Four Takeaways from One Week of Fasting from Social Media

Written by Caleb Hixon, published January 2021.

When I heard Pastor Jim say that he was going to encourage our entire church to participate in a month-long social media fast in January I thought, “That will be easy! I hardly use social media as is.” Well, I’m a week in, and, as you may have guessed, it has not been easy. It has been very fruitful, however. 

Unlike the popular New Year's resolutions that many people partake in—and hey, if that’s your thing then more power to you—I went into this fast not wanting to simply free up the time I spent on social media for more “productive” things, or even to be in a better space mentally. Although those are two amazing bi-products of a fast of this nature. I went into this fast wanting more of Jesus. This is why we fast, right? Not to better ourselves. Not to lose a few pounds. But to feast on Jesus. So I went into January 1 expectant, and I wanted to share the four things I’ve noticed from this first week—some of them spiritual and some practical—because I want to encourage you in your fast and invite others to join me in this fast. It’s not too late to jump in!

1. I spent way more time on Social Media than I thought. 

As social media goes, Twitter is my drug of choice. I’m not an Instagram man, nor a Facebooker. If I am to socialize on the web, it is going to be through Twitter. Going into this fast I had done enough self-reflecting in the past to know that I wanted to cultivate a healthy relationship with social media. And if you had asked me I would have told you that I hardly use it at all. *Cue the buzzer noise* Wrong. It’s the most obvious thing, but I have learned from this short week just how much I lean on Twitter. It’s one of the first things I check in the morning: first texts, then emails, & finally Twitter. The bible? Oh yeah, if I have time. Or if Twitter’s particularly slow that day. 

It’s the lulls in my day that I would lean on Twitter. The nondescript moments of the ordinary. The waiting. The restroom. During my kids watching the same cartoon they’ve seen a dozen times. Twitter was and is always there waiting for me. At work, in between tasks, I cannot tell you how many times I would open a new browser and find my cursor hovering over the Twitter shortcut. But, as I’ve learned from great books like Atomic Habits, one strategy to effectively break a bad habit is to replace it with a good habit. So, what I have been trying to do is when I find myself going to launch Twitter, I try to stop and pray or open up ESV.com. I’ll be honest, it has been tough. I don’t think I realized just how much I allowed my mind to worship the consumption of media. Praise God that this fast has shown me that. 

2. I default to Social Media for communication

You might be asking, “Isn’t that the point of Social Media, Caleb?” Quite right. But here’s what I mean. When I would have a thought, a joke, a story, something witty, or a social/theological commentary my default was to post about it on Twitter. In my mind, I’m putting my thoughts out there for the world to see! Right? *Cue the buzzer noise again* Wrong. What almost always happens when I put my thoughts out there for the world to see is that a handful of people may see it, but the chances of engaging it were slim to none. Trust me, you can go back to my timeline. It’s like a graveyard of engagement. And sure, maybe my thoughts, jokes, or stories weren’t that compelling. But what I have found in this week has been that now when I have a comment or thought (heaven forbid even an encouragement) I no longer can send those out to the Twittersphere. Instead, I have found myself considering who actually needs to hear this. And sending it to them. Fasting from social media has made me more intentional with my communication. 

3. I have more time for reflective thinking

You know the old adage, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Duh… except, it’s true. You simply don’t realize what you haven’t experienced. We get dulled and lulled to sleep with our habits to the point where we don’t recognize that we have become something. For me, I didn’t realize that social media had stolen the bulk of my deeper, more reflective thinking until I let it go for a moment. 

I had always wondered why I do some of my best thinking in the shower. What is it about that magical steam that allows me to think? I would argue now that it’s because that’s the only part of my day free from the distractions of a screen. In the shower, I don’t have a screen telling me what to think. I am alone with my own thoughts. Social media, and our screens in general, are stealing our mind’s attention away from the deeper things of life. And we’re letting it happen.

This leads me to my final point, which is an obvious one but worth stating nonetheless.

4. It’s easier to read my Bible now

With the siren’s call of social media off-limits, I have found that it is far easier to pick up my bible, or open my bible app, and read the word of God. This is the point right? The entire point of the fast is to enjoy God. To get more of Jesus. But we don’t simply get more of Jesus by abstaining from one thing. No, we abstain from one thing to then turn to another. We won’t simply get more of Jesus by subtraction. We must then turn to him. Bask in his radiance. Open our Bible, and commune with him. 

I wonder how many seeds the Spirit is casting us daily that are simply being devoured by the birds of social media (Matthew 13)? Or media in general.

I pray that your fast has gone well. That you are not simply replacing social media with games or other distractions, but boldly approaching the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). If you missed the beginning of this fast, it’s not too late to join us now! If your first week didn’t go so well… that’s ok. Today is a new day. His mercies are new every morning. Start again. Feast on Jesus.