Digital Detox: Finding Balance in an Always-On World

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📥Digital Detox Family Worksheet
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DESCRIPTION
Life today feels like it’s always "on," and teenagers are growing up in a world where there’s no escape from the constant digital noise—even at home. Inspired by Winston Churchill’s midday naps to reset his mental balance, this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show explores how we can help teens—and ourselves—find moments of rest in an always-connected world. As a youth pastor with 14 years of experience, I’ve seen how the challenges of this generation differ from my own. In this video, I’ll share 5 practical tips for a healthier digital lifestyle, from screen-free meals to digital sabbaths. Plus, I’ll introduce the Digital Detox Family Challenge—a [free to Patrons] worksheet to help families reclaim their time and focus. Whether you’re a parent, teen, or youth pastor, join me for practical tools to build healthier habits.

📓 SHOWNOTES
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//Churchill Article
https://fullfocus.co/naps/

//Bark & Aura+Disney vs. Covenant Eyes: An Honest Youth Pastor Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWYvsn2Kglk&t=160s

//Family Phone Lock Box
https://walmrt.us/3ZrChfI

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⌚TIMECODES
00:00 Rest for the Soul in an "Always On" World
02:37 The Technology Tension
04:34 Tip #1
06:50 Tip #2
07:45 Tip #3
08:59 Tip #4
10:17 Tip #5
11:57 Digital Detox Worksheet

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TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:00:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Does

00:00:00:10 - 00:00:03:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
it feel like in life that you're just

00:00:03:08 - 00:00:07:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
always on? Like there's no break, there's no reprieve?

00:00:07:27 - 00:00:10:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Did you know, ironically,

00:00:10:06 - 00:00:21:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Winston Churchill, who was prime minister of Great Britain during World War One, fighting in at that time the world's greatest and biggest war, said this right. He regarded

00:00:21:19 - 00:00:33:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
his midday naps as, quote, essential for maintaining his mental balance, renewing his energy and reviving his

00:00:33:14 - 00:00:36:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
spirits as a youth pastor for 14 years.

00:00:36:26 - 00:00:44:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One thing that I've found that's unique about this generation of teenagers is that the cell phone has ushered in an era

00:00:44:10 - 00:00:48:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
where they never are able to turn it off.

00:00:48:15 - 00:01:05:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The drama follows them home. Conversations with friends follows them home through group chats and Snapchat. And if they're not a part of it, then the tension or the fact that they're missing out might also be causing anxiety because while you as a parent may be taking their phone away from them, they

00:01:05:25 - 00:01:11:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
don't know what someone else might be saying about them or what other drama they are going to be missing out on.

00:01:12:03 - 00:01:25:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When I was a kid, that wasn't an option. I was. I was able to go home, and home was able to be my safe spot. And my guess is, if you're a parent just like me, is that you're trying to help your, house be a

00:01:25:23 - 00:01:29:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
safe spot. And if you're a youth pastor, my guess is you're trying to help teens

00:01:29:09 - 00:01:30:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
navigate this anxiety.

00:01:30:27 - 00:01:35:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you didn't grow up in this phenomenon of technology and digital, where you're

00:01:35:24 - 00:01:54:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
always on, you might not really truly understand what teenagers are going to. That's why if you're a parent, youth pastor, or teenager, I want to toss out five potential tips to help you drive towards a healthier digital lifestyle, and this is specifically aimed towards teenagers.

00:01:54:07 - 00:01:55:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
At the end of this video, I'm going to share

00:01:55:22 - 00:02:15:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
with you my Digital Detox Family Challenge worksheet. The link is down below in the description. It is free for my Patreon community, so thank you if you are a part of that. If not just a few bucks. And in that resource there are two interactive family elements. So if you're a parent or a youth pastor, feel free to grab it and use it.

00:02:15:12 - 00:02:25:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And youth pastor share it with your parents as a resource to help them towards a healthier digital lifestyle for their teenagers. And as always in the hybrid Ministry show,

00:02:25:11 - 00:02:37:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
there are chapters down below at the bottom so that you can scrub ahead or back to whatever is most relevant to you. Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:02:37:25 - 00:02:40:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. If you and I

00:02:40:18 - 00:02:55:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
haven't had a chance to meet yet, my name is Nick Clayson, and as I said in the intro, I'm a 14 year youth ministry veteran, but I'm also a parent of kids six, and eight years old. So they're in, squarely in that generation Alpha sort of time frame.

00:02:55:25 - 00:02:59:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I see it on the horizon. I'm not quite there yet,

00:02:59:01 - 00:03:09:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
but I've also navigated it with teenagers and youth ministry, for 14 years, obviously still relevantly, and currently helping teenagers Wade

00:03:09:11 - 00:03:10:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
through and navigate

00:03:10:04 - 00:03:10:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
through this

00:03:10:25 - 00:03:30:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
digital sort of tension. And so I think that's the biggest thing, right? Is this tension between should we completely abdicate digital or should we teach them how to how to handle it with integrity and with a hygiene that makes sense, and that's going to actually help them as they enter into this world of adulthood and more responsibility.

00:03:30:10 - 00:03:48:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You see, as older generation like myself and even people older than us, a lot of times the mentality is like, your phone is the enemy, just get rid of it, throw it in the lake, throw it in the river and be that as it may, and that might even be the case. Like it might not even it might be something that's dangerous and bad and not helpful to you.

00:03:48:11 - 00:04:07:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. We they're not going anywhere. That's the hard thing is cell phones and technology. It's not going anywhere. The dial is only getting cranked up more and more and more. And so we're constantly living in this tension of what we want. Like, do we want to be Laura Ingalls Wilder and living out on the prairie versus like, being someone fully immersed in tech,

00:04:07:07 - 00:04:09:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
but knowing like, that's probably not good for us.

00:04:09:16 - 00:04:13:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we can also see and know the effects of it. And you got to remember, tech is

00:04:13:06 - 00:04:29:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
still in its infancy in a lot of ways. And so some of these long term effects brain and and anxiety and mental health, like we don't even know what or how much or if any of it affects us. And so here are five tips to help you and your family navigate through detoxing,

00:04:29:28 - 00:04:32:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
digital and finding balance in this quote.

00:04:32:14 - 00:04:34:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Always on world. Tip

00:04:34:18 - 00:04:34:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
one

00:04:34:28 - 00:04:42:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is potentially consider setting app time limits. You know I've done this in the past. I don't currently have them set

00:04:42:28 - 00:04:58:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
on on my phone. And honestly, the reason behind that is because I'm I'm lazy, right? And I'm not practicing what I'm preaching. But in the past I have set app limitations for things like social media apps that I might scroll more endlessly on.

00:04:58:02 - 00:05:00:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here's what you got to understand in my current role

00:05:00:12 - 00:05:20:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and job. Like one of my main and primary responsibilities is social media management, content creation and content posting. And so it's made it tricky for me because I can't just say I'm never going to be on Instagram, I'm never going to be on YouTube, or I'm never going to be on TikTok, because that's a key component of our youth ministry strategy.

00:05:20:07 - 00:05:24:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I'd put like a 15 minute or 30 minute time limit on those apps

00:05:24:29 - 00:05:39:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
so that I could get on. So that I could post so that I could engage with comments, with anyone who's maybe interacted with our content. But then when that 30 minute or 15 minute time limit came to an end on any one of those apps, that would be it for the

00:05:39:19 - 00:05:39:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
day.

00:05:39:29 - 00:05:57:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, of course, my phone offers me right, like more opportunities to, like add more time, add more time. And so like, I would just kind of do that mindlessly and until eventually to the point where I just like would turn it off because I was on vacation or something. And then of course, I haven't gone back, you know, to turn those things back on.

00:05:57:22 - 00:06:25:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But consider that potentially for your, your teen or your tween or, whoever in your house might be, trying to navigate this balance between work and life and social and digital and screens and all of these things. And, linked right here is actually my review of the best parenting apps for 2025 and beyond. And so it's, conversation between, the Bach phone or a plus Circle by Disney or Covenant Eyes.

00:06:25:21 - 00:06:50:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All three have very different kind of approaches to parental controls and stuff like that, but all three are useful and helpful and beneficial. I give my honest youth pastor take and review, but, feel free to go against my opinion on that. Do whatever works best for you and for your family, but maybe consider setting time limits as a way to help balance this always on world.

00:06:50:22 - 00:06:58:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Tip number two is what if you turned your phone on to grayscale mode, right? There's a feature. My wife and I

00:06:58:20 - 00:07:13:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
both did it. And we turned our phones onto grayscale mode, and it was honestly disorienting. And what it does is it's meant to sort of help reduce, sort of those brain chemicals that cause you to be more addicted to your screen.

00:07:14:01 - 00:07:16:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so when you're on it, it's like,

00:07:16:14 - 00:07:41:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you don't like it. Like I remember just absolutely hating it. And I hated looking at my phone. I hate doing all these things. But like, it was helpful because, time limits are force restrictions. Grayscale mode turns down the desire to just continue to be on my phone and continue to be on there mindlessly scrolling, mindlessly scrolling endlessly like it made me want to actually get off of it.

00:07:41:04 - 00:08:06:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So consider that as an option. Turn on grayscale mode on your phone. Tip number three as a family, what if you created screen free meals? What if once a day you as a family, committed to the discipline of having screen free meals? What if maybe maybe meals don't work? What if you chose, and reclaim some of your time as a family to have a one phone free time per day?

00:08:06:16 - 00:08:10:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Maybe that feels daunting and impossible. Then maybe just start at one phone

00:08:10:22 - 00:08:27:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
free time per week where everybody, including the parents, puts their phones away and you engage in one on 1 or 1 on many human discussion at the dinner table, or a family outing, or a family movie night or something like that, where you are phone free, free from distractions.

00:08:27:28 - 00:08:55:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're you're doing something together and reengaging relationally as a family. And you can even, you know, buy something linked down below, like a phone locker or a phone jail where everyone's phones go in, you know, for a set amount of time, and it doesn't open up until it's over and, you know, emergencies or whatnot. Like if you do it for an hour, even if there is an emergency within that hour, your phone will still tell you at the end of that hour and you'll be able to, you know, handle it as you need to.

00:08:55:14 - 00:08:59:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But it would be a good discipline for you and your family to try,

00:08:59:22 - 00:09:05:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
dialing it up even, a little bit more of a notch from screen free meals. What if you considered a

00:09:05:24 - 00:09:06:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
digital

00:09:06:15 - 00:09:14:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Sabbath? New Sabbath is an Old Testament term and word for taking a break, you know? So, like in the Rhythm of creation,

00:09:14:07 - 00:09:16:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you look at, the biblical account of creation.

00:09:16:19 - 00:09:35:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
God, created the earth in six days. But then on the seventh day, he rested. And you and I, like those of us who go to church like we know that God didn't need rest, right? Like God, God modeled that for Adam and Eve, and it's it's interesting if you think about it. God created man and woman on the sixth day, and then the seventh day he rested.

00:09:35:20 - 00:09:57:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so Adam and Eve's very first day of being created and being on this earth, they also two not only saw God rest, but they were experiencing that that version of Sabbath. And so what if with your phones, what if with technology, what if you created a quote, digital Sabbath of sorts, perhaps, like on a Saturday or Sunday or like a Friday night to a Saturday afternoon?

00:09:57:16 - 00:10:17:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like it doesn't have to be one full day. It could be like after work in school on, like a Friday. And then it goes to like a certain time on Saturday, where again, you as a family, maybe throw your phone in one of those boxes and you commit to not, you know, to not being on devices, not being on screens for a certain period of time.

00:10:17:26 - 00:10:35:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the fifth and final tip that I have for you here, to to engage in a healthier balance of an always on world is what if you just chose to charge your phone, not in your bedroom? I say charge your phone in your kitchen. First of all, you know, you need to know those emfs coming off your phone like they're

00:10:35:17 - 00:10:36:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
bad for you.

00:10:36:02 - 00:10:56:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It literally says it in the terms and conditions on your phone, so don't be right next to it while it's charging. Put it somewhere else, not only for your physical health, but also for your mental health, so that when you're in bed, you're in bed, maybe read, maybe, you know, actually go to sleep, but don't find yourself in there doomscrolling.

00:10:56:22 - 00:11:15:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But consider that as an option or discipline. Parents included kids as well, but keep those things out of rooms. Now just say again 14 year youth ministry veteran. Like, one of the things I've found, especially for teenagers, is gotta get those phones out of their rooms, behind closed doors, and in those privacy private moments. That's where a lot of like, bad decisions might happen.

00:11:15:29 - 00:11:32:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, like at summer camp for us, we collect everyone's phone and we charge it in a central spot in the room. They have access to it if their parents call whatever alarms. But we take them from them because we've found that it lights out when kids have phones. That's when shenanigans often happen. And so we take that away.

00:11:32:19 - 00:11:55:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's just that's just a rule, right? Like we don't confiscate phones for the whole week, but we do collect them and house them, so to speak, and like a cell phone collection location in order to help with behavior, to help with sleep, to help with a lot of different things. And so what if, as the fifth tip, that was something that you and your family committed to charging your phone away from the bedroom.

00:11:55:10 - 00:12:16:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you might be thinking like, well, now what do I do? Great. I'm glad you asked. Like I said at the beginning, I have, link down below the Digital Detox Family Challenge worksheet. You can go grab that. It's over on my Patreon is $3, but if you want to become a Patreon for $4 a month, you will not only get every one of these resources that I'm giving away over on that site, but you'll also

00:12:16:15 - 00:12:18:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
get a weekly bonus

00:12:18:10 - 00:12:18:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
podcast.

00:12:18:20 - 00:12:19:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you're in youth ministry,

00:12:19:29 - 00:12:29:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm just talking through what I do every week, and I'm giving creative ideas to help you lean into digital, but also handle it with care and integrity and dignity. And so

00:12:29:14 - 00:12:51:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
there's a couple of discussion prompts for families and a couple of action steps. And so I would say if you're in youth ministry, this would be a very well, spent $3 to share out in an email newsletter to parents to just encourage them, you know, to try, digital detox with their family, to work through and think through three or, I'm sorry, five different sort of tips to help them in their families.

00:12:51:26 - 00:12:56:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, link here on screen is the next video in this series, called

00:12:56:18 - 00:13:11:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
scroll with Purpose teaching teens to use phones wisely in this digital age and in this digital world. I'd love to have you check that out. If you're here on YouTube, give us a like a rating, a subscribe. All those things really, truly help us out to be found in search.

00:13:11:26 - 00:13:17:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But until next time. And as always, my friends, I just want to encourage you to stay hybrid.