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Has technology worsened your life?

Perhaps. It has mine.

Of course, technology has its place. I don’t want to go back to no electricity or no air conditioning.

Even more current – I don’t want to go back to rotary dial phones or dialup internet. Or two television channels we could only get via rabbit ears or a roof antenna.

If, then, if technology has worsened my life, how so in light of all these good things?

Here’s my list, in no particular order.

1. The World Wide Web is a black hole. I would hate to have to go back to researching topics by going to the library, thumbing through the card catalogue, and finding the book I needed to help me understand the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Google and I’m there. But the WWW is like quicksand – it can suck you in and hold you fast.
2. Social media is so antisocial. The history of Facebook is intriguing. It, of course, started out as a playground for college students. Now, it is a haven for grandparents looking at photos of their grandkids.  That is a good thing. What isn’t so good – and I’m primarily focusing on Facebook because it’s so ubiquitous – is just how toxic it’s become. You see hate and vitriol spewed everywhere. It’s a coward’s platform – people say things in cyberspace they’d never be bold enough to say in person. Worse, it’s become an echo chamber. People tend to hang out with others of like mind. That’s not bad, except when it leads to disdain for others who might have different opinions.
3. Anyone can have a platform. This isn’t just a social media thing. Anyone can put together a website, portray themselves as an expert in whatever, cobble together a false narrative complete with endorsements, and bingo. They are a “somebody.” Undiscerning types find them, accept what they say as gospel, and falsehood flourishes.
4. It can make us intellectually soft. I am struck by how many folks seem to have lost the capability to think for themselves. They latch onto what one of their cyberheroes says and accept it because it fits their particular worldview. You can gain knowledge online, but wisdom comes from somewhere else. Problem is, some folks are content with knowledge … even questionable knowledge.
5. It’s made us prone to kneejerk reactions. Have you ever read someone’s Facebook post – usually along the lines of Walmart giving cash to the Church of Satan, or something like that – and commented, enraged, and then reposted it without any verification? A word to my fellow Christians: We aren’t obligated to look “good” in the eyes of the world. But we do lose godly credibility when we repost bogus claims, false news items, or other’s opinions without vetting them first. I’m embarrassed with us. And yes, I am guilty. That has certainly worsened my life.
6. It can cause us to be insulated from personal contact. Yep, there’s this virus going around, and it’s made us be conscious of social distancing. But how many times have you observed couples or groups of people together in the same physical space, and all of them are staring at their own little screens? Again, guilty as charged, but it’s just not right or healthy. The struggle is real.
7. It can hinder your intimacy with God. I’ve heard those guilt-inducing sermons or Bible studies along the lines of “what would happen if you spent as much time with Jesus one-on-one as you did online?” I reckon they’re guilt-inducing because they can be scarily true. It’s a matter of balance and priorities, perhaps. We aren’t so good at setting those priorities.
8. It reveals what our addictions are. There is a whole dissertation to be written on this one. You have your phone out, you’re mindlessly scrolling, and it occurs to you – I can’t stop. 
9. Piggybacking on #8 – we can forget what’s really important. A sunset. Ocean waves gently crashing on the seashore. The ethereal rustle of wind in pine trees. There is a whole world around us that we forget to embrace.
10. It can give us a skewed view of the world. I know good news doesn’t sell. But when we’re exposed to the same content over and over and over again, we tend to think that things are awful. Which they are; we do live in a fallen world. But we are to rise above all that. We don’t need to be like everyone else. Embrace what is good and pure and holy.

I could make another list (and I probably should) of ways in which technology has bettered my life. For our thinking today, though, it’s time to do some personal evaluation.

You could come up with your own list as to how technology has worsened your life. I bet it has.

In many respects, this comes down to an unhealthy view of self. We become the centers of our own little universes, feeding ourselves nonstop with more “information” than we know what to do with. As a result, our minds are fragmented, we spend our days in a perpetual fog, and we’re angry and frustrated or scared for reasons we can’t identify.

Here’s my own personal counsel. File it away in that “for what it’s worth” folder.

I’ve identified some ways technology has worsened my life. For me, it’s just a simple matter of rationing – deciding as my day starts just how much time I’ll allot to spending non-work related time online. I’ll even set a timer (and check out the Be Focused Pro app – it’s so helpful to me.)

Then, I’ve honed the skill of “just keep scrolling.” If I run across a questionable source of info, or see a post of someone who is a nut (or perpetually negative), I’ll move along, even if they’re a friend.

Above all, guard your heart. Like fire, technology can be used for good and bad. We just need to exercise wisdom as to how to use it.

Be well.

Tony’s question: Think of just one specific way how technology has worsened your life and share it with us. Maybe even share a way you’ve overcome it.