𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒

My heart is heavy with all that is happening right now in the Philippines, in Asia, and even in the US. Social media is so sick. I need a break from all of this. A much needed break to process my grief, my pain, and to pray for all that’s bothering me. It’s impossible to shut down all my social media apps all at once. So to prepare myself, I slowly delete the apps from my phone and have a day dedicated to fast for each one of my social media platforms. I fasted every other day. I picked a five day devotion about social media fasting to kick off my spiritual journey. Here’s what I experienced and learned so far.

𝟭. 𝗦𝗢𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔 𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚.

I suddenly realized that mindless scrolling, while doing it passively, I’m just sitting on our sala, is very exhausting. It’s like I cannot help myself. I don’t want to get bored so I scroll all the way and it’s endless. You cannot get to the bottom of the page. There’s so much videos, links, readings, ads, or even scam that will bombard you every time you open an app. When I fast from Facebook, my urge to open my other app seems weaker. I think because I’m aware that I’m fasting, I also think twice before opening other social apps. It gives me time to refresh, relax, and enjoy the moment. I let the moment of my day take me in and not let the social world take me away from it.

𝟮. 𝗦𝗢𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔 𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗚𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗬.

You cannot focus on what’s important. Instead of exercising, reading my Bible, having a quality time with God, I’m doom scrolling. Instead of processing my emotions, reflecting on my day, or resting, I spend the night, watching every media content until my eyes hurt. The social media habit distracts me from doing productive things. When I fast, I spend my time on the most important things. I suddenly have time to write on my journal, clean the house or sleep early. I have lots of time to do the things that I love doing and that’s so important to me.

𝟯. 𝗦𝗢𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔 𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗘 & 𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝗠𝗬 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧.

It saddens me deeply to the core when I saw footages of the assassination of Charlie Kirk all over the threads. I felt the darkness behind them. Desensitized persons who took the picture and post it online do not care that the post is offensive, disheartening, and wicked. They might even be celebrating his death so they post it as a proof or receipt. It’s like a trophy of victory and they feast for them. I’m so sick of them. A time away from all of it gives me power to pray, ask God for comfort and healing. His presence and love recharges my weary soul. I am reminded of all of God’s promises in a broken world. My heart was emptied of the worries, fears, sadness, and guilt. The Lord poured His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love back my heart. He gave me wisdom on how to face all my troubles. He revived me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Thanks for reading my blog up to this point. I pray that you’re okay and you find healing on what’s hurting you the most. May God give you comfort, peace, & hope in a time like this. Maybe, you can try to fast just like the way I did. Who knows? What if the breakthrough you’re hoping and praying for comes when you fast with God? God bless your day.

Praying with you, 

𝙁𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙅𝙤𝙮