Can You Save Your Soul By Fasting From Social Media?
We no longer live in simple times. That’s what the latest “Decree on the Granting of Indulgence during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025” by Pope Francis implied, at least through a special indulgence that can be given to those who can willingly abstain from social media and other similar distractions.
Here is the excerpt from the above decree:
“The Jubilee Plenary Indulgence can also be obtained through initiatives that put into practice, in a concrete and generous way, the spirit of penance which is, in a sense, the soul of the Jubilee. In particular the penitential nature of Friday can be rediscovered through abstaining, in a spirit of penance, at least for one day of the week from futile distractions (real but also virtual distractions, for example, the use of the media and/or social networks)…”
It can be noted that special emphasis was given for virtual distractions and cited social networks as an example.
What can we learn from this?
The first thing we can realize is that the Church has recognized social networks and similar media as something that can take away our focus from God.
We may have observed it also, how we can start scrolling posts or watching videos and then realize how much time we actually spent doing so.
We see people everywhere with attention fixed on their phones, young people and older ones. The virtual world has drawn much of our time away from prayer, reflection and other important activities to take care of our soul.
The second thing we can learn is that the virtual world can be addicting.
Unless we try to fast from it, we may not realize how dependent we’ve become and how we have made it a source of amusement and even fulfillment in life.
It is not only the young ones who can be victimized from its use. Even adults can form bad habits if we are not careful enough in protecting our precious time and attention.
I remember the time I have almost been addicted to playing online games. I knew that it wasted a lot of my precious time, but I still felt the urged to keep on playing daily. The rewards may be virtual, but it felt real to me.
Today, I know that I would find it hard to keep from using the Internet for even a day. A lot of my work is connected to it, being a freelance writer and all. But how much of this is truly “work” and how much are already distractions that lessen my prayer time?
How can fasting from social networks help save our souls?
The above decree has made it very clear that a plenary indulgence can be obtained by abstaining from this form of distraction.
A plenary indulgence can be understood as the removal of temporal punishments brought about by sin. It is different from the actual forgiveness of sin. While a sin may be forgiven, the consequences of one’s sin may remain and can go on affecting our lives here and the next. Hence, some remain in purgatory instead of going straight to heaven.
"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints." "An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin."Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1471
To be clear, only God saves. And Jesus Christ has already conquered sin and death on the cross. He offers salvation and forgiveness to all.
However, not all may repent with such a sincere and perfect contrition that removes all punishment from sin. Here is where indulgences can help.
“To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain. - Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1472
Another way by which fasting from social networks can help save our souls is through prevention. Abstaining from futile distractions helps us focus on prayer and other spiritual matters. It brings back our attention to the love of God and neighbor.
Instead of wasting our time on something that takes us away from God, we spend time on fruitful activities that nurture our souls and help us move forward in our spiritual growth.
Fasting may come in many ways. It can come from abstaining from food making you realize your weaknesses and your dependence on God. It can also come from abstaining from virtual activities such as social networks.
While we don’t need to totally depart from the world, we can learn something from monks about the value of silence:
“God has led us into solitude to speak to our heart. Let our heart then be a living altar from which there constantly ascends before God pure prayer, with which all our acts should be imbued.” – The Carthusian Statutes 4-11
The Jubilee Year has been opened for us all. In this time of darkness and countless distractions, may we avail ourselves of the many graces we are offered and see the true source of our hope. May we find time to be in God’s Presence, the source of salvation, peace and eternal joy!
“The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service and the fruit of service is peace.” - Mother Teresa
“But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret…” - Matthew 6:6 (NRSVCE)
Some practical tips when abstaining from social media
For some of us, fasting from the virtual world may not be as easy as it seems. As a freelance writer, I use social media not only as a means to keep up with friends but also as a part of my work.
Here are some of the things that could help us:
Set aside the date when you want to fast from social media
When you set aside a specific date, you have just accomplished the first step towards realizing your goal! Without this, everything could just stay as an idea floating at the back of your mind.
Schedule your social media posts
If your work demands that you post on your social media accounts regularly, I suggest that you schedule them in advance.
You can use some apps or tools to do this. Some social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest have built-in features that can help you schedule your posts automatically on certain dates.
Find a partner to help you
In addition to using technology, you can also find a person to help you out. You can have an agreement that you can take care of each other’s workload on your specified dates.
I hope this helps! May God be with us, especially in this Jubilee Year. May He lead us every closer to His heart!
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Yes, it's astounding and frightening to understand the degree to which outwardly-focused energy, especially with social media that and so much else that comes to use through flat, two-dimensional screens, pulls our awareness from (should I say "destroys our awareness" of) God's living presence.
I started an experiment years ago--ten years, in fact--of paying attention to the radical difference between what is presented to me on screens via news and social media and what I see before me with my physical eyes. News and social media presents a dire picture of a world in peril, a world, as one friend put it, "full or rampant violence and hatred." It was that phrase, in fact, that started this experiment, because I figured, "If such things *are* rampant, then I should see direct evidence of it."
So, I began watching. In the first 18 months, when I was still traveling for business, I estimated that I crossed paths with several million people--in airports, sports stadiums, on roadways, in stores, etc.--and did so in a number of cities in the US and Europe. I was even in Bucharest, Romania, the day after the terrible Collectiv nightclub fire that claimed the lives of dozens of young people, including friends of people I knew. People were grieving, scared, and upset, yes, but they were not violent nor hateful. One of my most beautiful memories is of visiting the scene of the tragedy a couple days later and seeing the 10,000+ candles.
During those 18 months, I kept looking for evidence of this rampant violence and hatred, because, again, if it is rampant, it should be everywhere. But I didn't see a *single* such incident in all that time, nor have I seen any since even though I've continued to travel around quite a bit (for example, I spent two weeks in Egypt shortly after the Israel-Gaza war started).
But the lack of evidence is not what astounded me. What astounded me is just how frequent I saw the exact opposite: acts of kindness, love, generosity, understanding, patience. Yes, I saw impatience and upset and those kinds of emotions, but in most cases they were understandable reactions to, say, long lines at an airport. But they were not violent or hatred. What's really rampant is kindness and love.
Oh, but I have to say, there is *one* place I did see violence and hatred: on TV screens and other devices where such acts were cherry-picked and greatly amplified to make them appear as if they're "normal" and common in the world. It's a lie, a terrible lie, driven by the simple fact that media companies make money by keeping eyeballs glued to these screens, and the best way to accomplish that attention is through fear.
So, kudos to the Holy Father for drawing attention to the matter of social media addiction. Fasting from the never-ending stream of fear is powerful and, indeed, soul-saving.
Thank you for posting this.