Check Your Friends Like Your Cell Phone

No Holiness but Social [Media] Holiness

I check my phone a lot.

Not because something important is happening. Most of the time, there are no notifications. No messages. Just the familiar loop: unlock, swipe, scroll, back to home, repeat.

It’s not boredom, exactly. It’s not even always habit. Sometimes, it’s just… instinct. A reflex. Something in me reaching for connection, for a ping of presence, for some sign that I’m not alone in the void.

Ah—the effervescent loneliness epidemic rears it’s head once more.

But here’s the wild part: what if that impulse isn’t evil, just misguided?

That longing? That tiny tug toward connection? It’s sacred. The trouble comes when we leave it on autopilot—when our thumbs move faster than our awareness.

What if we honored that reflex?
What if we retrained it toward people, not platforms?

I Scheduled My Scroll—But Not for Likes

Lately, I’ve started a strange new practice.

I’m still on social media.
Still on my phone.
Still scrolling.

But now I actually schedule time in my day to use these tools on purpose—not to post, not to grow my reach, but to connect.

DMs instead of dashboards.
Comments instead of content calendars.
Likes not as currency, but as tiny declarations of care.

This isn’t about logging off. It’s about logging in—intentionally.

I still open the apps. But instead of asking, “What can I say?” I start with, “Who can I see?” And it’s changing things not just for others, but for me.

Reflex, Rewired

The goal isn’t to stop checking your phone. It’s to start checking your people.

Not as a to-do list. Not as a strategy. But as a spiritual practice. As a means of grace, for my Methodists out there. SMSio Divina?

The reality is that you already know how to be consistent. We already check in—just not always with the people who need it most.

That’s not a flaw. It’s a signal.

A signal that your heart wants to connect.
It just needs new defaults.

So here’s what I’m trying to build: a habit of holy impulse.

A New Notification Loop

Think of this like a sacred version of your normal scroll:

• Unlock: Begin with a short pause. Ask: “Who needs to know they’re seen today?”

• Swipe: Pick a platform. Not to perform—just to be present.

• Tap: Comment. React. DM. Pray. Engage like it matters—because it does.

• Repeat: Tomorrow. And the next day. Not every hour. Not every minute. Just enough to build muscle memory.

You already swipe. Already scroll. Already search. This just gives your instincts a new target: connection, not consumption.

You don’t need a special reason to check on someone.
You don’t need the perfect words or the right emoji.
You just need to reach.

Because maybe you’re the ping they’ve been waiting for. The unnoticed “like” that affirms more than a post. The comment that reminds them they’re not invisible.

We don’t need fewer notifications.
We need better ones.

The kind that remind us to reach for people—not just our phones.

So yeah, keep checking your phone. But while you’re there—send the text.
Leave the comment. Say hey.

Not for engagement. For embodiment.
Not to go viral. Just to go human.

Maybe you can get started by leaving me a comment down below. It’ll make my day. And it might make yours.

World 3-8 Complete

Q: Why was the disciple always clearing cookies?
A: They heard that forgiveness starts with wiping the past.