CV NEWS FEED // On March 28, Catholics in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, are asked to participate in a Day of Unplugging and to fast from time with their digital devices and instead spend more time with God and their communities.
The diocese defines fasting as “a practice of self-discipline with a penitential focus.” Lent, as the season for fasting, helps reveal people’s disordered dependencies, fostering growth in temperance and preparing them for the season of Easter.
While they fast, the diocese urges people to consider how they can use their time offline to serve the Lord and dedicate it to prayer and charity.
Attending daily Mass, praying a rosary, making a holy hour, journaling and going for a walk in nature, are some of the ideas the diocese gives as ways to dedicate one’s time offline to a greater purpose.
According to a Statista study the diocese cited, people, on average, spend more than two hours daily on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. The diocese warns that while phones have become more reliable and accessible, they have also become a distraction or even an addiction in many people’s lives.
A Pew Research Center survey reports that more than one-third of teens say they use social media too much, and 55% have said they spend the right amount of time on social media. When asked if they could give it up, more than half stated that it would be “very or somewhat hard.”
The study indicates that social media has had a largely negative effect on the teens’ lives. Almost 60% of the teens studied report that they, or their friends, have had negative experiences because of the social media apps. Many stated that because of social media, they feel left out by their friends and have felt worse about their own lives because of the platforms. In the study, the parents of many of the participating teens also expressed fear that their children were being exposed to explicit content online.
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