Title: Break the Scroll: Reclaiming Life Beyond Social Media

We live in a time where screens dominate more of our waking hours than ever. Social media promises connection, self-worth, and truth: but more often, it delivers distraction, comparison, anxiety, and a hunger that never gets satisfied.

What if it’s time not just to limit social media, but to seriously reframe how we engage it; or whether we engage it at all?

What the Research Is Showing: Damage in Plain Sight

Here are some of the recent findings that I keep coming back to, that make me uneasy, and make me think: maybe we need to slow down, step back, or change directions.

• Teen mental health, anxiety & depression: Teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media are much more likely to report depression, anxiety, lower life satisfaction. 

• Youth screentime & emotional/brain development: The U.S. Surgeon General and other health agencies warn that frequent social media use is correlated with changes in brain regions tied to emotion & learning, especially when sleep is disrupted. 

• Problematic use / addiction-like symptoms: In Europe, more than 11% of adolescents show signs of problematic social media behaviour: difficulty controlling their use; negative effects on other areas of life. Over a third report constant contact with friends online. 

• Parental & societal concern: Many parents say social media is their top worry for teens’ health, social skills, anxiety. School performance, self-image, sleep are often cited among the negative impacts. 

• Constant exposure / FOMO (“fear of missing out”): Many adolescents report feeling pressure, comparing themselves to others, curated perfection, which leads to discontent and mental fatigue. 

• Platform designers even admit concern: There is growing legislative and regulatory pressure; e.g. bills like the Kids Off Social Media Act that would ban those under 13 from platforms and restrict algorithmic recommendation feeds under a certain age. 

The Personal Conflict: Why We Stay, and Why It Weighs on Us

I think many of us share this tension: We want community, information, connection, sometimes even affirmation. Social media delivers all of those in bursts.

But it often comes at cost: time we don’t get back, attention scattered, mental peace compromised, pressure and comparison becoming default.

We also see people we trust (even creators, public figures) saying they limit their kids’ exposure or don’t let them use social media freely. If they are worried, maybe there’s something real here.

It’s not that social media is all bad, it can do good: building awareness, staying connected when physically apart, sharing moments of beauty. But when it controls us more than we control it, or when it becomes the lens through which almost everything else is judged, that’s dangerous.

What Could “Intentional Use” Look Like?

Here are some ideas & alternatives: practical ways to live with more soul and less scroll.

Area Possible Steps / Alternatives

Daily limits & boundaries

• Schedule specific “social-media free” times (mornings, meals, evenings).

• Limit total screen time using apps or settings (e.g., only 30-60 minutes/day).

• Disable notifications, especially overnight.

Curate what you consume

• Unfollow or mute accounts that cause comparison or anxiety.

• Use chronological feeds (if possible) instead of algorithmic recommendations.

• Follow content that builds you up spiritually, creatively, relationally.

Use social media as tool, not identity

• Decide your WHY: Is it for connection, ministry, business, creativity? Let that be primary, not numbers or validation.

• Consider reducing platforms: maybe stick with one or two, or choose more “controlled” platforms.

• Have seasons: sometimes detox, sometimes engage.

Alternatives / Reclaiming our creativity

• Read books; theological, spiritual, fiction: things you can savor mentally.

• Walk in nature; observe, pray, think.

• Create: write, paint, make music, cook, build, craft.

• Face-to-face friend time; phone calls over direct messages.

• Journal; meditate on Scripture; practice quiet.

Spiritual disciplines

• Silence and solitude.

• Sabbath rest: disconnect.

• Accountability (a friend or mentor who checks with you how technology is affecting you).

• Prayer: for clarity, peace, self-control.

Teaching & protecting younger ones

• Talk with children & teens about risks and boundaries.

• Introduce tech wisely: maybe delay access or start with simpler devices.

• Model healthy habits.

• Use tools/apps that allow filtering, monitoring, accountability.

Alternatives to Social Media: Platforms & Practices

Sometimes replacing what we have helps us see what we’re missing:

• Christian- or faith-focused platforms/apps: Spaces built with intentionally spiritual or positive content (sermons, prayer requests, community groups). For example, Pray.com provides prayer communities, biblical content, podcasts, etc. 

• Blogs / newsletters: More control, less pressure. Voices can be deeper, more reflective.

• Podcasts: Longform conversation, teaching, storytelling. Easier to listen to on a walk or while driving.

• Offline community: Churches, small groups, local friends. Investing relational time in person.

• Analog creativity: books, journals, art, music, gardening, hands-on work.

What Some Public Figures & Communities Are Doing

• Some creators or public figures have said they don’t allow their children to use social media freely (or at all).

• Laws & policies are being proposed: e.g. laws to ban algorithmic feeds for minors, parental consent for under-16s, restrictions on late-night notifications for youth. 

• Communities practicing digital detoxes: intentional breaks from devices, retreats, “phone-free Sundays” etc. Many report restored relationships, more mental peace, more creativity.

Biblical Lens: What Scripture Invites Us To

Master your tools, don’t let them master you. “We destroy arguments … and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Our minds, our attention, are precious.

Fill your mind with what is true, noble, lovely. (Philippians 4:8) We might not stop seeing a lot online, but we can control how much we absorb, and what we meditate on.

Rest, Sabbath, solitude. Jesus often withdrew, spent time alone. The rhythm of restoration matters.

Community over comparison. Christ calls us into authentic relationships, not highlight reels. When two or three gather, more real life emerges than through a perfect post.

Eternal perspective vs instant gratification. Many things we chase online give quick hits of dopamine: likes, attention. But dwindles. We are called to build what lasts: love, justice, mercy, faithfulness.

What You Might Try in the Next Week

Here are ideas for small experiments. Try one or more, see how life changes:

1. Pick one full day this week to go phone-free (or social media-free). Notice what you miss, what you gain.

2. Turn off or silence notifications for 24 hours. Let the pull of every buzz fade.

3. Choose one platform to “detox” from: set a limit (maybe 15 mins/day), then gradually reduce.

4. Replace 15 minutes of social media time with something creative: journaling, writing a poem, playing a song, drawing, reading Scripture.

5. When you sit down with friends/family, phones off or in another room; try to make meal times or hangouts “screen-light.”

Closing: Why This Matters

We’re made to create, to love, to think, to grow. But constant consumption (especially online) limits us. It teaches us to compare, to envy, to measure our worth by attention, not by love or character.

Stepping back from social media isn’t rejecting connection; it's reclaiming authenticity. We lose less of ourselves when we curate what we let in. We feed deeper things: joy, peace, wonder, worship.

If Jesus walked in our shoes, constantly being seen, judged, filtered...I believe He’d still call us to simplicity, to rootedness, to silence in order to hear the Father.

May we, in our small ways, begin to lay down the scroll. To pick up real conversations. To build beauty. To rest. To be free.