The Command Module designed for NASA, during 1969, was basically a large computer that boasted a whopping 64Kbyte of memory and operated at 0.043MHz. Another computer used during that time was made by IBM and cost over 3 million dollars. It was the size of a typical Ford sedan. One would assume that given the size of such devices and the fact that they were used for space travel that they would be pretty powerful, but today's cheap smartphone holds much more information than any computer made in that time period. Your average cell phone is also over a million times faster.
Indeed, because of technology, it truly has become a small world. By the click of a button, a person can have a video conversation with another who could be clear across the globe. Everyone appears to be connected and now unfathomable information is within almost instantaneous reach to anyone with the capabilities of getting online. With notifications sent directly to one's phone, computer, or tablet; he doesn't have to feel as if he is left out of the loop of trending topics or major updates. Notifications somehow give us the feeling of importance and security. As if we are grand CEO's that must stay ahead of the curve by utilizing personal assistants to remind us of appointments and share with us “pertinent” business dealings or we are like Kings who have advisers keeping us in the know of worldly events.
Research shows that the average screen time a person experiences is about seven hours a day. It would seem that people are streaming, texting, googling, downloading and uploading more than they are sleeping on any given day! Not long ago, it was discovered that even just one hour of daily screen time for children and teens caused them to, “have less curiosity, lower self-control, less emotional stability and a greater inability to finish tasks.” From 2003 to 2011, children who were diagnosed with ADHD rose over 25 percent. Was this just a fluke in genetics or the rise of convenient entertainment? Sadly, in 2018, it is estimated that three to six thousand people died in car accidents, due to cell phone usage.
Of course, I must concede that all of this information I have given can be found scattered online and the reality is that there is a lot of misinformation which is readily accessible too. It is very difficult to decipher what is true, when it is easy for one to simply find articles that fit his agenda and fuel his worldview. It is interesting to note that with one click we can access a plethora of information, but at the same token, with one click, can't such information be changed or erased? There is a grave danger in this. But I digress. The fact still remains that technology is booming and where one would see it as a grand achievement and a major aid for mankind, I cannot help but see it as an unsuspecting catalyst for society's decline and moral degradation.
Obviously, there is much good that can be attributed to the rise of the internet and the advancement of cell phones. Thanks to watching “how to” videos on Youtube, a British teenager became a millionaire before his nineteenth birthday (Of course, I am in no wise saying that tremendous financial gain is good morally, but such “good”, in this case, is used in a practical and economical sense). Because of the almost instant accessibility of information, one man who lived in a small, struggling village, learned how to build an airplane out of scrap parts! There have also been incidences where a person goes missing, only to be found by police who tracked their cell phone. By and large, technology is marketed to the consumer with the veil of safety and convenience. The fact that Google and Facebook sell detailed information about people's private lives to big companies somehow winds up at the back-burners of people's minds. As long as one can stay connected to old classmates, see the latest Facebook spat from distant relatives, and stay up to date on trending Youtube videos, they are content.
My generation lives in an oasis of exceptional knowledge and almost instant gratification, so why is it that suicides have increased in nearly every age group? Why is it that there is a startling link between depression and those who are steeped in screen-time? People are connected with each other through technology, yet they experience no true community. We are constantly informed of the latest news and trending topics, but are found wanting of common sense, godly wisdom, and any real, substantive knowledge. It wasn't long ago that being a hermit was frowned upon or at least looked at as somewhat strange, but thanks to the hypnotic trance of the internet, we all can easily become hermits in our hearts. How long can you go without checking your phone at a stop light or in a restaurant with family? Could it be that we are being lulled to sleep through the glare of our tablets and the notification bells of our smartphones? We try to stay up to date and in the loop through digital technology, but when it comes to abundant living, we are wholly out of touch!
In Ephesians 5:15-16, Paul called believers to, “...be very careful how you live. Don't live like foolish people but like wise people. Make the most of your opportunities because these are evil days (GWT),” and then to the believers in Colosse he wrote, “Be wise in the way you act toward those who are outside the Christian faith. Make the most of your opportunities (Colossions 4:5 / GWT).” It comes as no surprise that there are many Millennials and Gen Z's who want to make the most of their opportunities. Growing up at a time when you are not thrown into a farmer's field before your eighth birthday or expected to help raise ten siblings, seems like a life of ease and enjoyment. However, it is not met without its challenges. The younger generation saw first hand that in the midst of the good ol' American dream grandpa was proud of, there was abundant hypocrisy and a shroud of injustice that plagued the country. The internet burst on the scene and gave my generation a voice and a sense that things could change through the digital age.
Of course, technology may change, but the nature of mankind will always reveal its depravity. Sadly, much of technology is increasingly used for nefarious and degrading purposes. One particular research study in 2009 revealed that almost all men, over the age of twenty, watched online Porn. While, other studies have shown that because of the internet, children are viewing perverse material at a much younger age than ever before and the number of women who stream sex videos (many of which are violent in nature) are increasing at an alarming rate! The internet was once viewed as a bastion for knowledge and an opportunity for the “little guy” to shine. Yet, it has become a Matrix for us and instead of being unwitting subjects trapped in this system, we choose to subject ourselves to this virtual world of convenience and corruption. We are strangely addicted. I can't help but think of Cypher, who chose to crawl back into familiar captivity rather than laboring for freedom outside of the Matrix.
I have repeatedly caught myself searching for a simple answer to a question online, only to easily lose myself in the black hole we call the Net. It could be as simple as a sale ad that catches my eye or an interesting looking article that is in reality click-bait, but whatever the case, I end up wasting time and not accomplishing what I set out to do. In one comic of the classic series Calvin and Hobbes, Hobbes asks Calvin, “Watcha doin',” to which Calvin replied, who was lazily watching TV, “I'm killing time while I wait for life to shower me with meaning and happiness.” This was written well over twenty years ago and though it is satirical in nature, it sheds light on today's digital epidemic. We are an engaged society, but rarely are we focused on what matters.
Your average Christian is fine with reading an occasional verse from the Bible app, listening to trending worship music, and even following a few twitter accounts of prominent Christian speakers, but where is the sense of spiritual urgency (1 Thessalonians 5:5-8)? Where is the hunger for righteousness (Matthew 6:33)? Where is the fighting spirit over this dark demonic world-system (Ephesians 6:12-13, 1 Corinthians 4:1-6)? Where is the heartbreak over a generation of lost souls (Matthew 9:28)?
Churches have traded righteous zeal for staying socially relevant. They have beefed up their online presence, but are only creating malnourished believers who are conditioned upon watered down messages! One million Facebook likes is a drop in the bucket compared to one thriving soul that is growing in “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ!” (Ephesians 4:13b) Churches wade in the waters of worldly tolerance, forgetting that what changes lives is standing firm on godly truth! All around us is a vast sea of shallow living and thanks to this digital age, or rather, our crooked love for it, our hearts are drowning in despair!
To the Christians in Corinth, Paul said, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3).” Though his concerns were over the rumblings of Gnosticism and Pharisaical leanings within the church, I would like to echo Paul's unease over the fact that believers are no longer treating digital technology as a tool, but it has now become their golden calf. The simplicity of sitting at the feet of Jesus through heartfelt prayer is almost entirely lost. We now have pea sized attention spans and any desire for scriptural discernment has now been buried under the weight of Facebook posts, twitter feeds, notifications, likes, hashtags, trending videos on Youtube etc.
So, what really can be done? Have we sunk so far in this technological tide that we cannot come up for air? No. Just as Peter cried out to Christ, in the midst of the raging sea, “Lord, save me!” So, we must turn our eyes back to Him and away from the glaring gadgets that so easily steals away our focus and time.
Let us seek for a renewal of joy in the Lord. Here are several verses that convey exactly what our hearts must cry out for, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Psalms 40:8),” “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit (Psalms 51:12),” “I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word (Psalms 119:16),” and finally, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation (Habakkuk 3:18).” Oh God, give me a passionate heart and a focused mind! Help me see that your are my true joy! Your words are my delight, not GIFs, not Reddit, no, nothing of this world-system! May I never again be cumbered about with so many frivolous apps and mind numbing notifications, but may I be often found at your feet (Luke 10:40-42). My Lord, in Whom I delight.
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