If you are reading this blog post you have chosen to be a part of the Internet Fast! Congratulations, maybe you have registered for this program because you have always wanted to try fasting, but love Reese’s way too much to fast from sweets! Or, you have maybe found yourself mindlessly scrolling through your social media page. Or, you are onto the sixth straight hour of NBA 2K20. Whatever the reason, we are so excited that you are joining us for this experience. We want you to hear this, an online connection is not bad. Being able to facetime a friend who has moved across the state is amazing. Finding a group of people, you have a lot in common with on Call of Duty can be helpful. Being able to share the fun time that your family had on the family vacation is fun too. In today’s age, an online connection is a part of our everyday lives, but it is helpful to be self-aware of how we are using this online space, and how often we are using this space.
We want to share some interesting studies we have found while doing some research about the topic of how students use the Internet. These studies looked at connecting depression and self-esteem levels to how often students were on the internet. The authors of one study wrote this, “Our psychological analysis indicated that the internet addicted groups showed higher depression scores and lower self-esteem scores than the non-addictions. Correlational analyses also showed that higher depression scores and lower self-esteem scores were significantly associated with more severe internet addiction scores, respectively.”[1] Essentially what they found was, students who spend more time on the Internet, either social media sites, online gaming, shopping, YouTube, showed higher depression scores and lower self-esteem scores. This connection is that students who spend more time online, have a higher risk of experiencing depression or low self-esteem. Another study found these stats about Internet Addiction amongst students, suicide attempts for a non-internet addicted student was .5%, that percent jumped up to 3.6% for moderately addicted students, and an alarming 11.9% for severely addicted students.[2] We are sharing this information because we care about you, you matter. We hope for the absolute best for you, and more and more studies are showing the danger of spending a lot of time on the internet per day.
This program is designed to help you purposefully take a break from the internet, (social media, online gaming, YouTube, etc.) and spend some time intentionally connecting with God, and connecting or reconnecting with in-person relationships around you. Here is what this month will look like. Each week, for a month, you will fast from the Internet during an entire day, from morning to morning. Not using any sort of online media for an entire day. On each of those days, we will provide you with and activity, or a thought, to help you connect with God and to connect with your in-person relationships. Thank you for joining along, and happy fasting.
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References
[1]Nie, Jia, Exploring Depression, Self-Esteem and Verbal Fluency with Different Degrees of Internet Addiction among Chinese College Students, 115-118.
[2] Guo, Wan-jun, Internet Addiction Severity and Risk for Psychopathology, Serious Mental Illness, and Suicidalities: A Cross-Sectional Study, 88.
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