Hi friends.
I've decided to do a social media fast/experiment of at least one week (maybe longer, we'll see!). I'll be deleting all social media apps from my phone, which include Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
I've done certain social media fasts before, but I got the idea to keep an updated journal of the experience from my friend, Kayla's, post here. I've deleted my apps before, usually so I can have fewer distractions when studying for a big test; but I'm sectioning off a week specifically for a couple of reasons.
I have a deep appreciation for social media. I think it's great. I love being connected to people I might not have a chance to connect with very often in real life. I love having an easy way to see at least a piece of my friends' lives. So often I am inspired by what I see on social media.
But I'd like to see how much more time I have in my day and how much more productive I can be with that time. You don't realize how much of your day is spent playing on your phone until you count how many times you pick it up, only to realize you can't do anything but use it to call and text people (wow, a phone used as a phone ???).
I also believe fasting from social media will give me more opportunity to hear the Lord speak. Sometimes I think we beg for God to speak to us, yet we fill our lives with voices from everyone but Him. Of course God still reveals Himself in the noisiness of busy lives... but how much more could we receive in giving Him the quiet?
I'll still be logging on to Facebook via desktop, mainly because that doesn't really suck up my time as much as the apps do. I'll also have Facebook Messenger in case anyone needs to reach me that way. This post will be updated daily, just to keep all of my updates together and organized. Thanks for following along!
S U N D A Y
Day 1. Today I woke up, deleted my apps, then got ready and went to church. We happened to get there early, and the extra time I had waiting for service to start I used to think about my day and prepare for worship; whereas I usually would have aimlessly scrolled through Facebook or something.
After church, I was dropping some girls off at their dorm when we saw some beautiful cherry blossom trees that had just bloomed. My friend, Kendall, is from Washington and would not stop exclaiming at how beautiful these trees were; so we had a mini photoshoot basically in the middle of the parking lot.
I think this was my favorite part of my day, just because honestly sometimes I take pictures for the sole purpose of posting something, but today I knew I wouldn't be sharing any via social media. For me, it was simply because we felt pretty, and it was a pretty day so we took pictures underneath a pretty tree.
The rest of my day was filled with a nap, blogging, and lifegroup. Sunday's are good days (except when you get more and more feverish as the day goes on and realize you're sick l o l)
I don't know if it was because I've been thinking about this fast and had gotten in my head, but I know I just felt different today. I felt more at peace I guess; to be disconnected from my phone and the buzz of everyone else's busy life. The more peaceful I felt, the more it had me thinking about how much of my mind is subtly devoted to thinking about social media. Like how many of my thoughts and actions are actually driven by what I saw on social media, what I'll post, when I'll check, etc.?
I don't know if it was because I've been thinking about this fast and had gotten in my head, but I know I just felt different today. I felt more at peace I guess; to be disconnected from my phone and the buzz of everyone else's busy life. The more peaceful I felt, the more it had me thinking about how much of my mind is subtly devoted to thinking about social media. Like how many of my thoughts and actions are actually driven by what I saw on social media, what I'll post, when I'll check, etc.?
M O N D A Y
Unfortunately, my experiment is not going as planned because I'm sick; therefore I can't go about my weekly routine. Today was not at all exciting because I laid in bed and slept/felt miserable literally all day.Besides sleeping, I really didn't do much. I watched an episode of Gilmore Girls, but even that proved to be too exhausting because I fell asleep for a couple of hours afterwards. I checked Facebook via laptop a few times. I made some soup.
It proved a challenge to not check social media out of pure boredom. But there really wasn't that many times I was actually awake today. I probably got more sleep than I would have had I had my social media apps, because many times I'll lay in bed on my phone before or after sleeping.
It is nice to not feel the need to read up on everyone else's lives.
T U E S D A Y
Well, today felt a lot like Monday did. I spent most of the day in bed, not feeling as miserable as the day before, but not feeling my best either. I watched a lot more Netflix. I got a couple chapters deeper in the book I'm reading (Scary Close by Donald Miller), which was nice. I know I'd be wasting a lot more time had I had the option to play on my phone all day.
Because most of my day is spent in bed, I get bored and restless. This is the time I'd usually spend on social media, but instead I've been napping or just laying there contemplating my life.
A minor plus... had I the opportunity to be on my phone, I would not have been as engaged in my tv show or book. Usually I'll put something on to watch, but miss half of it because I'm on my phone. Sometimes all I need is background noise, so it serves its purpose; but I find that sometimes I do that when I put on a movie that I've never seen before, then wonder why I'm confused halfway through. Or it will take me twice as much time to finish a chapter in my book because I intermittently check my phone for updates that I don't really care about.
W E D N E S D A Y
Today was the day I thought I would be back to my normal self.
I woke up feeling much better than I had the last couple of days, so I took a shower and packed my lunch, but just those two activities wore me out. I felt weak and lightheaded, so I figured biking/walking to class was a no for today.
I decided to be productive though, so I spent the morning copying down notes for my classes. This proved to be very successful without the help of my cell phone. I will always periodically check my phone if not out of procrastination, so having no reason to pick it up helped keep me focused for a good bit of time.
I read more in my book and watched an episode of Gilmore Girls; then I took a nice long nap.
By now, I'm no longer habitually opening my phone and tapping the area of my screen where my social media apps were. It feels natural to be so disconnected from my phone... like this is how it was, what 7 years ago? Nevermind, that number sounded smaller in my head. The only thing I miss is being connected to people. But that's also partially because I've been quarantined to my room the last few days. I appreciate the challenge though.
Pray I get better so I can return to my normal civilian life!!!
T H U R S D A Y
Praise the Lord, I'm healed!
Today I willed myself to be better, and got up and went to school. It was an exhausting day to be sure. I have four classes on Tuesday/Thursday's, although the last one got cancelled. Then I have work, and shortly after I have the Point (Chi Alpha's weekly worship service).
I found I began to miss social media the most in the ten minute gap between classes, when all I have to do is twiddle my thumbs. I used the time to update my planner, make to-do lists, etc. In between my last class and work, I had an hour and a half to spare, so I used it to work on homework. With no interruptions, I finished it quickly and spent the rest of the time reading some of my favorite blogs.
My job is a work-study, which means I sit at a desk to answer the phone and do homework. I usually end up wasting a lot of time on my phone; but without it, I was able to read a chapter in Scary Close, check Facebook, and browse Pinterest for some inspiration in painting, photography, etc.
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| A photo I took of the sky on my walk home. |
I listened to the La La Land soundtrack on my way home; then I passed out for an hour, went to the Point and tried not to breathe on anyone, and came back home and passed out again.
Something I'm going to be challenging myself to do: spending all the extra free time I have in prayer. And not just the occasional flare prayer, but a fight for things that matter. I've been guilty of expecting things to change or happen in my life, but not bringing these things before the Lord.
Thus concludes the fifth day.
F R I D A Y
This is my favorite day of the week.
This morning I got up at 8:30 and caught the bus at 9:00 (too cold to walk or bike today). I was the only one on the bus, but I love that. Bundled up and listening to worship music, I just felt so content. There's something so beautiful about campus in the mornings, before everyone has really woken up. I would have missed all of that had I had my head tucked into my phone the whole way. I'd have to say this serene 10 minutes was my favorite part of the whole day.
I went to work and then to class. After that, I went with Allie and her friend Claire who is visiting from Lake Charles out to lunch and through downtown. We watched tv for a while, then got ready for a bonfire with Chi Alpha.
It was a good day, and I think part of what made it so good was that I remained fully engaged through it all. Especially during car rides, it's easy for me to tune out and be plugged in to my cell phone. I appreciate life and the city and people so much more when I'm actively engaged and observant.
S A T U R D A Y
We spent today in our favorite adventure city - New Orleans.
Some of our highlights included District Donuts (of course), a sweet shop called Sucre, lunch at High Hat, and a used book store. I'll probably make a separate post with details from our day, just because this one is long enough already.
The day was pretty busy, so I didn't feel like I had a lot of opportunity to check my phone even if I had wanted to. The trip to NOLA is just over an hour, so that really felt like the only part of my day I would have liked to have something to do. But other than that, I really just love driving around the city and appreciating all the unique sights and sounds of New Orleans.
C O N C L U S I O N
This has been a good week for me.
I went in to this fast with expectancy, but also some apprehension. There's the "fear of missing out," but also I was kind of afraid I wouldn't get anything out of giving up social media. Like would my life really look very different? What if I spent the whole week wishing I wasn't fasting from social media?
But I would definitely say the Lord used this time to really show me how beautiful my own life is. You may know I'd been struggling with contentment lately, but this week just reminded me of how much my life is worth being lived fully.
Maybe part of feeling discontent was missing the moments that make you appreciate all that your life already is... and I don't want something as meaningless as my phone to get in the way of me engaging with people and moments and everything in between.
I won't say social media is gone from my life forever out of my deep appreciation for it. But in being aware of its presence, I can manage my time and activity with it and create a healthy balance.
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