Slowing Down

In this fast-paced age, can we convince ourselves that it’s okay to step away from constant connection?

We all know the pressure: that text that just dinged, the comment made in response to a social media post, the trending topic or big news story that just hit. And we often feel we’ll be left behind if we don’t get our two cents in immediately. If we don’t watch that news clip right now. And if we don’t respond to that text right away, what will the sender think of us?

Human beings used to wait for things. The message from the friend or relative that came in the form of a letter. The news event that spread slowly via word of mouth. Can we even imagine what it was like for Catholics in centuries past, who had no way of knowing for weeks or even months who had been elected as the new Pope?

We live with lots of noise, even when we don’t have a face-to-face interaction all day. Constant information. Constant entertainment. Constant availability. Constant pressure to perform for an online audience.

This is exhausting. It can also negatively impact mental health. And worst of all, it can impact our relationships with our real friends, our families, and with God.

So, what to do? Can we just throw out the smartphone and cut ourselves off from the online world entirely?

Sometimes we may feel like doing just this! But even if reality dictates that we use technology for many of today’s basics, we can still take a break.

Step away.

When was the last time you felt bored—truly bored? Did you reach for your phone before your brain could even identify the feeling as boredom? The next time you have to wait—for a ride, in a doctor’s waiting room, as a passenger while stuck in traffic—ask if this might be a little gift from God. A moment to slow down.

Some practical ideas:

• Have a good book in your car or your bag so you can read in snatched moments.

• Use the few minutes of quiet to say a prayer.

• Look out the window and note the detail you see. God’s creation is marvelous and can be found in tiny places even in a city setting!

• Carry a notebook and jot down your thoughts, sketch a picture, or play a silly game with a friend. Remember the games of Hangman or Dots and Boxes?

• Talk to the people around you. Whether that’s your sibling beside you in the car or the other customer behind you in the check-out line, connecting with the real people around us is the way we humans were designed to interact.

Immersing ourselves in a good book set in a previous time period can be a refreshing escape and a glimpse into other ways of living. Catholic Teen Books has numerous titles set in a variety of settings. You might check out our historical fiction titles here. My own novel, Firetender, set in the late 1990s, takes readers back to a time when everyday Internet access was still in its infancy and, for people who had cell phones, they were only for making calls. Want to experience a multi-state road trip through two teenagers who have NO PHONE with them?

Our current technology is not inherently bad. Like all things, it can be used for both good and evil. But we do know for certain that it’s addictive, leading to overuse, which in turn leads to burnout and broken human connections.

So try leaving your phone in the car or in another room. Maybe even turn it off for a set time period. The online world will continue without you. And if you try it, let us know about your experience in the comments… once you return from your little break from the online world, that is.

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About the author: Erin believes New Adult Contemporary Catholic Fiction should showcase struggles common to humanity through dramatic story and invite readers to see themselves in the characters' universal search for God and Truth. She is a Catholic homeschooling mother and author of three published books in The Chalice Series, including award-winning book one, Firetender. She lives with her husband and four daughters in North Georgia.  Her passion for vocations became strong when her youngest brother was ordained a priest.  Over twenty years of Catholic adulthood have given her time to grow and see what really matters in life with a focus on the good, the true, and the beautiful, and she wants her characters to find and reflect the same.  Reading the classics and Church Fathers and especially Chesterton alongside her homeschooled children has informed her current writings.

Erin is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild and when she’s not writing is busy reading aloud to her children, organizing a moms’ book club, building community with families from her church, and leading a forest school for local families to get out in the natural world.  She enjoys traveling and photography.