head though (Makena doesn’t like it either).

I consider our family to be very strong mentally, spiritually, and increasingly physically. But, we need to get stronger. I need to get stronger. I need to be a better Christian (no, not because I need to earn it). I need to be a better husband. I need to be a better daddy. I need to be a better son. I need to be a better grandson. I need to be a better friend. I need to be a better employee. I should be a better golfer.

In a world of wanting more stuff, I want more wisdom. I want better discernment. I want to have more empathy. I want to see healing. I want to see unity. I want to love people well, but not the kind of love that “loves” tacos, but the kind of love that Jesus loves us with. That’s that special kind of love. I want those kinds of things and I know that I need to do something different to make that happen first in me. THEN, I want to see it spread around me like when a rock gets tossed in calm water and you can see the rings spread around it.