God told me to delete Instagram and TikTok. Here’s what happened.

It wasn’t a sudden lightning-bolt moment. That’s not usually how God speaks to me. Instead, He plants a quiet seed, then gently waters and grows it over time until the message becomes impossible to ignore. For me personally, this journey away from social media unfolded gradually, just like so many other things He has whispered into my life. It started as a gentle nudge, built into a stronger conviction, and finally became a clear message I couldn’t ignore.

For some quick background for anyone who doesn’t know me or is new here:

I’ve worked in marketing for the past eight years. I began my career as a social media manager, spending my days creating content, engaging with audiences, and chasing algorithms. Because of this, social media wasn’t just part of my job; it became my world.

I had to stay up to date with the latest trends, analyse what was happening online, study why certain posts went viral, and constantly check what our competitors were doing. It was exciting at first. But without me even realising it, I became so entrenched in that world that it started to affect every part of how I lived my daily life. I suspect this is something so many people can relate to in their own ways.

I felt this constant pressure to curate a certain “aesthetic.” You see it everywhere, the women living the all-beige lifestyle, the ones building the picture-perfect farmhouse dream, the old-money fashion enthusiasts who look effortlessly elegant every single day. Scrolling through these feeds made me question myself: Well, what’s my aesthetic? It led me down a path of buying more things, trying on different identities, only to abandon them quickly. I’d get disappointed when I couldn’t stick to any one style or create the perfectly curated life I saw online. Instead of feeling inspired, I felt inadequate and restless.

There was another side to this too. For almost six years, alongside my e-commerce marketing work, I poured my energy into marketing for the anti-trafficking industry (you can read more about my journey with God and how he led me to that industry here). My algorithm became a strange and exhausting mix: one minute it was heavily styled, aesthetically pleasing lifestyles, and the next it was the dark, hidden epidemic of exploitation happening in our world. I couldn’t escape it. Over time, the anti-trafficking work made me paranoid about the dangers around me, while the aesthetic side left me chasing an identity that was never truly mine. I felt pulled in opposite directions, anxious and disconnected from reality.

It all came to a head in the last few months of 2025.

I was sitting on the couch one evening, mindlessly scrolling, when I felt a deep inner pull: I just need a break from all of this. I decided to delete the apps from my phone. After all, I could still log in on my desktop for work when necessary. And if I changed my mind, I could always download them again. This was just a temporary pause to break the endless scrolling habit and give my mind some breathing room.

That “short break” turned into a month. Then a few months. Before I knew it, I was starting 2026 without the apps back on my phone. The longer I stayed away, the less appeal they held. There were a couple of lapses where I downloaded them for a few minutes, but each time I felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety rising in my chest. The grip they once had on me felt tighter and more uncomfortable than before. The less I used them, the more certain I became that I wanted them gone for good.

Which brings me to the next clear message from God.

I remember the moment I heard Him tell me to delete them altogether, not just deactivate the accounts, but completely remove them. At first, it felt confronting. As humans, we all battle that quiet fear of missing out, even if we don’t like to admit it. Social media thrives on that very emotion. It keeps us coming back, afraid we’ll miss something important, some connection, or some validation.

But one thing I’ve learned on my faith journey is not to ignore God’s voice. Time and time again, He has shown me that He never asks us to do something that will ultimately harm us. Instead, He calls us to actions that set us free from the things the world tries to bind us to. So, as uncomfortable as it felt in that moment, I chose obedience. I deleted my social media accounts, both TikTok and Instagram, which were my biggest problems.

What I haven’t mentioned yet is the scale of what I was walking away from.

My TikTok had over 30,000 followers and was growing daily. My main Instagram sat at around 20,000 and climbing too. I also had my private friends-and-family Instagram where I shared all the “amazing things” I was doing. Letting go wasn’t just closing an app; it felt like releasing a big part of my identity and influence.

The minute I confirmed the deletions, an overwhelming sense of peace flooded my heart. In that quiet moment, I heard God speak so clearly: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Those words brought tears to my eyes. It was as if a heavy weight I didn’t even know I was carrying had been lifted.

While I’ll share all the incredible changes that followed, let me first tell you about the beautiful gift God gave me in response to that obedience.

For more than two years, I had admired a particular Bible at Koorong. It was on the pricier side, and with us diligently saving for a house, (another amazing miracle from God you can read about in my previous post here), I could never bring myself to buy it. The very weekend after I deleted my accounts, God showed up in such a tangible way and made it possible for me to bring that Bible home.

The moment I sat down with it, I was overwhelmed with spiritual hunger. I felt God’s presence so strongly, and I was eager to know Him more deeply again. I hadn’t experienced a season of true spiritual feeding in quite some time. Looking back, I now see it was because I had been so distracted by social media. The time I should have been spending in prayer and the Word was instead swallowed up by endless scrolling.

Fast forward to today, and my life looks completely different.

Not only am I closer to God than I have been in years, but every area of my daily life has shifted in beautiful ways. My focus has improved dramatically. Tasks that once felt scattered and overwhelming now come with greater clarity and efficiency. My work is sharper than ever before. I approach projects with fresh creativity and purpose, no longer drained by constant digital noise.

My memory has strengthened too. I retain information better, both at work and in my personal life. The anxiety that used to simmer in the background has reduced so much that I sometimes forget it was ever there at such high levels. I’m living more authentically now, embracing who God had created me to be instead of trying to fit into trending aesthetics. Who cares if I’m not a beige girl or a farmhouse girl? I’m finally okay with that.

I’m reading every single day, often a book a week, sometimes more. Stories, faith books, and wisdom literature fill my evenings in a way that feels nourishing instead of numbing. Most importantly, I’m spending rich time in my Bible. I’m remembering scriptures and biblical stories with a depth I haven’t experienced before. It feels like my mind is being renewed daily (Romans 12:2). My dopamine levels have reset in such a healthy way; I no longer chase the quick hits of validation from likes and comments.

And perhaps most precious of all, after my strengthened relationship with God, my marriage has blossomed. My husband and I talk more deeply and frequently than we have in a long time. We connect without the distraction of phones pulling us away. Evenings feel slower, richer, and more present.

You see, during this process I came to a powerful realisation:

The enemy will do anything he can to distract us from God. This world, as we know it, operates under his influence. He uses the things of this world, especially social media, to pull us away from our Creator. He appears as an angel of light, offering connection, beauty, and belonging, while slowly stealing our time, attention, and identity. We spend more hours scrolling than we do opening the Word of God. He twists our understanding of who we are, when Scripture clearly tells us in Genesis 2:27 that we are created in God’s own image.

Now that I have stepped away, I see it so clearly.

Every time I occasionally use a remaining platform like Facebook (which I’m still praying about), I feel the tug. I sense that I’m giving away precious time that belongs to God. Time that could be spent in prayer, in His Word, or with the people I love.

Will I ever go back to having a TikTok or Instagram?

Right now, I truly can’t see it happening. But if God gives me a clear green light in the future, I will obey. For now, He has called me to this quieter space. To write more thoughtfully. To share my learnings and my journey with Him in a way that feels slower and more intentional. This blog doesn’t create the same sense of frantic FOMO. I can pour my heart out here and then close the page feeling at peace.

As a creative person, I’ve rediscovered that God wired me this way for a reason.

I’ve found new outlets to express that creativity- writing, journaling, and other slower practices that actually draw me closer to Him rather than pulling me away. It feels aligned and life-giving.