A month without screens

My grandparents met people at dances, stayed connected through letters and gathered at church as a social hub. I romanticise the simplicity of it. Today, that dance-night excitement and letter-writing patience have been replaced by a phone in every pocket – often by age 11.

Social media has largely replaced meeting people organically, writing letters and even making phone calls. For many young people, it’s now the primary way they communicate, share and organise their social lives. Their Instagram, Facebook and TikTok accounts have become a display of who they are. This makes me wonder: What effect is this constant digital life having on young people, spiritually and emotionally?

Through leading technology-free outdoor education camps, I get a unique window into this question. Young people generally see two sides to their digital life. It’s a genuinely useful tool for staying connected, organising events and exploring ideas. But it can also become a trap, pulling young people into hours of passive content consumption, distracting them from life outside their bedrooms, and shaping their self-image and worldview.

During a four-week residential camp with students aged 14 and 15, I see a consistent pattern unfold. In week one, free time is hard. Many are used to filling it with scrolling or streaming and now must find other ways to pass the time: board games, bush walks, sport and conversation. By week two, letters have replaced texting, and receiving one becomes an emotional highlight.

In week three, without screens or online personas between them, students form closer, broader friendships, often getting to know classmates they’ve known for years but never really connected with. By week four, they’re thinking about what they’ll change when they get home.

A recurring struggle is how easily self-worth gets tied to an online profile, rather than to being made in God’s image. There’s constant pressure to check accounts, engage with content and maintain a certain image. After a month away from it, young people consistently say life feels easier – freer from the pressure to always be reachable, freer to just be themselves. Many resolve to cut their screen time and spend more time outdoors, which improves their wellbeing.

So how do we help young people navigate this digital life? We can’t control everything they’re exposed to online – the digital world keeps shifting. But we can stay engaged with them and encourage them to think critically about what they consume. And when we do find good Christian content, sharing it with one another helps shift what the algorithm shows us.

The days of meeting people randomly and dancing your way into friendship are largely gone. Social media isn’t disappearing. What matters now is helping young people use it as a healthy tool that supports their values, rather than replacing their walk with Jesus.

Elijah Friebel works in outdoor education, volunteers at Lutheran Youth of Queensland camps and is passionate about young adult ministry.

This feature story originally appeared in the August–September 2026 edition of The Lutheran. Subscribe today at thelutheran.com.au/subscribe