How to Make The Most Of A Digital Fast
Darren Whitehead, pastor and author of “The Digital Fast,” challenged students to detach from the attractive algorithms and attention-grabbing notifications of their phones when he spoke at Convocation in January.
Instead, Whitehead encouraged students to participate in a 28-day digital fast by making “their smartphones dumb.” Now, that the month of February has ended, many students who completed the digital fast have noticed the difference that the fast made in their lives.
“I definitely realized how often I pick up my phone,” said junior Ashley Mahl. “It makes you step back and reorient yourself and reprioritize what’s important to you.”
According to statistics by BackLinko.com, the average American spends over seven hours a day looking at screens. In addition, almost half of the teenage population finds themselves looking at screens for more than eight hours each day.
After beginning the fast, Mahl realized she wasn’t spending as much time on her phone and found that she suddenly had more time to devote to the hobbies she loves.
“It just like points me back to things that … matter more in my life,” Mahl said. “Reading scripture, reading books that I love … crafting, creating and feeling more inspired.”
The biggest time vacuum by far is social media. In fact, the American Psychological Association asserts that American teens spend almost five hours a day on social media apps alone. Many Liberty University students can relate to the reality of falling into doom scrolling, especially on apps like Instagram and TikTok, which have algorithms targeted at gaining users’ attention and holding it for as long as possible. When she began the digital fast in February, junior Hope Lukasiak, had already fasted from Instagram for the month of January.
“I just wanted to delete Instagram, kind of detach. I just thought that if I was going to fast something, that’s one thing that’s probably an idol in my life,” Lukasiak said.
Both Lukasiak and Mahl deleted apps like Instagram, Pinterest, email, YouTube and others that they found had been distracting them from their daily tasks. Lukasiak even turned her phone to gray scale, which she found to be extremely effective in decreasing her desire to be on her phone for long periods of time.
The biggest takeaway from the fast is for students to be intentional with their screen time rather than allowing themselves to become trapped in a loop of mindless scrolling. The fast empowered students to break their previous consumption habits. However, it will be up to them to decide how they want to move forward. Lukasiak and Mahl both decided to not redownload Instagram and instead limit their access by going onto Instagram via a web browser for short periods of time.
For anyone looking to decrease their screen time, become more present and dedicate more time to their walk with the Lord, Mahl said the digital fast is a great way to reexamine the ways that people spend their time.
“As Christians, I think we’re called to be a little bit set apart,” Mahl said. “If we’re going to be different than the world, then we need to do our part in knowing (God’s) word and knowing spiritual discipline. I think a lot of spiritual discipline sometimes gets lost because we are so attached to our phones.”
Perez is a feature reporter for the Liberty Champion.