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Digital Media Fast
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We are inviting you to a 30 day Digital Media Fast. We’re suggesting you take 30 days to self-observe what happens in you, your relationships, your family, and maybe even your children. What happens when you intentionally reduce the noise, the distractions, the notifications, the constant buzzing in your pocket? 

In the month of May we want you to let your nervous system detox. As we turn our attention from distractions, we want to guide you with some things to intentionally pay attention to.

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways.” Psalm 119:37

Fasting Option One

Full Digital Media Fast

  1. Make your smartphone a dumb phone. Consider moving anything off your phone that can be accomplished on a computer. 
  2. Think in terms of Distraction vs. Utility.
    • Examples of distraction: email, social media, news apps, games, a web browser, YouTube/video apps, Amazon/shopping.
    • Examples of utility: phone, text, calendar, airline apps, building/garage access, camera, weather
  3. Additionally eliminate all other screens for personal use.
    • Examples: gaming devices, streaming services, cable television, etc.
  4. Limit digital technology to only work apps, during work hours, on a desktop or laptop computer. Be committed to no work outside of work hours.
Fasting Option Two

Modified Digital Media Fast

  1. Move anything off your phone that can be accomplished on a computer as noted in the full digital media fast option.
  2. For all other entertainment technology, consider fasting all but certain days of the week.
    • For Example: Nothing Sunday through Friday, only use for limited time on the weekend of your choosing.
Additional Options

Phones for Purchase

You may want to participate in switching your phone to a lighter version during the month of May. If this is the case, click on the two options below.

  1. Light Phone
  2. Gabb Phone

“There are two motivations for taking a 30-day break. The first is to detox from the compulsive urge to tap a screen at the slightest hint of boredom. It’s difficult to think clearly about your digital life while you still feel an addictive pull to its algorithmically optimized charms. The second purpose to this long duration, however, is arguably more important: to get back in touch with what you actually value. The alluring noise emanating from our screens provides an easy distraction from the bigger questions about what really matters; what we want to do with limited time here on earth. This month-long reprieve provides the space needed to revisit these questions, and through both self-reflection and experimentation, form some tentative answers.”

Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I expect?

The practice of fasting (of any kind) is in stark contrast to most of the way we live on a day to day basis in our lives, especially as it relates to digital technology. Due to the addictive nature of technology, and specifically smartphones, we want you to be aware of what you may experience during this time.

In terms of withdrawal effects, you may experience nervousness, restlessness, or irritability during the first several days. You may have heightened emotional sensitivity and realize deep feelings of anger, grief, or sadness, even if you’re initially unsure of the cause. Often, our engagement with technology disguises unpleasant feelings and leads us to avoid coping with them.

But the benefits you can expect far outweigh the initial drawbacks. As with any fast, the further you progress, the more distinctly you may be aware of the leading of the Holy Spirit and a realization of the nearness of God and His work in your heart and life. Additionally, people report better sleep almost immediately. Other benefits include better posture, noticing the faces and eyes of others, increased mental clarity, the ability to focus intentionally, easing of neck and shoulder tension, an uptick in peace, the ability to dream for the future, and a vibrancy to the physical world. 

This experience is an invitation to explore a better way. Rather than asking, “Can I detox/fast for 30 days?” Instead ask, “What do I want to learn or experience in the next 30 days?” The first question will cause us to focus on simply muscling through and getting to the finish line. With this approach there is the potential to either abandon the pursuit if we stumble along the way or make it to the end without having experienced the benefits. The second question will help us to discover what can be carried forward in our relationship to tech. If we don’t have a clear and established “why” behind this pursuit, it will be more difficult to sustain and minimal in its return.

How do I prepare?

In the week leading up to the fast, we suggest letting the people in your daily life know you’re planning to engage in a digital media fast for the month of May. Here are some additional steps to consider:

  • Purchase an alarm clock so your phone is not charging in your room or beside your bed leading to scrolling upon waking.
  • Purchase an analog watch to replace your smart watch.
  • If needed, put an auto-reply on your email account that tells people your work hours and sets an expectation for when they can expect a response. 
  • Have a conversation with your work teams and supervisor about your hope to disengage from work/technology during non-working hours.
  • Dialogue with your family about how each person is planning to participate over the month of May and come up with ways to support and encourage one another.
  • Find a few people who are also fasting and establish a regular check-in rhythm for the month and questions to ask one another regularly.
  • Check out our resource page for recommended reading and stock up on books.
  • Download our recommended podcasts and others you’ve wanted to engage in.
  • Curate and update your playlists in Spotify or Apple Music so you have great soundtracks to accompany your fast.
How do I engage?

As you disentangle from digital devices, consider these ways to purposefully engage in the life right in front of you:

  • Read a novel (or a few!) that you’ve never gotten around to starting.
  • Play old school board or card games with your family and/or other fasting friends. Everyone gets to choose a game to contribute. Create a bracket and host a gaming tournament complete with eliminations and prizes.
  • Enroll in a cooking (or dance, or sporting, or art) class alone or with others and attend faithfully in person.
  • Become a walker. Take advantage of living in beautiful Tennessee and find trails and greenways to walk while listening to those playlists you’ve curated.
  • Pick up a hobby to do with your hands.
  • If you have small children, get on the floor and play with them as often as possible, being fully engaged in the worlds their little minds create. 
  • Endeavor to only have meals around a table and invite others for conversation.
  • Use the times when you’d normally reach for your phone as a prompt to pray and thank God for the world He’s given you and ask Him for the peace to be present in it.
  • Become someone who journals. Keep track not only of how you’re feeling (even negatively) as you disentangle from media, but of all God is doing in you and in the world around you as you notice it more. Our special edition formation journal is a great place to start!

Additional Resources

Books

Click the books below to learn more or purchase!

  • The Tech-Wise Family – Andy Crouch
  • My Tech-Wise Life – Amy Crouch and Andy Crouch
  • Digital Minimalism – Cal Newport
  • How To Break Up With Your Phone – Catherine Price
  • Restless Devices – Felicia Wu Song
  • Taming the Technology Monster – Sissy Goff
  • Our Digital Soul – Jenny Black and Bob Hutchins
  • 30 Day Blackout – Stacey Jagger
  • Finding Soul Rest – Curtis Zackery
  • The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry – John Mark Comer
Video Resources

Our missional partner, Thinq Media, has created a page specifically for our church with helpful video resources for you to view!

Click here to watch today.

Podcast Episodes

Click the episodes below to listen!

  • The Case for Digital Asceticism with John Mark Comer
  • Raising Boys & Girls Ep. 58 with Jenny Black
  • Rule of Life Podcast Luminary Interview: Andy Crouch
Phone Purchase Options

You may want to participate in switching your phone to a lighter version during the month of May. If this is the case, check out these two options.

  1. Light Phone
  2. Gabb Phone
Phone Reintroduction Resources

Kyle Calvert, a certified Apple developer and entrepreneur, has provided us with a helpful resource to effectively manage Screen Time which is available for the iPhone and iPad. It’s our hope that this guide will enable you to reintroduce the smartphone to your life with intentionality and in companionship with a Digital Rule of Life.

 

FILTER is a digital well-being and online safety curriculum designed to empower young people to set boundaries, create good habits, and achieve healthier relationships with technology. Through education, we truly believe we can change the way these devices are impacting students, prevent problems before they start, and create a better world for this generation and generations to come.

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