The smartphone is a technical revolution with serious consequences. Humanity has never been so networked and still seems to be so distant from a human point of view. Never before have we had a more efficient tool, yet it makes us distracting and unproductive.
These devices have fundamentally changed our thinking, our habits, our social behavior and our religious life as Christians.
The good news is:
WE CAN LEARN TO USE DIGITAL MEDIA, BUT WE HAVE TO BE READY AND WILLING TO RADICALLY RETHINK AND DEVELOP HEALTHY HABITS.
There are 12 topics that are worth addressing, where we are being changed by our smartphones. Changes that affect the whole of society !!
Benefit <=> Danger
Smartphones are dangerous - like marriage, or music, or cooking, or anything that can become an idol. But they are also very useful, like guns and razor blades and medicines, but they can also ruin our lives at the same time!
Development
In 1981 the first personal computer came on the market. TIME magazine named 1982 the year of the computer. The prices were so high back then that hardly anyone could afford them.
23 years later, the iPhone came onto the market. It quickly captured families and our attention. Fascinating what it had to offer. It helped and still gives a feeling of “happy consciousness” today. With it you feel up to date, informed and available at any time. Wonderful!
Strange Names
You could also give the smartphone other names such as:
Annoyance of incessant performance
Plague of x-fold beeps and buzzes
Soulless apparatus with an insatiable hunger for energy
Warlocks of digital feats
Surveillance wrist watch
Dictator, distractor, troublemaker
But there are also positive expressions:
personal assistant
irreplaceable travel companion
lightning-fast connection to family and friends
Game console
Smart friend and advisor
On January 9, 2007, tech genius Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone at the Macworld show. Six months later, Apple followed suit with their first iPhone. This technique was fascinating. Everyone could now hold a computer in their hands. Plus wireless, convenient and easy to use. No wonder, almost a billion cell phones were sold in the first 10 years.
The development took us all by surprise. When someone told me that it would soon be possible to influence and even steer the screen with your finger, I laughed and clearly showed that something like this was not possible. I was soon taught better!
12 DANGEROUS CHANGES
1. We Become Addicted To Distraction
We look at our smartphones over 80,000 times a year. This corresponds to about every 4 minutes of our waking time. Is that roughly true for you personally?
We now know that the more addicted we are to our cell phones, the more susceptible we are to depression and anxiety. Concentrated work and good sleep are impaired as a result.
Why do we like to be distracted?
Is it perhaps a way to escape the pressure of work and certain fellow human beings? Or maybe even profound questions like: What is my purpose in life? Could it even be an escape from our self-knowledge? Who am I and where is my journey going? Are pleasure and distraction more enjoyable than preparing for eternity?
How much do you like to hear the bell and alarm signals from your smartphone? As soon as they sound, aren't we usually immediately investigating the information received? Don't we feel loved because someone has thought of us?
Perhaps you still know the saying: "I think therefore I am." Today you could say: "I am asked (liked), therefore I am."
Consciously avoid distractions
Our smartphone is a highly demanding, attention-hungry partner. The following questions can hopefully motivate you to defend yourself more against this distraction:
Do I spend a lot of time doing it? Too much maybe?
How important is it for me to be noticed and recognized thanks to the smartphone?
Do I perhaps thereby suppress my goal in life of experiencing eternity with Christ?
Does the smartphone distract me from my fellow human beings, who actually depend on my support?
How pleasant these distractions can be. Let's prioritize people and not technology!
2. We Neglect Our Environment
Why do you think it is forbidden to use the cell phone while driving? Because then using the phone increases the probability of an accident four times. If you want to write on top of that, then an accident is 23 times more likely. What is more important to us, the smartphone or our fellow human beings?
The stricter the police are against typing while driving, the deeper the cell phones go, which is all the more dangerous. A single digital abuse can cost the lives of others.
Interesting: We are much more easily aroused, even angry at others, on the screen than in face-to-face meetings. Scientists refer to this as the "phenomenon of anonymous anger". Therefore, someone can quickly become aggressive because of the smartphone, but is otherwise known as a balanced personality.
This online aggression is a consequence of the division of our lives. Our attention, our thinking and our digital identity have been separated from practical life. This type of aggressiveness is even contagious. It influences the texts we send and makes others interested and curious. So it can spread quickly.
Eye contact is the most powerful form of social contact. Joy is not that easy to type. It works much easier and more genuinely in face-to-face meetings.
3. We Are Increasingly Looking For Confirmation
Many receive feedback for their published images. "You are a pretty lady!" How pleasant that sounds. The reactions usually bring us joy and confirmation of our life situation. Over a longer period of time it can happen that our self-esteem becomes more and more dependent on this social recognition. The more insecure you feel, the stronger this dependency can become.
An obligation to buy can also develop. You have to shop with a card to make you feel valuable. Or you keep checking how many LIKES you have received so far. The more, the happier you feel.
Everyone needs attention. However, once we see how we get that attention through social media, it will be hard to remain independent.
When we are ONLINE we feel GOOD
Perhaps you have already noticed that it is much easier to communicate online than to maintain contact with other people, for example in church services. Why is this?
Here are a few reasons:
When we are online, we are freed from our possible physical limitations. We can present ourselves older or younger and can put on a "show" more easily.
Our weaknesses, limitations and mistakes can often be hidden and whitewashed online.
We can control our contacts and deal more with like-minded people. How easy it is to develop an online friendship. Thanks to common interests we can have a highly inspiring, enriching exchange of information.
A self-love (narcissism) can develop over a period of time. That is, we tend to replace real relationships with idealized communities.
Dealing with deviations, resistance, tension and differences of opinion tends to be neglected.
Interesting: Smartphones stimulate the human drive for recognition. We want to be seen, recognized and loved more, and that through constant contact with other like-minded people. Therefore, it is difficult for us to put the cell phone down.
Each of us is looking for love and recognition. Some more, some less. But we all need them. It is therefore important to be consciously careful when dealing with social media culture.
4. We are losing our reading skills
For active Christians, the Bible is the book of books. Because our Creator God communicates in it, it has a completely different effect than normal books.
Now it is interesting that the enjoyment of reading books decreases in younger people and can increase in older people. And this for women as well as men. For younger Christians in particular, the smartphone can have very negative effects on their sanctification process.
The growing distractibility is comparable to obesity. We are more and more used to skimming the lyrics. As a result, our ability to concentrate crumbles into small fragments. The attention span seems to be getting shorter and shorter. Too bad.
Test: Are you currently reading a book? If not, look for an interesting one and see how far you can get!
5. We feed on artificial products
Today's stars live from pictures. They would like to see as many of them as possible spread via social media. That helps to stay famous. Our star culture developed from this.
Smartphones can help, thanks to their powerful cameras. Excellent photos and videos can be spread through them. We can take in and spread important things at any time. Who doesn't want to save beautiful moments as memories in their photo world?
Our high-resolution cell phone cameras are convenient, easy to transport and powerful. Question:
o Could it be
that this often makes us actors?
that this weakens rather than strengthens our memory?
that we are thereby neglecting our memory-remembrance world?
that we are therefore slowly but surely forgetting the eternal dimension of our life?
Many people find it easier to act than to deal with the real problems of their fellow human beings. We are quickly distracted by the real needs of others.
6. We become what we like
It is a fact: the words and images we consume change us. What we look at, we will sooner or later.
We show our reflection in the smartphone. This includes our photos, list of our followers, our likes. My own brand "I" needs to be "marketed" well. Our second “I” can become very important to us until we can speak of smartphone addiction. We have to look at ourselves! A digital narcissism (LINK) can arise.
Our individual pursuit of individuality is always a hunt for conformity.
Who are we?
We are not who we think we are; neither are we what others think we are. We are what we think others think we are!
7. We get lonely
Loneliness is the nucleus of psychiatry. If there wasn't loneliness, there probably wouldn't be mental illness either. Some psychologists think so.
One would assume that social media, and especially the smartphone, should cure the loneliness epidemic. Does Facebook make us lonely, or does it mainly appeal to those who are already lonely? In any case, it is clear that Facebook cannot end our loneliness. How come
Technical progress offers us many advantages. But it is also a ‘step forward’. Where? In isolation! Stephen Marche writes in his book “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” That the use of technology drives us into loneliness. We no longer need our fellow human beings; we need to think that we are independent.
The better the technology, the more people it can replace.
Automation replaces interaction
If we look back over the past 20-40 years, we can see that technology is always pulling us apart. Maybe even on purpose !!
Maintaining our relationships through technology disrupts the community experience. Love dies with it. Compassion and affection are diminished. Your contact with the other takes place more. With it, alienation and personal loneliness increase.
Being lonely makes you think. What am I doing wrong? What am I missing so that I am wanted?
8. We flirt with immorality
Our lifestyle of consumerism often transforms our thinking in such a way that every experience, our hope, even our longing is easily turned into a digital commodity. This can include the most intimate areas. Anonymity is where sin can flourish.
Our fingertip clicks show our good and bad motivations. A double life in the digital age has become a reality for many. Reasons for this can be:
Smartphones allow sexual debauchery to be experienced more anonymously
Casual sex is a widely available commodity
free pornography is easy to find and ubiquitous
Porn use among Christians: 15% are 60 years old and over, 20% are 50-59 year olds, 25% are 40-49 year olds, 30% are 30-39 years old and almost 50% are aged 18-29. Believing women are much fewer, but the annual trend is similarly decreasing. 8,000 Christians in the USA were asked. Remember that this problematic substitute for love destroys these Christians their profound joy in Christ. It's a shame.
our limitless curiosity encourages the development of immorality. It is interesting that since the advent of smartphones, the number of underage pregnancies has decreased in many countries. It is believed that more sex is experienced online at home.
Pornography seems to make its consumption effeminate and passive and impotent. It is becoming more difficult, especially for young people, to develop real relationships with the opposite sex and also to develop real enthusiasm for sexual activity and mature intimacy.
the constant availability to eat this ‘forbidden fruit’ makes many people victims, so that they slowly but surely destroy their ability to love.
For Christians who have internalized the goal of eternal life with Jesus, the logical consequence is that they invest much of their time in developing this relationship with their Savior, which in turn protects them from falling for these traps of the enemy. They are so interested in the development of REAL LOVE that they don't want to risk this goal.
9. We lose the meaning of life
If you consider that around 36 million books are sent daily as a volume of text via e-mails and social media, then you have to take note of this as a flood of information that has to exert a considerable influence on our meaning in life. The danger is that there is too
Junk food for the soul
degenerates. Declining reading skills, the lack of nutritional value in the text content, the increased exchange of banalities, also known as small talk, all of this leads to the LIKE mentality:
I follow your texts and like what you post when you do it for me too.
There is an unbridled appetite for networking. It is a unique opportunity to gain recognition and thus compensate for deficits in self-esteem.
You are what you eat !! This doesn't just apply to food. But it can also apply: Man eats what he is !!
10. We become afraid of loss
The fear of being able to miss something finds ideal breeding ground here. The “I'm missing out” concern is a serious social media phenomenon. The compulsive worry of missing out on a social interaction, unusual, special experience, or event continues to grow.
Imagine having to go without your smartphone for a day or two! Can you imagine that? Or have you already experienced it?
What you quickly get used to are the pleasant LIKES that you don't want to miss anymore. We love to be affirmed ourselves. We are looking for recognition and attention. If we don't get it where we're used to, a deficit quickly creeps in, which affects our emotional world.
11. We behave unfairly
Many people take advantage of social media to compare themselves with others. After all, one of our basic needs is to be loved and recognized. We do everything for that.
We celebrate the stars so that we can get some of their fame too. For that we despise the nobodies. Well, what if we know bad things about others and want to communicate it?
There is a tendency that reviews on public platforms tend to be destructive. If the Holy Scriptures recommend that we speak to the problematic person in private, then social media make it possible to quickly make the weaknesses of the other public.
For many, there is a real temptation to remotely assess hot cases of people, jump to conclusions, and then seek broad support online. Online defamation means spreading false statements and rumors about others.
And if the Bible predicts that in the end times, in which we are all now, the love in many will grow cold, then it is not surprising that this lovelessness of belittling, mocking, damaging, even mentally destroying others for unbelievers can quickly become a fact.
If our basic motive is real love, then this can also be seen in the use of these media.
When Charles Spurgeon says, “The easiest job in the world is to find faults,” then we can say that harming people has never been easier these days. We need self-control like never before. Troubleshooting others destroys our love for them. So we have the courage to distance ourselves from online defamation or to take action against it. The latter, however, needs a fair amount of maturity.
Our culture is always on the lookout for something to be angry, disappointed, and upset about.
It is unfortunately a fact that all media that rely on buyers are out to stir up emotions and often aggression so that the emotion of anger and the scandal story can also be sold. It is therefore of the utmost importance for believers, thanks to the presence of Christ and the gift of humility, rather than condemnation, to preempt one another in deference, to support one another, and to think, feel and act for one another.
How important and wonderful is the family. Together we can have many unforgettable experiences that can make us strong and mature. You are our priority, not the smartphone - right? - How about a trip to the Swiss Alps?
12. We become disoriented
Our everyday life consists of thousands of decisions. The moment is constantly changing and a new decision is necessary. Our present, the moment is priceless. Because it belongs to each of us.
We are trimmed to react reflexively to resounding breaking news from our feeds, instead of calmly linking our past with our future in a reflective manner. Instead of focusing on our goals in life, we briefly concentrate on the images that appear in the network and respond in the same way. As a result, we tend to lose our orientation in our time.
You can tweet about anything: about birth and death notices, about criticism and encouragement, about crying and laughing, whining and dancing, hugging and rejecting, tearing and mending, and about war and peace. And we can encounter all of these tweets in one scrolling session! So it can be said that our online life tends more and more to whiplash, where deep sadness is replaced by unexpected joy, cheap laughter ensues, whereupon deep thoughts are shared. There are turbulent, amazing, pleasant and depressing things. And everything is disconnected. They can come along so quickly that in many cases we can no longer grasp, estimate and evaluate the depth of the messages.
Through this shielding from real contact and real relationship, we only have to send a LOL (Laugh Out Loud) or an emoji tear because we don't have the time to live out our joy or our sadness. This also allows us to escape unpleasant feelings.
We are inevitably networked very extensively, but have become emotionally superficial.
Let us remember: As Christians we have time that is not to be killed but to be bought out (Col 4: 5). Let's be careful that we don't abuse the smartphone and waste valuable hours when there is much more to it than that, namely a preparation for Christ's second coming, who wants to take us into a sensational eternity.
Summary
What are the challenges and dangers of our social media?
Our cell phones increase our addiction to distractions
You can easily make us be more loving towards one another
They feed our greed for approval and applause
This also worsens our reading and comprehension skills
Unfortunately, many are seduced into visual immorality
There is a risk that many will withdraw into unhealthy isolation and loneliness
How can we defend ourselves against these dangers?
We deliberately keep unnecessary distractions to a minimum
We decide to consciously treat our fellow human beings in a loving and friendly manner
We replace the fear of missing out on something with divine love
We refresh our reading skills by reading God's Word
We concentrate more on the needs of our fellow human beings and try to meet them with love and support
And please think of your children too. Nothing fascinates her more than the smartphone. They love it. They will give social media the value that you exemplify.
Hopefully we are all aware of:
The smartphone is the technological miracle of our time. It is hailed as the most influential toy in human history. And yet it is getting out of date.
And we are called upon to use smartphones smartly. As Christians in particular, we are challenged to get in the mood for Jesus' return and not to allow ourselves to be distracted by worldly issues. God bless you, dear reader.
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Thoughts as “Wie dein SMARTPHONE dich verändert” by Tony Reinke - 2018 - Betanien Verlag
