The 24 Hour Phone Challenge
By Erin Spruit
I decided to take on a challenge of turning off my phone for 24 hours to really see what technology is doing to me personally and how it affects my relationships with others and ultimately with God. This came about when I was asked to give a talk to my Christian community about a book called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Comer.
What I noticed was surprising and not surprising at the same time. This was difficult for me since I value quality time and relationships with people, and yet when given the chance, I will get on my phone when walking around the halls at work or when I am on my lunch break. Even when I get home, I tend to find things to do on my phone like checking email, reading the news or scrolling through social media.
Taking that away made me see that I gravitate towards the easy distraction of being bored rather than the more difficult or awkward opportunities of striking up conversations with random people I see everyday at work but might not know very well. Talking to those that we don’t know is actually good for us and for them. I recently stumbled across a TedTalk by Kio Stark in which she said,
“When you talk to strangers, you're making beautiful interruptions into the expected narrative of your daily life and theirs. You're making unexpected connections. If you don't talk to strangers, you're missing out on all of that.“
We are made for relationships and for community, real authentic community: family dinners, social gatherings, late night porch chats and coffee with friends. If we are so focused on the latest technology or what someone just posted about their life, we are missing those real opportunities.
Taking the day from my phone gave me the chance to see that I could be more present, I did not have the option to pull out my phone in the hall or after dinner. I noticed that I did not have all of these notifications constantly distracting me or social media posts making me long to be somewhere else. It allowed me to focus my attention on others and reorient my day towards God as well. Not to say that I was a perfect saint by any means at all but I recognized that I have more opportunities for prayer throughout my day than I was taking the time for before. And this is what John Comer mentions as well when he shares, “Attention leads to awareness…Our awareness of God is the problem and it’s acute.”
Take some time to ask yourself about your digital consumption. How does this affect my life? Am I bringing in media that is helpful or harmful? How does this affect those that are around me? Did I even notice the simple things in my life today?
I feel that bringing the issue of technology to our awareness allows us to make a conscious effort to make change in our lives which is a great opportunity and we should be hopeful about that! Our God is such a wonderful and loving Father who wants us to come to Him. He is always present; it is just our awareness of this presence that is lacking. If our awareness of His presence is lacking in our own lives, how can we expect to be a light to others and bring them into His love and presence. I challenge you to take your own digital break whether it be for an hour or a whole day.
Let it be a chance to give you the space to be in God’s presence or to open your heart to His people around you. Thank Him for everything, big and small. Maybe even strike up a conversation with someone close by, you never know how God will speak to you through them.
