I have grown up with the Internet, from making a MySpace in high school, to joining Facebook a few years later, starting an Instagram in college, starting a bookstagram in 2017, joining TikTok in 2020 (a thing I never thought I’d do)… it’s been a part of my life (and my career!) from the very beginning.

I’ve grown and changed, my social media channels have grown and changed, and the number of people who follow me has grown and changed, too.

After some hard, messy, emotional days on Instagram recently where my character was called into question and my beliefs were challenged by people who had never before spoken to me and didn’t even follow me, I found myself questioning myself, my reason for being online, if I even wanted to keep sharing, and if I was doing it all right or not. (hello, enneagram 1 crisis! being called bad/corrupt is my biggest fear, and the loud voices calling me out and tearing me down were doing exactly that. it was rough.)

Thankfully, I had counseling in the midst of the drama blowing up, and my therapist encouraged me to trust why my body had brought me to this place and to look for the gift and the glory that could be found in the midst of it all.

To be honest, I didn’t want to.

I didn’t want to find the silver lining. I wanted to wallow and be hurt and stay upset.

But thank God for getting my head out of the mud and helping me see the light on the other side of the DMs flooding my inbox.

Here’s the thing — I think this work of naming and clarifying my why? I think it’s the gift in the midst of all that happened. I think clarity of vision and of purpose is a gift. I think when I reengage with Instagram after a few days away, I’ll do so with a clearer head, a softer heart, and a stronger alignment with God’s desires for me and for my work.

I had to get away from it all to let the dust settle and the fog clear, but I’m seeing it better now: there’s a reason why I have these channels, and there’s a way to use them that matters.

May it be so.

Back in September 3, 2020, I shared a graphic of my personal boosktagram values on my account. Here they are:

Read widely. Different genres, publishers, publication dates, lengths, subject matter, etc

Read diversely. For authors (race, nationality, age, gender, faith, original language, etc). For content (themes, characters, writing styles, etc)

Review honestly. No matter how a book got to me, I will review it both honestly and respectfully.

Share authentically. In my posts and in my stories, I’ll be true to who I am and what matters to me.

I stand by all of those statements.

Obviously, though, they’re geared toward my bookstagram account, and aren’t comprehensive.

After how everything has played out in the last week, I want to clearly state and share (for myself and for people who choose to follow me) exactly who I am, what I stand for, how I use social media, and why I show up and share.

First, here’s why I show up and share online:

I feel called to share my story for God’s glory.

I genuinely love social media and the Internet, and believe that at its best, it’s a helpful tool for community building, content sharing, creativity, and connection.

Through social media, I can connect with incredible people around the world that I would never other wise be able to meet. The friendships, relationships, accountability, support, encouragement, and communities that have formed through social media in my life are of such great joy to me, and I want to continue to foster and grow those.

I love sharing what matters to me with people in my life, both online and offline — whether that be books that I’m reading, ways I’ve seen God show up in nature or through Scripture or circumstances, how counseling is helping me heal and find wholeness, etc.

I want to use everything I have, all that I am, to love people well, to make the world a better place, to help people feel less alone, to help people grow, and ultimately, to help people find life, freedom, wholeness, healing, joy, and love like I have found in Jesus.

I want to constantly, continually pursue growth. The internet teaches me daily, helps me connect with people who have different backgrounds, perspectives, lifestyles, etc, challenges me to be a better ally and a better human, connects me with resources that help me learn, and is a never-ending source of information, inspiration, opportunities for connection, and diverse content.

Online, I have the opportunity to to elevate others by using my platforms. I can highlight small businesses, share diverse voices I’m loving and learning from, feature indie authors, share amazing things friends do, etc.

It’s straight up FUN to create content, to flex creative muscles, to formulate my thoughts after finishing a book and share it so people can find great books they want to read, to share beauty in the form of photos and videos and words… it brings me joy and I love doing it.

It’s an opportunity for me to work with people, companies, publishers, and organizations as a way of earning additional income (primarily to pay off debt) and supporting myself financially as a single, self-sufficient human.

When used with healthy boundaries (such as my weekly 24-hour tech-free Sabbaths, following people who are healthy and helpful and bring good things to my life, blocking people who are unsafe or toxic to me, etc), social media can be a place where life happens. It is not the end-all-be-all, nor is it a true or accurate reflection of life as a whole, but it is one piece of the puzzle and one that I value and enjoy (and step away from when I don’t).

and secondly, here’s how I strive to show up and share online:

Humbly.

Honestly.

In health.

Respectfully.

Kindly.

In love.

Curiously.

Openly.

Thoughtfully.

With nuance.

Authentically.

Helpfully.

Creatively.

Meaningfully.

Wisely.

With discernment.

Intentionally.

Gratefully.

To sum it up, these are my personal social media values:

Tell my story for God’s glory. It’s not about me, but about pointing back to my Creator and the Giver of all good things. Whether explicitly or implicitly, I want to be intentional about honoring and glorifying the Lord through all I say and do online.

Be humble, honest, and hope-filled. The tone of what I share should come from this place, not a place of fear, shame, resentment, negativity, cynicism, anger, or anything unhelpful or unhealthy. I want people to leave a post, story, video, etc of mine feeling better, not worse.

Share from scars, not wounds. (inspired by this) When I’m in the thick of working through something, that’s not the time (and the internet is not the space) to share. Transparency is not the same as vulnerability, and showing up as my real self doesn’t mean sharing my whole self with the world. Wise discernment in what, how, when, and why I share is a constant goal.

Do all things in love. Every book review, every DM, every comment, every reply, every story, every repost, every interaction, every action— all should be done with love. If I cannot share, reply, or post lovingly, I will say and do nothing, taking time offline to reflect, process, and pray before reengaging.

Educate myself, elevate others. I want to be on a constant journey of growth toward healing and wholeness personally, while working toward justice, healthy community, and abundantly free lives for all those around me. Using social media for personal growth is vital, and using my platform to elevate others is an honor and a privilege to leverage well.

Contribute more than I criticize. (inspired by Brene) I believe in holding people/systems/organizations accountable, but doing so with respect and in love. I believe in fighting for justice and loving my neighbor — all of them — and doing so in constructive ways, not condemning ones. I believe in having honest, hard conversations, but not in shoving my beliefs down other people’s throats or fighting to “win”. I believe in nuanced dialogues, and I’m okay with disagreeing with people and still treating them with kindness. I want my presence to be one that amplifies goodness, not diminishes it, one that contributes more than it criticizes.