Within the Christian religion, Lent takes place every year in the 40 days leading up to Easter. It is a time for fasting from food and/or festivities, and is treated as a period of reflection.

Children tend to give up something they consume too much of, such as sweets, chocolate, television or video games; adults tend to give up something harmful such as alcohol, coffee or smoking. However, the questions is, could we make this more relevant to today’s society?

Would it be possible to give up social media for Lent? Millions of people rely on social media as a form of contact, or as a way of staying up to date with what is going on in the world. Three billion people, around 40% of the world’s population, use social media for one reason or another. On average, two hours a day are spent liking, tweeting and updating.

But social media really isn’t that good for us. For example, it has been proven that it can cause anxiety and low self-esteem. Many people – teens in particular – feel like they have to make their photos perfect and their posts well-written in order to achieve a large enough number of likes and this can cause a great deal of anxiety.

Additionally, sometimes teens spend so much time on social media that they start to lose sleep. Sleep is extremely important for all of us, as it is involved in the repair of your heart and blood vessels. Ongoing sleep deficiency can also be linked to increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. More short term symptoms include moodiness, overreacting to situations, and an increase in existing problems like depression and anxiety.

However, sometimes social media is a good thing. With social media, we now have easier – and often free – access to information. We also don’t have to wait for the paper boy or girl to bring the morning newspaper round to know the latest news. We can just open up an app and all of the most recent information is there for us to digest in a matter of seconds.

Not only that, but you can promote business on social media. Many start-up companies and even well-established businesses share their profiles on social media and encourage people to like and share as an effective method of advertising.

So, the question is: could you give up social media for Lent?

By Neva