In a world brimming with buzzing cell phones, endless social media feeds, and relentless digital notifications, one U.S. church decided to do the unthinkable: take a fast from smartphones. The result? According to Pastor Darren Whitehead, and as reported by journalist Heather Tomlinson and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, the 10,000-strong Church of the City in Nashville, Tennessee, discovered deeper relationships with each other, greater spiritual connection, and an overall sense of relief from the frenetic pace of modern screen-based life.
At first glance, ditching our digital devices can seem radical—especially in a culture that hinges on connectivity, instant updates, and “fear of missing out” (FOMO). But the congregation’s experience didn’t remain an isolated experiment: Whitehead’s “digital fast” has already sparked a wider movement, with hundreds of churches and more than 100,000 members across the U.S. signing up for a similar fast in 2025.
While the spiritual dimension of smartphone overuse—distraction, stress, disconnection—often takes center stage, there is also an undercurrent of health concerns about radiofrequency radiation (RFR). Indeed, a significant body of scientific research indicates that chronic exposure to cell phone–level electromagnetic fields could pose tangible biological risks. As the faithful in Nashville discovered, cutting back on phones can yield both spiritual and potential physical benefits.
https://www.goaro.com/podcasts/61-darren-whitehead
In this blog post, we’ll examine:
- The church’s digital fast—how it worked, why it helped, and what it reveals about communal life in a smartphone era.
- A broader look at social media and mental health—the public conversation spearheaded by Jonathan Haidt.
- Evidence and concerns around radiofrequency (RF) radiation—highlighting major research findings, potential risks, and calls for updated safety guidelines.
- How faith communities and individuals might navigate the tension between technological convenience and the longing for deeper, healthier, more connected lives.
Welcome to a journey that spans from spiritual renewal to electromagnetic safety—a sweeping portrait of why ditching the digital, even temporarily, just might be the medicine we all need.
Technology, Spirituality, and Health
Smartphones have revolutionized communication and opened new frontiers in business, education, and global connectivity. But like any powerful tool, they come with a shadow side: rising mental health concerns, social media–fueled conflicts, and potential biological impacts from long-term electromagnetic exposure.
Faith communities often find themselves at the forefront of grappling with moral, communal, and existential aspects of modern life. In that sense, the story of how one church in Nashville embarked on a 40-day digital fast is emblematic. What began as a local experiment soon became a spiritual phenomenon, challenging the assumption that we must always stay connected.
Simultaneously, a large body of scientific research indicates that radiofrequency radiation (RFR) from cell phones, Wi-Fi routers, cell towers, and other wireless devices may not be as harmless as once assumed. From DNA strand breaks to cancer risks, experts, including the Hardell group, the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the Ramazzini Institute, have raised red flags about possible long-term consequences.
This post threads these narratives together: the church’s desire to rediscover community and reverence, and the broader global need to rethink the place of RFR in our lives.
The Church of the City’s Digital Fast
Background: Why a 40-Day Break From Smartphones?
Pastor Darren Whitehead leads the multi-site Church of the City in Nashville. Observing how smartphones monopolized attention—eroding both spiritual focus and family bonds—he spearheaded a church-wide “digital fast.” The instructions were simple but revolutionary:
- Uninstall all non-essential apps.
- Use phones only for basic calls and texts.
- Encourage each other to find alternative ways to fill time—spending it in prayer, family bonding, or community gatherings.
Whitehead’s personal motivation came from a rebuke by his three daughters, who wished he’d be on his phone less. As a father and pastor, that was the tipping point to implement a radical communal experiment.
“I was feeling these devices had seeped their way into our lives,” he told the Aro podcast.
Surprising Benefits: Community, Family, and Worship
According to Whitehead’s reflection shared on Jonathan Haidt’s “After Babel” Substack:
- Families reported enjoying unhurried meals together without phone interruptions.
- Small groups found themselves more engaged in face-to-face discussions.
- Individuals reported a deeper prayer life and more contemplative reading of Scripture.
He sees it as a modern spiritual pilgrimage—40 days of stepping away from digital noise to dwell in the “sacredness of presence.” People discovered not only a reconnection to God but also to one another and, perhaps unexpectedly, to themselves.
Spreading the Movement: 100,000 Strong in 2025
Impressed by the results, hundreds of churches across the U.S. have signed on, collectively representing over 100,000 participants planning a digital fast in 2025. Whitehead notes that doing it together “gamifies” the experience and relieves the fear of missing out: if everyone around you is off social media, you no longer feel isolated by stepping away.
“We collectively resisted the societal pressures of digital overuse,” he wrote.
Certainly, this is not the first digital detox initiative. But that it’s happening among faith communities—and on such a scale—makes it a cultural milestone with ramifications well beyond church walls.
Social Media and the Smartphone Dilemma
Jonathan Haidt’s Warnings on Technology
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist famous for The Righteous Mind, has used his “After Babel” newsletter to champion saner, more ethical technology usage. He underscores research linking smartphones and social media to:
- Escalating rates of adolescent depression and self-harm, especially among girls.
- Political division and hate speech—as extremist content thrives on engagement-based algorithms.
- General loss of in-person community—as hours vanish into curated feeds and short videos.
Haidt specifically calls on churches to consider ways to reclaim spiritual formation from the vortex of digital distractions. He is quoted as saying that “if children have a phone-based childhood, there is very little hope for their spiritual education.” The infiltration of 24/7 connectivity can dwarf the influence of a weekly church service or religious schooling.
Anxiety, Depression, and the Younger Generation
Across the broader public, concerns run high about how social media fosters anxiety, depression, and lack of real-world social skills. Some sociologists cite the mid-2000s—the dawn of smartphone ubiquity—as a turning point for rising loneliness and mental health disorders. Churches, youth pastors, and parents grapple with a fundamental question: How can we cultivate reflective, empathetic spiritual lives when constant digital input rules the day?
When Faith Meets Tech: Protecting Spiritual Education
The theological perspective suggests a tension: while technology can serve the mission (streaming sermons, connecting communities across distances), it can also easily supplant quiet reflection, silent prayer, and embodied worship. Each beep, ping, or push notification disrupts the fragile continuity of spiritual thought. Haidt warns that for younger generations, this disruption can become so normalized they might never experience extended moments of offline contemplation.
By leading digital fasts, some churches hope to protect the spiritual formation of the young (and old) from the “cyberspace treadmill.” But the potential positives of going offline extend beyond mental or spiritual well-being. Many wonder: might we also be inadvertently safeguarding ourselves from an underappreciated biological hazard—excessive exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR)?
Our Take on RFR Exposure and Health Effects
Why RF Radiation Matters
In parallel to the spiritual arguments for device-free living, there’s a scientific and medical conversation about electromagnetic fields (EMFs), especially the radiofrequency radiation (RFR) emitted by cell phones, Wi-Fi routers, and cell towers. Historically, regulatory bodies like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) evaluated RFR primarily for thermal risks (i.e., tissue heating). However, non-thermal effects are now documented in numerous studies—these can range from DNA strand breaks to oxidative stress and possible tumor growth.
For the devout, or for anyone concerned about bodily stewardship, these findings ring alarm bells. Humans are not just spiritual beings but physical as well. If spiritual leaders are urging caution about digital overuse, it’s worth also understanding the potential physical side effects of having phones close to our bodies 24/7.
Major Studies and Key Findings
- Interphone Study: A multicenter study co-sponsored by the World Health Organization, examining cell phone usage and potential links to glioma and meningioma.
- Hardell Group Research: Found increased risks of acoustic neuromas and brain tumors after prolonged cell phone usage.
- CERENAT Study (France): Similar indications of higher glioma risk among heavy cell phone users.
- U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP): A comprehensive study that found clear evidence of malignant heart and brain tumors in rodents exposed to RFR at levels “not expected to cause significant heating.”
- Ramazzini Institute Study (Italy): Reported parallel findings to the NTP for rats exposed at environmental-level RF intensities.
Misclassification of RFR Risk: Medical Opportunities Lost
A lesser-known twist is that labeling RFR as “inherently safe unless it heats tissue” could stunt medical innovations that might harness RF for therapeutic use:
- TheraBionic is an FDA-approved treatment using low-level, non-thermal RF for certain cancers like inoperable liver cancer.
- Such therapies rely on resonance effects, interfering with cancer cells’ electromechanical molecular mechanisms.
When regulators dismiss non-thermal RFR as inconsequential, they indirectly hamper serious study of these promising treatment avenues. Meanwhile, the potential hazards for everyday exposures remain understated, leaving the public in a precarious position of unawareness.
The FCC’s Outdated Guidelines: A Call to Action
The FCC’s standards for cellphone SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) were set in the 1990s, predicated on thermal thresholds. Courts have since criticized the FCC for failing to update guidelines to reflect modern scientific evidence on non-thermal risks. Indeed, in 2021, a landmark lawsuit led by Environmental Health Trust (EHT) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. saw a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that the FCC “failed to provide a reasoned explanation” for sticking to 1996-era guidelines.
Key Point: If the spiritual dimension calls us to guard our hearts and minds, the physical dimension calls us to guard our bodies—particularly the more vulnerable, like children, with thinner skulls and longer lifetime exposures. We should be mindful not only for mental or emotional well-being but also for long-term biomedical safety.
Detailed Evidence of RFR Concerns
In the context of our “digital ditching” conversation, let’s delve deeper into four major calls to action that have emerged from consumer advocacy groups, research scientists, and public health champions.
1. Update FCC Safety Guidelines: Embrace Modern Science
“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continues to rely on outdated safety guidelines that only consider tissue heating,” note critics, referencing the 1990s benchmarks.
- Landmark Lawsuit: A 2021 court decision—Environmental Health Trust et al. vs. FCC—highlighted the Commission’s failure to address non-thermal, biologically disruptive effects (DNA strand breaks, oxidative stress, etc.).
- National Toxicology Program (NTP): The NTP’s conclusive findings on rodent tumors strongly suggest it’s past time to reevaluate.
- Children’s Vulnerability: Deeper radiation penetration in smaller skulls, plus the compounding effect of years of exposure, underscores the need for updated guidelines.
We The People Demand: The FCC must incorporate non-thermal effects into its safety protocols. Stricter standards could incentivize device manufacturers to design safer technologies, a crucial step for safeguarding future generations.
2. Restart National Toxicology Program (NTP) Cancer Research
The NTP’s multi-year, multimillion-dollar project uncovered a clear link between RFR and certain tumors in animals. Yet concerns arose that subsequent phases of the research might be curtailed.
- Ramazzini Institute Parallel: This Italian research organization arrived at similar findings.
- Policy Impact: Without continuing such large-scale, unbiased research, lawmakers and the public lose a vital lens into RFR’s complexities.
- Therapeutic Potential: Ironically, RFR might be harnessed for good—like TheraBionic’s FDA-approved therapy for liver cancer—if we better understand and mitigate the risks for healthy tissue.
We The People Demand: Full continuation and funding of the NTP research, so we can refine our safety rules and tap into potential medical breakthroughs.
3. End FCC Regulatory Capture: Prioritize Public Health Over Profits
One reason guidelines remain static, critics say, is regulatory capture:
- Industry Influence: For example, Tom Wheeler, a former CTIA (telecommunications lobbying group) head, served as FCC Chairman, raising conflict-of-interest concerns.
- Erosion of Trust: The public justifiably questions if industry insiders hamper open-minded evaluations of new scientific data.
We The People Demand: A robust firewall between industry and regulators. Public health must trump profit motives. Transparent, science-first processes are essential to rebuilding trust.
4. Amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996: Restore Local Rights
A lesser-known dimension is how the 1996 Telecom Act curtails local jurisdictions from rejecting cell tower placements on health grounds:
- Local Autonomy Eroded: Communities wanting to enact stricter environmental or safety standards find their hands tied.
- Implied Conflict Preemption: Federal law can override local attempts to protect public spaces from tower placements, ignoring emerging data on non-thermal effects.
We The People Demand: Amend the Act to restore local control. Residents should decide if new towers or 5G antennas go up near schools, playgrounds, or residential neighborhoods.
The Intersection of Spiritual Practices and RFR Safety
Why a Tech Fast Might Also Reduce RF Exposure
When Church of the City members powered down their smartphones, they likely also cut off a meaningful source of RFR in their daily lives—no more Wi-Fi scrolling, no more near-constant cellular data usage. They were ironically practicing a form of electromagnetic hygiene right alongside their spiritual cleansing.
- Duration Matters: The average adult checks their phone over 100 times a day. Even if each check is brief, the phone often stays active or near the body, resulting in a steady RFR dosage.
- Distance Matters: Our exposure intensity diminishes drastically with each inch between device and body—keeping phones away from the person is a key protective step.
Spiritual Renewal thus dovetails with a potential physical health benefit: less time on the phone = lower exposure to RFR.
Empowering Churches to Lead by Example
Faith communities often excel in communal commitments, whether it’s a 40-day Lent, a shared meal, or a group mission trip. Extending that sense of fellowship to a digital fast can:
- Collectively reduce RFR exposure.
- Reinforce the common good: encouraging each other in an environment that supports unplugging, so no one is singled out or left behind.
- Provide education about safer device usage—like not sleeping with phones under pillows, using speakerphone or wired headsets, or turning off Wi-Fi at night.
Just as Pastor Whitehead’s church found synergy in turning away from phones, they might also choose to discuss the biological dimension of overuse, exploring ways to reduce potential physical harm.
Practical Tips for a Digital Fast and RFR Reduction
1. Buy an Alarm Clock
Heather Tomlinson reports Whitehead’s top tip: if your phone is your alarm, it becomes the first thing you check at dawn. This not only saturates your morning in notifications but also places your device (and its RFR emissions) near you all night.
- Use a cheap battery-operated or plug-in alarm clock.
- Keep your phone in another room (powered off or on airplane mode) overnight.
2. Remove Non-Essential Apps
During Whitehead’s 40-day fast, participants uninstalled social media, game apps, or any non-critical software. This helps:
- Eliminate mindless “scroll holes.”
- Minimize the phone’s constant data searching or background updates, thus diminishing RFR usage.
- Foster a sense of liberation from digital dependency.
3. Embrace Physical Community Activities
With new time and attention freed up, the church encouraged:
- Face-to-face gatherings: potlucks, small-group dinners, prayer circles.
- Outdoor pursuits: hikes, sports, or simply walking around the neighborhood.
- Creative hobbies: reading, journaling, or handcrafts, all less reliant on electronic devices.
4. Practice Safe Technology Use
For those times when using a phone is essential, consider these steps to reduce RFR:
- Airplane Mode: Engage airplane mode whenever possible (like reading eBooks offline).
- Distance: Use speakerphone or wired headsets, and avoid storing phones in pockets or bras.
- Wi-Fi vs. Cellular: Some studies suggest Wi-Fi often has lower power output than cellular data, so choose Wi-Fi calls or texting if feasible (though be mindful that all wireless signals can still produce non-thermal effects).
- Children’s Devices: Encourage heavily restricted or delayed phone ownership for minors; consider text-only plans or simpler “light phones” that reduce data connectivity.
A New Path Forward
What happened when an entire church ditched the digital? They found deeper communion with God, each other, and even themselves. The “digital fast” phenomenon not only highlights social and spiritual gains but nudges us to question the broader health impacts of hyperconnectivity—emotional, mental, and biological.
The story of the Church of the City in Nashville resonates beyond theology. It underscores how communal action can break collective habits, whether it’s smartphone dependency or the invisible but ever-present risk of radiofrequency radiation. As Jonathan Haidt notes, if an entire group simultaneously steps back, it eliminates the fear of missing out—both socially and digitally. Meanwhile, those same measures may reduce day-to-day RFR exposure, a secondary boon backed by an evolving trove of scientific research.
A Call to Action
- Faith Communities: Consider implementing or adopting your own digital fast. If you do, educate members about both spiritual and physical dimensions—non-thermal RF exposure is not merely a technical detail but a stewardship concern for the human body.
- Policy Shifts: Push for updating the Telecommunications Act of 1996 so localities can regulate tower placements responsibly. Advocate for the FCC to incorporate non-thermal effects into guidelines, aligning with the 2021 court ruling.
- Research: Demand renewed funding for crucial programs like the National Toxicology Program (NTP). More data is essential for clarifying health risks and discovering potential medical uses of carefully modulated RF.
- Personal Measures: Even if your congregation or friend circle doesn’t do a 40-day fast, you can personally reduce screen time and RFR exposure. Simple steps—like turning off your Wi-Fi overnight or keeping phones out of bedrooms—make a difference.
Reflecting on the Future
Spiritually, the digital fast recalls an ancient tradition: fasting from worldly distractions to focus on prayer, introspection, and communion. Technologically, it hints at a potential pivot away from blindly adopting every new gadget. If more groups unite to handle smartphones with intentionality, we may collectively shape an era that is not only more serene but also safer for both soul and cell.
After all, in the rush of modern life, it’s easy to forget that we have any choice in the matter. Drifting along, we surrender autonomy to push notifications, news feeds, and unexamined convenience. But as one Nashville church found, stepping back from our gadgets can be liberating, healing, and deeply transformative.
In short: The lesson is not to demonize technology but to reclaim agency—spiritually, socially, and physically. Whether you are part of a faith community or a concerned citizen worried about electromagnetic health, it’s a journey “worth taking,” leading “not away from life, but into its fullest expression,” as Whitehead puts it.
May we all find a healthier, more grounded path in this digital age.
