Social Media & the Sin of Gluttony

Jul 10

As a Catholic counselor, I’ve started asking clients one simple but profound question:

“Is your social media feeding you—or feeding on you?”

We often think of gluttony as just overindulging in food. But the Church teaches that gluttony is really about excess—a disordered desire to consume beyond what nourishes us. In today's world, that excess often shows up in our digital consumption.

Endless scrolling, short bursts of dopamine, echo chambers of outrage or comparison and entertainment that leads to exhaustion instead of rest.

Your social media feed can either be formation or junk food—and we’re all susceptible. And here’s the kicker: digital gluttony doesn’t just leave us bloated... it often leads to sloth—not laziness, but spiritual numbness. A resistance to the good we should be doing.

🙏 What if we treated our attention like a sacred offering?

✅ Curate your feed like you curate your meals.

✅ Fast from content that numbs your soul.

✅ Seek out accounts that encourage prayer, truth, and growth.

✅ Notice what leaves you restless... and what brings you peace.

We were made to hunger for something more—not just more content, but God. Let our time and effort glorify God and make technology a tool, not a taskmaster.

Jacob Frazier

Jacob Frazier, LMHC, MA, NCC, is a mental health counselor with Archangel Catholic.

Jacob holds a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Gonzaga University. As a mental health counselor, Jacob has a passion for facilitating personal and interpersonal development, vocational/career discernment, and helping people apply their strengths and Catholic faith to the challenges of daily living.

Jacob has extensive clinical history of assessing and working with clients experiencing emotional dysregulation, depression, anxiety, struggling with relationships and commitment, facing addictions, and struggling with trauma.

Jacob is trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, which he used on a treatment team that served individuals with moderate to severe diagnoses. Jacob is also trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) centered on posttraumatic stress related to abuse, neglect, and other traumatic life experiences. He also has an interest in helping men foster a healthy understanding of masculinity and assist in cultivating virtue.