Generation Z Can Teach Older Generations About Lenten Penance

Generation Z Can Teach Older Generations About Lenten Penance

When you think of Lent, what comes to mind? Giving up sweets? Fasting from meat? Praying the Stations of the Cross? Those are all great, but have you ever stopped to ask yourself why we do these things? And more importantly—what are they leading us to? 

For the past 16 years in ministry, I’ve watched teenagers take on Lent in ways that challenge and inspire me. My current students are not in the same generation I began working with. In 2009, my high school seniors were the youngest millennials, through the years I have spent most of my ministry with Gen Z, and now, the newest generation, Generation Alpha—the ones who were practically born with a screen in their hands. And yet, in a culture that’s more distracted than ever, many of them are choosing Lenten sacrifices that should make us stop and think. 

Some of their penances sound odd at first. Giving up emojis? Turning their phone screens to black and white? No skipping songs on a playlist? But when you take a step back, you realize something: these aren’t just random little sacrifices. They’re direct attacks on distraction, impatience, and comfort. They’re cutting out things that keep them from being present, from being intentional, from being aware. And isn’t that exactly what Lent is supposed to do? 

 Lent, Bodily Mortification, and the Technology That Owns Us 

Lent has always been about bodily mortification—giving up something physical to wake up our spiritual senses. For centuries, Christians have fasted, worn scratchy clothes, walked barefoot, or slept on the floor. Not suffering for suffering’s sake, but creating space for forced detachment. You give up food to remember you don’t live on bread alone. You deny yourself comfort so you don’t forget where your true home is. 

But today? We don’t struggle as much with physical indulgence as we do with digital indulgence. We’re not weighed down by feasting so much as we are by distraction. 

Our phones have become extensions of our physical bodies, generally not being more than four feet from us at any given time. Studies show that our brains actually integrate tools like smartphones into our body’s identity, meaning we subconsciously treat them as part of our own bodies. ([Oxford Practical Ethics](https://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2010/11/is-your-mobile-phone-part-of-your-body/)) Think about that. We are literally being shaped by what we refuse to put down because it has become an appendage. Too often people think this is a young persons problem area; however in conversations with my students they detail how their parents have as much screen time as they do – this is a multigenerational phenomenon that has crept its way through culture. 

That’s why so many young people are choosing to mortify their technology. Because for them, cutting out TikTok or putting their phone in grayscale is just as real of a penance as fasting from food. And if we’re being honest—it might be harder. 

 It’s Not About What You Give Up. It’s About Where It Leads You. 

Now, before anyone gets the wrong idea, let’s be clear: technology isn’t bad. Your phone isn’t evil. Neither is food, coffee, or comfort. The things we give up for Lent aren’t the problem. But acknowledging that we can sacrifice something that may be “good” for the ultimate good. 

Lenten sacrifices are about reordering the items in life you recognize as being disordered —clearing out the noise so you can hear, see, and follow God more clearly. 

If your fasting doesn’t lead you to prayer, you’re just on a diet. 

If your sacrifice doesn’t increase your trust in God, you’re just testing your willpower. 

If your Lent doesn’t bring you closer to Jesus, then what exactly are you doing? 

The goal isn’t to suffer for suffering’s sake. The goal is to strip away whatever is distracting you from the greatest thing—the ultimate thing—God Himself. 

And that’s where we can learn something from Generations Z and Alpha. They’re fasting from the things that can take possession of them, the things that control their thoughts, steal their time, and demand their attention. And maybe that’s exactly what we need to do, too. 

So here’s the challenge: What if we took a page from their book? What if we chose some of these modern mortifications—not just to see if we could do it, but to see what it might do in us? 

Here are 12 Lenten practices inspired by today’s teenagers that might just challenge you in ways you didn’t expect. 

1. Turn Your Phone to Black-and-White Mode 

No bright colors, no dopamine hits. Just a boring screen that makes mindless scrolling way less appealing. 

2. Only Use Your Phone for Calls and Texts 

No internet, no apps, no streaming. Just people talking to people—like it’s 2003 again. 

3. Fast from All Video Content (YouTube, Netflix, TikTok, etc.) 

No endless streams of entertainment. Instead, fill that time with silence, scripture, or real-life conversations. 

4. Replace All Background Noise with Silence 

No music, podcasts, or audiobooks while driving, working, or exercising. Learn to sit in silence (God’s first language) St. John of the Cross. 

5. Give Up All Emojis, GIFs, and Stickers in Texts 

Make your words count. If you want to express something, actually use your words to say it. 

6. No Buying Anything Online for Lent 

Want something? Go in person—or better yet, ask yourself if you really need it. 

7. No Listening to Music with Lyrics 

Only instrumental, sacred, or classical music. Let your mind rest in the quiet. 

8. Turn Off All Notifications Except for Calls and Texts 

No buzzing, no distractions, no dopamine hits. Just intentional connection. 

9. No Fast Food or Drive-Thrus 

If you want food, you have to sit down and eat it properly—or make it yourself. 

10. Use Only Cash for Purchases 

Feel the weight of what you spend. Make every dollar intentional. 

11. No Filling Awkward Silence with Your Phone 

Waiting in line? Sitting in a room? Walking somewhere? Be present. 

12. No Skipping Songs on a Playlist 

Let the music play the way it was arranged. Resist the urge for instant gratification. 

 

Challenge Yourself This Lent 

Maybe none of these strike you as difficult. Maybe one or two hit a nerve. But the question isn’t, “Can I do this?” The question is, “What can the Lord do if I did?” 

Lent isn’t just about giving things up. It’s about making space. 

So what’s taking up space in your life that God is asking you to clear out? 

What’s distracting you from Him that you need to step away from? 

What’s shaping your mind, your habits, even your body, that’s pulling you in the wrong direction? 

Lent is an invitation. Not to deprivation—but to transformation. 

And maybe, just maybe, the young church have figured something out that the rest of us need to catch up on.