What I Noticed When I Stopped Scrolling

A friend told me I should try a social media fast. Not posting wasn't realistic for me, since it's literally my job, but I could stop consuming. No scrolling, no watching, no taking in anyone else's content — for a week.

Honestly, my first thought was, "That's not realistic for me." This is my job. Content is what I do and what I love doing. I make my living by being online, by creating, by staying plugged in to what's happening. Taking a week off didn't feel like rest to me. It felt like falling behind.

But I decided to try it anyway.

What Happened When I Logged Off

That week shifted something in me that I wasn't expecting.

I had more hours in the day than I knew what to do with. Not because the day got longer, but because I wasn't losing pieces of it to a screen anymore. I noticed I was comparing myself to other people less. I was thinking less about what everyone else was doing, posting and achieving, and more about what was actually in front of me.

We live in a time where we can be plugged into everything happening everywhere on the globe, all day long, every day. And a lot of it we were never meant to be carrying. It's not all bad information, but it's a constant stream that shapes the way we think, whether we notice it or not. I didn't realize how much noise I was absorbing every day until I went a week without it.

This Is Where Sabbath Comes In

God didn't suggest rest. He commanded it.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” - Exodus 20:8

Jesus reminded us why it exists in the first place.

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  - Mark 2:27

Rest isn't a reward you earn after you've proven you can keep up. It's a gift God built into the rhythm of life from the very beginning, because He knows we weren't designed to run at full speed without stopping. Even He rested on the seventh day, and He didn't need it.

As a Christian content creator, this convicted me. It's literally my job to create and to put things out every day. But that doesn't exempt me from needing to rest. If anything, it means I have to be more intentional about it, because nothing in my work naturally builds in a stopping point. I have to choose it.

Try It and See

I'm not saying you need to permanently disappear from your phone. I'm saying there's something to taking one day, whether that's a Saturday or a Sunday, and actually setting it apart. Resting. Being with the Lord. Getting quiet enough to actually hear Him instead of a feed.

And if you want to go further, try a week as I did. See what surfaces when the noise goes quiet. For me, there was less comparison, more peace and a lot more time than I thought I had.

Staying grounded in truth is hard to do when you're constantly consuming everyone else's. Fasting from it, even briefly, has a way of clearing the static so you can hear what actually matters.

Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Paul Hanaoka

Reflection Questions

1. What would it look like for you to set apart a day this week to truly rest and be with the Lord?
2.  Have you noticed how much of your day-to-day mindset is shaped by what you're consuming? What would change if you scaled that back?
3. Is there something specific God might be asking you to fast from right now, even briefly, so you can hear Him more clearly?

“Be still, and know that I am God.” - Psalm 46:10

Joe Navarro, known online as @joechristianguy, is a Christian content creator, entrepreneur, and cultural voice passionate about making faith approachable and impactful for the next generation. With over 4.5 million combined followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, Joe delivers bold, Gospel-centered truth through a mix of daily encouragement, short-form teachings, comedic skits, and authentic life experiences. His unique blend of theology, humor, and clarity has created space for millions of young believers and skeptics alike to engage with Scripture and real conversations about following Jesus in a digital world. In 2023, he co-created the popular card game Discernment alongside Jacob and Julia Petersen, which is now available in major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Museum of the Bible, and Mardel. He also holds a degree in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Sales from Texas A&M.