How a Social Media Fast Helped Me Find Peace, Focus, and Joy Again
In this post: I’m sharing how a simple social media fast changed my life—and how you can reclaim your time and peace, too.
The message popped up on my phone screen. “Time limit reached for today.” My thumb tapped the “Ignore for 15 Minutes” button before I even registered what was happening.
Suddenly, I realized that was the second time I’d ignored the limit and kept on scrolling.
I had now gone over my screen time allowance by thirty minutes. I allowed myself an hour a day on social media apps. But many, many times, I doubled or even tripled my allowance.
Social media feeds make it so easy to look at the lives of others while ignoring the real life that’s right in front of us. It gives us a great opportunity to keep up with close friends and family who live far away.
But I often waste too much time looking at people and things that don’t even affect my life. Like many moms, I end up endlessly scrolling–sometimes for hours.
We long to feel connected and find a place to belong. But often, social media has the opposite effect. We fall into the comparison trap and feel like we’re falling behind.
No matter how organized I am, someone is more organized. No matter how clean my house is, someone else’s is cleaner. And on and on.
Social media platforms aren’t bad, but when we let them take over our lives, they make us feel bad.
When I realized what social media was doing to my life, I knew I needed to take a break. I experienced benefits that I never expected, and I think you can, too.
When Social Media Started to Steal My Peace
I knew for a long time that I needed a social media intervention. I can’t count the number of times I scrolled for over an hour.
Social media platforms are designed to keep us on them for as long as possible. The algorithm tracks what we like and interact with and shows us more and more of that content. It makes it harder and harder to close out the apps.
Over time, social media became a constant distraction for me. Whenever I had a spare second (and sometimes when I didn’t), I grabbed my phone for a quick look.
Eventually, I started to feel the harmful effects of constant scrolling.
Not only did my mental health start to suffer, I was suffering spiritually, too. I was allowing myself to become absorbed in other people’s highlight reels and ignoring my own life.
I knew I needed a change. A big one.
Obviously, setting a time limit wouldn’t work. It was too easy for me to add extra time with just a tap.
I needed to quit cold turkey.
What My Social Media Fast Looked Like
Finally, I woke up one day and removed the social media apps from my phone. It sounds overdramatic to say that it changed my life, but it changed my life.
I didn’t realize how much time I was wasting looking at my phone until I could no longer access the apps.
When I first began my fast, I didn’t decide on a certain length of time. I thought it might be a few days or even a week.
For a long time, I believed that my social media use wasn’t a problem. Removing the apps from my phone seemed like a punishment. But when I realized that I needed to take a break, I accepted that it wasn’t a punishment.
It was a chance to reset, to release myself from the hold social media sites had over my life.
Here’s what I did in my fast:
- For the first week, I didn’t access social media at all. I took the apps off of my phone and didn’t check Facebook on my computer or iPad.
- After that, I allowed myself to check Facebook only on my computer. I checked Instagram once a week on my iPad.
As it turned out, this short fast set me free from my social media addiction. Let me share what I learned with you, and how it changed my life.
4 Things I Gained When I Put Down My Phone
I thought that not using social media would make me feel alone–that I would lose so much without it. But I ended up gaining so much more than I lost!
1. Less Anxiety
I never realized how much social media was affecting my life and my view of the world. However, spending so much time looking at other people’s lives and opinions gave me lower self-esteem, and even hurt my spiritual growth.
Social media algorithms take notice of the accounts and posts you interact with, and they continue to show you things they think you’ll like.
I told myself I used social media to keep up with my friends’ lives. Instead, I was on the app looking at stranger’s lives, leaving my heart filled with anger and worry.
When I stopped using my phone to look at social media on a daily basis, I realized I was happier and more content with my own life. It turns out that not knowing what’s going on in other people’s lives is better for your mental health.
2. More Focus
Over the first few days, I reached for my phone and opened it out of habit. I never realized how often I used social media as a way to check out of my own life.
It took a while before I didn’t automatically reach for it every few minutes. Eventually, though, I was able to be more present in my daily life. I talked to people instead of looking at my phone.
Not only that, I rediscovered the joy of reading. For a long time, I struggled to find time to read. But when I couldn’t reach for my phone all the time, I reached for a book instead. And reading is so much more fun than scrolling!
3. Greater Productivity
Every week, my phone sends me a notification of how much time I’ve spent using apps. The amount of time I spent on different forms of social media was downright embarrassing.
When I took off the apps, I could get tasks finished so much faster.
I wasn’t pausing to check my phone. (Because a quick pause to check my phone could turn into five, ten, or fifteen minutes of scrolling.)
Without spending hours on social media, I was able to get so much done. It’s amazing how much time you have when you don’t waste it all.
4. More Peace
I didn’t start a social media fast for spiritual reasons. But, surprisingly, I found myself growing spiritually.
When I wasn’t focused on what someone else had, I experienced deeper gratitude. My life wasn’t filled with all the noise of other people’s lives. I could hear the Holy Spirit better.
Focusing on my blessings helps me experience the love of God in a new way. It’s so much easier to see how good my life is, when I’m not comparing it to someone else.
Is It Time for You to Take a Break, Too?
Maybe you’re like me and starting to think that social media is taking over your life. Or, maybe you don’t think you have a problem at all.
The truth is, sometimes we’re so used to spending time on our phones, that we don’t realize how it’s affecting us.
Here are some questions to ask yourself if you’re considering a social media fast.
Do you…
- Feel drained or anxious after scrolling?
- Compare yourself to others online?
- Struggle to be present with your family?
- Reach for your phone instinctively throughout the day?
- Not have enough time to spend with the Lord every day?
You might be surprised that you answered yes to some (or most) of these. That’s okay.
It’s easy to get caught in social media addiction without realizing it. But you don’t have to stay stuck. You can break free of the addiction and walk in freedom.
How to Start a Social Media Fast
Once you realize you have a social media problem, it’s time to take action. If you’re ready to practice Biblical fasting, here are some tips:
1. Choose a time for your fast.
The first thing to decide when you begin social media fasting is how long you will fast. You may choose to fast for a day, three days, a week, or even a month. I recommend at least a week to reap the full benefits of fasting. But you may decide to go longer when you realize how much better you feel without social media apps in your life.
2. Decide what to do with your apps.
It’s easy to get addicted to social media and hard to break the habit when it’s easily accessible.
There are different ways to approach your fast, including logging out of your apps, removing them from your phone, or putting them in a folder that makes it more difficult to reach them.
You can set your own rules for your fast, but I found that removing the apps from my phone completely was best for me.
3. Get an accountability partner.
It’s so much easier to stick to a new habit when someone holds you accountable. If you know someone is going to ask you about your social media usage, it’s easier to say no.
Ask someone you trust to check in with you every day. You might underestimate the pull of social media at first. So, having someone hold you accountable can give you the strength not to open the apps.
4. Fill your time with something life-giving.
You might be surprised at all the good things you’ll have time for when you’re not using social media. Replace your scrolling time with something that fills you with joy, improves your mental health, and maybe even makes you smarter.
I’ve found more time for my cross-stitching hobby, reading, and even going outside. Every little bit of time that you used to spend on Instagram or Facebook will soon be a time for you to do something else you love, helping you create a life that feels more joyful and intentional.
An Invitation to Peace
My social media fast ended, but I didn’t put the apps back on my phone. After about two weeks of no Instagram, I allowed myself to open the app on my iPad. I realized I didn’t miss it.
Since I hadn’t been putting information into the algorithm, it didn’t show me anything that I wanted to see.
I thought that not using social media would be like a punishment. I thought I would feel lonely or sad. But instead, I found that I felt free.
My life has more peace than I’ve had in a long time. I’m not missing out on anything. Instead, I’ve gained more of what matters.
If you feel the need for some peace in your life, I invite you to try a social media fast. Even just a few days of not using the apps on your phone can make a huge difference.
Are you ready to try it for yourself? Let me know in the comments, or share your experience in the comments!
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