You Don’t Need to be on Social Media to Make a Difference in the World

My grandfather, one of the most influential men in my life, never opened a Facebook account. Of course, he was 82 when Facebook was founded.

Similarly, my grandfather never had a Tik-Tok account. Of course, he was 95 when Tik-Tok started.

But he proved an important point with his life and influence:

You don’t need to be on social media to make a difference in the world.

In fact, some of the most influential women and men in my life were not and are not on social media. In some ways, I look up to them because of it.

Let me begin, quickly, by pointing out what I am not saying. I am not saying that you cannot make a difference in the world on social media. In fact, nearly every day, I try to use social media positively, to reach people with the message of minimalism, owning less, and living an intentional life focused on the things that matter most.

I am active on several different platforms and have certainly used the power of the platform to spread my message and build a community. There is no doubt I get to do what I do because of social media.

But just because I have (hopefully) been able to make a difference in the world through social media doesn’t mean it is required.

There are countless ways to make a positive difference in the world—and social media is rarely required for any of them.

Even worse, too often, the distraction of social media may actually keep us from making our biggest difference in the world.

Social media steals our time and our attention. It often negatively influences our mood or how we see the world and the people around us. Rather than inspiring us to make a difference, it results in only greater feelings of inadequacy.

Sometimes the people closest to us feel the brunt of our social media use the most. We ignore the conversations right in front of us to scroll endless feeds, or take out on them the negative emotions sparked in us through those feeds. As a result, we sacrifice away our greatest opportunity for impact.

It is certainly possible to make a positive difference in the world through social media. But it is not required.

You don’t need social media to parent your children well.

You don’t need social media to call your neighbor for coffee.

You don’t need social media to show up for your friend’s cancer screening.

You don’t need social media to help your co-worker with that tough project.

You don’t need social media to mentor a young man in your community.

You don’t need social media to volunteer at your local nonprofit.

You don’t need social media to write a letter to a struggling friend.

You don’t need social media to tell your small group of friends about a problem in the world.

You don’t need social media to pray for a loved one.

You don’t need social media to lead others.

You don’t need social media to show empathy, kindness, and compassion.

You don’t need social media to financially help a family in poverty.

And you don’t need social media to share your story—of hurt, loss, pain, success, victory, or redemption.

Social media can be a positive tool, indeed.

But it can also become a powerful distraction.

Either way, it is not required for influence.