Review: The 40-Day Social Media Fast

The 40-Day Social Media Fast book cover on blue background

I really wasn't expecting to do this fast concurrently with The 40-Day Sugar Fast, but I'm very grateful that I was challenged to do The 40-Day Social Media Fast during this past Lent as well as I found both to be helpful in focusing my time and attention on God.

Book Synopsis

Are you addicted to your phone? Do you find yourself engaging online but unengaged at home with the people right in front of you? Do you spend hours scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, newsfeeds, and YouTube videos? Have your devices become divisive--dividing you from family and friends and, most importantly, God? What would happen if you took some time to fast from social media in order to get social with God and others once more?

In the pattern of her popular 40-Day Sugar Fast, Wendy Speake offers you The 40-Day Social Media Fast. This "screen sabbatical" is designed to help you become fully conscious of your dependence on social media so you can purposefully unplug from screens and plug into real life with the help of a very real God. Take a break from everyone and everything you follow online. Disconnect in order to reconnect with the only One who said "follow me."

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

I'll be honest in that I had no idea how much time I was spending on social media until I started getting wellness alerts on my phone. As a result, this book came at just the right time. More than simply focusing on the amount of time we spend online, I appreciate that this book also delved into topics regarding our attention, the impact of comparison on our mental and spiritual health, and our self-worth. This is a book and a fast that I would repeat again based on the powerful reminders of living life offline. It's shocking that though I left social media for almost a decade and only returned to it to share book reviews that it has started to shape my behaviour and thinking. I'm grateful that this devotional book acted as an antidote to that for the 40 days I was engaged in reading it.

Since this book seems to complement The 40-Day Sugar Fast, readers will see parallels between the content of the books where the sugar fast book does recommend cutting out social media and the social media book recommends cutting out sugar or other possible idols in our lives. I can see how these books reinforce how anything can tempt us away from being fully devoted to God. My prayer is that I can heed the lessons learnt in this book and continually apply the messages of God's acceptance and love as a way to combat the messages I see online.

Book Summary

Format of book: 🎧
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Recommendation: 👍

Comments

The Rise and Fall

I've shared before that being on Threads has been an interesting experience. It's certainly helpful in better understanding book trends as a whole, but a lot of the controversies I read about about are—in a word—awful. Awful for readers and authors alike, which is somehow a unique shared experience. I suppose that with symbiosis, when one falters, it affects the other. I'm likely not alone in my observation that there appears to be a lot more authors who are caught in the crosshairs of being popular one day and then being cancelled the next day. It's an interesting phenomenon where, with shared accountability, there is an increased demand that authors get things right, which I can't fault or disagree with. However, the speed at which the tides turn amazes me where people will spend a lot of time and resources on a particular author, only to "dump" them as soon as there is a hint (or more, way more) of controversy. I'm not questioning whether it's l...

Christian Book Review Programs

Over time, I've been on the hunt for Christian book review programs that readers can join. As a result, I've been able to compile the following list which may be of interest if you are seeking review copies of Christian books. This list mostly applies to print and ebooks, although some publishers offer audiobooks as well. If further information is available for any of the publishers below (or any missing publishers), please let me know as I am happy to update this list—thank you! Please note that you can also search for these publishers on NetGalley and other review sites in case there are no review programs available or you don't qualify for one 😊 Christian Publishers B&H Publishing Group Previously offered the B&H/Lifeway Blogger program which has since closed Availability: Professors and instructors Link: B&H Academic Book Requests Baker Publishing Group Availability: U.S. and Canadian residents Genre: Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction Imprints: Bet...

Review: Trusting the Hero - Heroes of Freedom Ridge #8

I'm sneaking one more Heroes of Freedom Ridge book in before the end of the year, which means that I'm almost halfway through the series! Trusting the Hero is the eighth book in this series, and is the second book by Hannah Jo Abbott . Book Synopsis He wants to protect her, but she’s desperate to keep her secret. When Addison Monroe moved to Freedom and landed a job at the resort, she knew this was the community she had always wanted. But her hidden past comes calling, and Addison is forced to call the police for help. Despite the danger, she needs to keep her secrets safe - even from the handsome officer assigned to her case. Ty Riggs came to Freedom in search of a fresh start and a new challenge - which he finds as a police officer in the small town. But the hurt from his past makes it hard for him to feel a part of the close-knit community. When He takes on Addison’s case, he can’t help but be drawn to her, but she has thick walls and won’t let him through. Addison ...