What is the SFS Challenge and why are so Many Idahoans Doing It?

Seeing the letters "SFS" pop-up over and over again yesterday left me completely confused. 

The internet is a weird and wonderful place that often has that effect on me.  It seems like every other day there's some sort of "viral" challenge like the Drake "In My Feelings" challenge that your kids are doing or women turning their Facebook profile pictures black to show what a day without women would look like. It's hard to keep up with what's actually new and what people have rediscovered years after a challenge was actually a "thing."

Yesterday, I saw a handful of Facebook friends wising their online compadres "farewell for now" because they were taking part in SFS. SFS stands for "Scroll Free September" and the more I think about it, the more I like the idea behind the challenge. It's one that made across the pond from England to the Gem State and encourages participants to drop social media cold turkey until October 1.

So why are so many Idahoans jumping on this new "challenge?" Logging off of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat allows challenge participants more time to focus on the really important things like sleep, one-on-one relationships and mental well being rather than wasting time or feeling the pressure to show off how you're "living your best life" to your tens of followers.

I LOVE this challenge, because lately I've been bargaining with myself to stay off of social media during the workday as much as I can.  I've started this routine of "accomplish this task on your to-do list and then you can spend two minutes or so on Facebook." When I admit that out loud, it sounds silly.  If I could just give it up completely, I'd likely get out of the office to do things I really want to do like run or go for a swim sooner.

But giving up social media cold turkey can be hard, especially if you're a parent in one of the Treasure Valley's PTO groups that connects via Facebook or are responsible for the social media account that shows off the positive impact your business has across the Gem State.  Well, then you can ease into it by trying one of these "levels" of the challenge!

Social Butterfly: Log off all social media while at a social event like dinner with friends or a concert.  This allows you to create real memories rather than posting a photo of your burger.

Night Owl: Spend the evening helping the kids with their homework or play a board game together as a family.  You've got the time for both when you say "goodnight" to social media at 6 p.m.

Busy Bee: This is the one I'm going to try! Log out of your personal social media accounts while at work or school.

Sleeping Dog: Reduce your eyes' exposure to blue light from your phone or tablet and get better sleep by keeping social media out of the bedroom.  You may have only planned to check one thing on Facebook, but look at you...you're still scrolling HOURS later. This level gets you those precious Zzzzs back!