Recent Articles, RP App, Technology

Screen-fast 2026: How’d we all do?

Last year’s screen-fast set the bar pretty high with over 900 people signing up to participate. This year, nearly 800 of you decided to once again sign on and limit your screen time for 10 straight days. It was encouraging for everyone involved to have so many others participating and promoting this challenge. We heard back from 130 screen-fasters and found out that over 70% completed 8 or more days. Many of you also shared what you learned, how your kids got involved, tips for making the best use of your time, and the things you struggled with. Doing this together “Every day I made a recording of what my day was like and sent it to all my children. The support from them was great. The reporting got me through the hard day's because not only would I fail myself, but I would fail my children.” “I found that when my family did it alongside me, (unlike last year) it was much easier to stay off of my devices.” I spent time with… “My nephew came over when there was 3 days left... I spent a lot of time with him and it was soo fun too!” “It was a hot week and I spent time with my kids and grandkids in the pool and just left my phone in the house the whole time. We also had campfires most evenings and chatted around the fire without the distraction of a screen.” “We ate a lot of meals outside, played games, took walks, worked outside together, and did a lot of reading.” “Because I didn't always have video games to fall back onto, I wanted to spend more time outside or with my siblings.” “We observed our teen and ten-year-old son lounging on the youngest's bunkbed having a conversation, something that would have never happened outside of our screen fast. They sought each other out, I think, because they were 'bored.' We also had an hour and a half conversation at one point with our teen about infant and adult baptism, morphing into other subjects...a conversation we felt he would not have initiated if he had not been 'forced' off his phone.” “My kids were surprised I had time to play with them that was a big hit to my heart.” It was more peaceful “…we found everyone's mood improved dramatically with no/less screens. The younger ones played much more pleasantly and creatively. We had better family conversations. It felt more peaceful in our home.” “As a mom I definitely appreciated not being asked every hour if they could go on either the Nintendo or tv! They all enjoyed a lot more time outside and we actually had later nights spent together because we were just enjoying our time outside and losing track of time.” “The kids took time to tinker, play and just be kids. There was no battle to shut the tv off.” Just me and my brain “This fast helped me realize how much I habitually use my phone to entertain my brain in moments through the day. I was much less distracted without that constant pull.” “I’m nursing a baby right now and it’s “nice” to scroll through the boredom. But I sat in silence and let my brain rest instead of consuming content - which I think was good for my tired mind.” “I found myself more mentally available, having less things on my mind that I've read or watched on a short reel or a headline.” “The background “noise” of social media quieted and it was a noticeable relief for me. I thought I would miss the content but I don’t miss it.” I had time to… “I finished and/or worked on a few projects that I have been working on that I probably wouldn't have touched this summer, so that was good.” “I managed to get trousers mended, pillow cases resewn, garden seriously weeded, read several chapters in a couple of books I've been 'meaning to' read, cleaned out a room or two and did a 1000-piece puzzle…” The blessing of sleep “….going 10 days without and seeing the benefit in my own productivity, presence, and even sleep, has me realizing what a blessing it would be if our schools also stepped away from screens.” “I noticed that my siblings slept in later because they didn’t have to rush to be the first one to get a screen.” I didn’t know I could… “Well, as a soon-to-be senior at 63 years old, I hesitantly joined as I love movies and the long and short of it was that I thanked the Spirit for nudging (okay, pushing) me to participate in this challenge. Two key takeaways: 1) My body can move more than I thought it could! When you're sedentary, you're well... not moving. I was so bored during this screenfast that I actually tackled some hard, physical labour outside, with wonderful results for my efforts! 2) Sleep. Who knew that a screenfast would leave me bushed at the end of the day?! (see point one) Hello to voluntarily going to bed ON TIME instead of scrolling ad infintum till the wee hours. Rules are here to help “In hindsight, I think I should have made the rules for myself a bit harder. It was good for me to be off social media, but I found myself surprised at how many times I was still googling this or that and spending time on my phone ... because I hadn't made no googling part of my ‘fast.’” “I found the information provided this year allowed participants to build the screen fast in a way that made sense to them. It's not about the rules; it's about the bigger picture.” Time with the Lord… “I meditated in God's Word, relying on the Holy Spirit to fill my summer days with good and enjoyable things. A certain verse in the New Testament stood out to me: ‘But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly’ (Matt. 6:17-18, NKJV). Jesus said that if we fast faithfully we will be rewarded by our Father. What better way to be rewarded than to dwell in the words and presence of our Heavenly Father without screens or technology to distract us?” “I also found it easier to talk to God in prayer, and do my devotions because I could pay more attention.” “It was also amazing to discover God's Word together as a family.” “It was very helpful to remind me not to grab for my phone first thing in the morning and to spend that time talking to God and doing my devotionals instead.” What’s next? “I am going to keep social media off my phone the remainder of the Summer to continue good habits!” “Some aspects of the fast will continue beyond the fast and I pray that the Lord will give me the discernment and discipline to continue making wiser choices with the time He has given me day to day.” “We are happy to have participated in the screen fast and are praying that we will maintain our motivation to implement more conscious screen restrictions so that our family will continue to reap the benefits we experienced.” “Going forward I think we will set clear times when screens may or may not be allowed to stop the constant asking. I also had deleted social media apps from my phone for the fast and do not intend to redownload them...” Some tips “…as long you put your phone physically away in the evening it made it much easier to screenfast!” “Another thing my wife and I did shortly before the fast began was installing a phone holder for our devices above the kitchen counter where, as a general practice, our phones stay while we are at home and also overnight. Not feeling every buzz in your pocket has allowed us to be more present with each other and our kids and also forces us to go out of our way to use our phones should the need arise.”