UU ResLife has initiated a six-week digital fast which started on March 12th that will go until Easter Sunday for students who want to detox from the everyday consumption of digital media and entertainment. The fast covers all platforms of social media like Instagram, Twitter (X), Facebook, etc. as well as various forms of digital entertainment like streaming platforms, gaming consoles and TV. The purpose of the fast is to reconnect to with the Word by cutting off distractions in a world dedicated to tugging us away from the Lord.
“I hope with the digital fast we can all learn to use digital tools for utility purpose but still be fully present with our friends and family, go on walks and enjoy God’s creation, and not be plugged in all the time,” Ash Lafferty, Women’s Quads Residence Director said. “We were not created to be staring at a screen, and I hope the Lord will open our eyes to all we have been missing while we have been looking down.”
As a residence director, Lafferty is one of the leaders who orchestrated the fast from technology. She is fully participating in the fast because Lafferty practices what she preaches.
For students who are more open to a lenient fasting plan, the Reslife form offers various methods of digital fasting. For example, instead of a full elimination of all forms of digital media, streaming, gaming and entertainment devices for all six weeks, some students may commit to a set number of days throughout the week and have a day or two to enjoy a show or game to make the fast more tolerable.
Senior social work major Natalie Hamilton is doing a full fast from digital media, even to the point of setting her phone to “grayscale”, an iPhone setting that changes the screen to black and white, to lessen the pull of doomscrolling. Only a few hours into utilizing the setting made her realize the effect color has on the brain until she checked her apple watch; a device that “grayscale” had not been applied to.
“I was like, ‘woah.’ It made me realize how much dopamine I’m getting every time I look at it something like that.”
By disconnecting with all the distractions, Hamilton feels more present and more connected with people. She’s developing a love for reading and finds it easier to get schoolwork done without the constant pull to a device to distract her.
“It’s breaking down the habits and things that we are partaking and consuming in everyday life,” said. “It’s kind of detoxing from that and being able to recognize how it’s affecting our brains.”
You can find more information about the digital fast at ResLife’s Instagram @uu_reslife.
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