Digital Fast

Soon after we moved back to Tennessee, our youngest daughter’s cell phone died. She didn’t know the roads well and depended on her GPS to get her home. She dropped a friend off in a nearby town and took the interstate she thought would lead her to our house. But after several miles, she panicked and wasn’t sure she got on the right road. Without a working phone and unable to contact me, she exited the interstate and stopped at a convenience store to ask for help. She borrowed a store employee’s phone to call home.

Are there any pay phones available today? And if a stranger came up to me and asked if they could borrow my phone, I’d think it a little odd, wouldn’t you? Being without a phone in the day we live can be scary. Scary to the point of suffering from nomophobia—the fear of being without access to a working cell phone.

I’m not admitting to suffering from this condition, but if I leave my house without my phone, I return home to get it. What if I had an accident and needed to call my husband? Or if one of my children had an emergency and needed to reach me ASAP?

But having a phone for calls or texts isn’t the issue. It’s the time spent on other apps that steals my time and attention.

The church I attend is encouraging our church family to partake in a digital fast for Lent this year. Our pastor, Darren Whitehead, wrote a book titled “The Digital Fast: 40 Days to Detox Your Mind and Reclaim What Matters Most.”

We took part in a thirty-day church fast last May too. During that fast, I implemented a few changes, like limiting my time spent on social media. I also turned off social media notifications. This year I’ve turned off all email notifications too. I open my email at different times throughout the day, but don’t pick up my phone every time I hear a ding. With sounds and notifications turned off, I’m not as distracted as I once was.

I’ve also moved my phone away from my bed at night and don’t check email in the morning until after I’ve had breakfast and my devotional time with the Lord. And my goal is to not check my phone for at least 30 minutes before bedtime, but I often forget.

Why do I pick up my phone when I don’t need it? Boredom. And my Google feed, Instagram cat videos, and YouTube seem to fill the void! The consumption of my phone time comes from searching the Internet, spending time on social media, and shopping. For the 40-day fast, I’m staying away from Instagram and YouTube, turned off my Google feed, and because of my writing, check Facebook only once each day.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
Psalm 119:37 (NIV)

There must be a more constructive or creative way for me to spend my time when I’m not writing. That’s a topic for another day.

For now, I’m trying to develop better habits with my phone through a digital fast, so it doesn’t control my life. How is your relationship with your smartphone? Any tips you can share?

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