If you’re reading this and you’re in our third week (view previous emails by clicking here) of a January social media fast, I want to say this first: this isn’t about guilt or comparison. This fast isn’t a test — it’s an invitation to awareness, freedom, and rest.
Most of us don’t stay on social media because we love it. We stay because it meets very real emotional needs — and exposes some quiet fears we don’t always like to admit.
Here are a few of the real reasons stepping away feels so difficult.
First, we’re afraid of missing out.
We want to be “in the know” — about news, trends, family updates, and cultural conversations. There’s an unspoken fear that if we log off, we’ll fall behind or be out of touch. But staying constantly informed doesn’t actually make us wiser; it usually just makes us more anxious. Scripture reminds us that wisdom isn’t found in knowing everything — it’s found in trusting God and walking attentively with Him.
Second, we don’t want people to think we don’t care.
Many of us stay online not because we enjoy it, but because we’re afraid others will judge our absence. “If I don’t like their post, will they think I’m not their [insert relevant relational connection]?”
But real care has always been expressed through presence, words, and action — not digital visibility and clicks. The assumption that constant interaction equals love is a modern invention, not a biblical one.
Third, we like the attention.
Let’s be honest — likes, comments, and replies feel good. They give us a small dopamine hit, a sense of being seen or validated. That doesn’t make us shallow; it makes us human. Actually, the developers of social media platforms knew this when they designed these features. They hijacked our brains’ real need for genuine connection and replaced with with a quick dopamine hit of engagement. But when affirmation becomes something we consume instead of something we receive from God (and those physically around us), it slowly trains us to look outward for worth instead of upward for identity.
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None of this means social media is evil. It just means it’s powerful — and power always requires wisdom.
The question isn’t Can I live without social media?
It’s What is social media doing to me while I’m using it?
Ask the Holy Spirit this week: What am I afraid I’ll lose if I step back — and what might You want to give me in its place?
