I’m Giving Up Social Media for Lent
I shared in last week’s newsletter that I am giving up social media for Lent. If you’re not Christian/Catholic, Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. During Lent, we seek the Lord in Scripture, we practice almsgiving, and we practice self-control through fasting. It’s a period of preparation for the Lord’s resurrection at Easter.
I received an email from Blessed is She recently where they announced that they would allow their social media and daily devotions to lie fallow for the season of Lent. When I read that, I felt that oft-missed little tug, telling me, You need to do this, too. I have been blogging for the better part of 7 years now. It’s no secret that I love what I do. I am so fulfilled by the ability to help women in a number of ways, and I love connecting with women. But we all need a break sometimes.
Sometimes I feel like I truly have something to share, but other times I feel like I am creating content just to stay relevant and in the loop. And while I definitely think that my faith has been strengthened while I share it with others, there’s also an aspect of this sharing that gives me pause sometimes. I’m in no way going away for good, but I definitely want to give myself a break – space to breathe, to reflect, to find something else to fill the pauses in my life where I pick up my phone and scroll. And I think Lent is the perfect time for me to do that.
What will that entail?
I’ll be off of social media – Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, for the duration of Lent. That’s 40 days. February 22 – April 8. What am I not giving up? My newsletter, my blog, my LTK Shop, my Amazon storefront. I can’t wait to see what fruit this bears and how it stretches me. And I know while I fast I will be continuing to prune and till the soil, so that I can continue to produce a harvest once Lent is over. I hope you’ll stay in touch with me while I’m gone.
How Am I Going to Do This?
I think the biggest thing I can do to prepare for this is to plan for how I will fill my time. They say it takes 30 days to build a habit. I’m hoping that this Lenten season will help me to reset my habits and lead me to a more ordered relationship with social media. I also have acknowledged that it will be hard – nothing worth doing is ever easy, right? And whenever we say yes to God, there’s a big chance that temptation will try to derail us.
A few ways I am planning on filling my time:
- reading – this is easy for me. Over the last year, anytime I have found myself scrolling, I have forced myself to put down my phone and pick up my reading material (usually my Kindle, which is always in my bag).
- walking – I have not been very good about exercising recently, and I’d like to get back in the habit of walking.
- cooking – If I’m being honest, it’s been a long time since I regularly cook for my family. I’d like to do this a little more frequently, not just on special occasions.
- passion projects – I used to photograph the kids so often, and I used to take lots of self portraits. I’d like to get back to doing that and experimenting with my craft.
- spend time doing things that bring me joy (and get me out of the house) – going to the beach for an hour in the morning, having a coffee at my favorite cafe, exploring a new place in our city.
- having intentional conversations with friends – via text or in-person, but off of the app. I like to think that when I am with my friends, I give them my attention. I try not spend my time glued to my phone (which is why these moments are never documented!). But I’d like to be more intentional about my conversations.
- visiting the Blessed Sacrament – this is something I have never done very frequently. Recently, we had a meeting at school. I arrived early, so I went to the Adoration Chapel and prayed. It was such a beautiful moment for me, and I’d like to do that more often. I’m going to aim for once per week.
This post by @catholicwifecatholiclife also has some great suggestions.
How about you? What are you doing to prepare this Lent?
Here if you need me,
