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Is it possible to stop scrolling for a month? What if you could be more engaged, less stressed, and actually present during the upcoming holiday season? Try No Scroll November with me!
Why No Scroll November?
For most of the last decade, I’ve participated in No-Shave November. In honor of bearded men, I’ve made a commitment to let my winter beard growth start in the month of November. It’s pretty amazing how much beard I finish with at the end of the month, and it has me thinking: What if I skipped out on No-Shave November and tried out No Scroll November instead? I’m not sure if someone has already come up with this idea, but I promise I didn’t steal it. It’s something that has been on my mind for a long time, but I haven’t really taken the time to fully implement the plan. Plus, if I come up with a catchy name and invite some friends, maybe I’ll have some extra accountability.
Why No Scroll November in the first place? What does it even mean? Scrolling is the smartphone phenomenon where we open our phones or internet browsers, pull up Facebook or YouTube, and disappear into a black hole for 30-60 minutes at a time. Personally, I know it’s happening, but the algorithm knows EXACTLY which food videos to intersperse with those crazy dunk videos to keep me hooked for just one more video! Scrolling causes my kids to ask me why I care so much about my phone when I get home from a grueling day of work. No Scroll November says “No!” to scrolling for the next thirty days. It says “Yes!” to more important priorities while simultaneously removing a low-priority energy drain from my life.
Scrolling Is a Thief
Scrolling robs me of hours of Bible reading, prayer, family time, fellowship, discipleship, and much more. If I spent my scrolling time reading a book or spending it with my children, I’d be much happier and much less anxious and overwhelmed by the amount of work I have in front of me. I’d be more present with my wife, children, extended family, friends, congregation, and everyone in my life. It’s impossible to pay attention to others when I’m watching a silly one-minute video of a guy reacting to another one-minute video he watched. The day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:2). It’s easy to get robbed when we’re stuck in a hypnotized trance staring at a glowing light box all the time.
Scrolling Blinds Us to Eternity
Since becoming a pastor, I’ve officiated more funerals than I had ever anticipated this early in my ministry. Death reminds me that eternity is just around the corner. One day you’re talking with someone; the next day, they’ve entered eternity. Perhaps “the next day” is actually a few months or years that passed by far quicker than we realized. Studies show that dopamine changes how we perceive time. And if we are constantly inundated with rises in dopamine from scrolling, it’s easy to see how time moves quicker than we perceive it. Time flies when we’re having fun—or when we’re wasting it looking at our phones. This life is already a vapor (James 4:14), and scrolling vaporizes our time even faster.
Scrolling Manipulates Our Emotions
Social media algorithms know us better than we know ourselves—literally. These complex computer systems track our hand movements, our clicks, and how long we look at an image or video before moving on to something else. Some app developers are trying to build products that could use our biological markers and facial expressions to make content suggestions based on our emotions. Even without such sophisticated technology, anger and fear get more clicks. Strong emotions elicit more views. The most inflammatory videos from the political “bad guys” will show up in our newsfeeds. The saddest or most heartwarming skits will show up on feeds pretending to be true stories. It’s all a game that plays with our emotions. It’s a lot harder to “be angry and not sin” when anger is intentionally being shoved in our faces all day and night.
Let’s say no to the scroll for the month of November. Maybe—just maybe—it will bleed into our December and perhaps even into the new year. Earlier this week, I shared some thoughts about how shifting back to standard time can truly bless our morning routines and help us seek the Lord earlier in the day. Imagine if we woke earlier, stopped scrolling, and spent more time with the Lord to finish out 2024! Perhaps our lives and this holiday season will be radically transformed as we spend more time beholding Christ!
