I'm typing this blog from my laptop while text messaging, checking my
email, listening to my Ipod, updating my Twitter and sipping an iced
mocha. I'm totally wired--both from caffeine and all the electrical
cords juicing all my gadgets. Just another over-stimulated day in the
"technopolis" of the 21st century world.As I wrap up another year of high school ministry one thing is for certain: teenagers are too busy, involved in too many things, trying to please too many people--all this while trapped in a fast-paced, over-stimulated world of hypertechnology and seeing no easy way out of this vast web of over-connectivity.
I'm researching the power of culture and media technology in preparation for two messages I'm giving this weekend to senior high students at a missions retreat. I'm speaking on the topic of "Discipleship of the Mind" based on the popular movie trilogy, "The Matrix." The book I'm reading is A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture by Craig Detweiler and Barry Taylor. Here's some insights from the chapter I'm currently reading
Jeremy Rifkin, author of The Age of Access, notes, "The techno gurus promised us that instant access would lighten our loads and give us back more time. Is it possible, instead, that the nanosecond culture is enslaving us in a web of ever-accelerating connections from which there seems to be no escape?"
He mentions the rising number of boys being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the U. S., saying, "Is it any wonder? If a child grows up in an environment surrounded by the fast pace of television, video games, computers and constant media stimulation, chances are that his neural development will condition to a short attention span."
Sadly, parents have often proven little help in this arena. Newsweek reported that "millions of parents around the country say their lives have become a frantic rush in the minivan from school to soccer to piano lessons and then hours of homework. But they're trapped, afraid to slow down because any blank space in the family calendar could mean their offspring won't have the resumes to earn thick letters from Harvard--and big bucks forever after."
Yet, as our calendars get fuller and fuller, our souls grow emptier and emptier. The wisdom of Jesus is proven again: "What shall it profit a man, if he should gain the whole world (the electronic world included) but lose his own soul" (Mark 8:36). Our souls long for silence, inner peace, temporary disconnection from the technological in order to momentarily reconnect to the spiritual.
We are spiritual beings designed with spiritual appetites and thirsts
that TV or Twitter cannot quench. We owe it to the more hidden places
of our being--those quieter areas that will not show themselves on a
digital screen--to begin listening to the deeper yearnings for escape,
solitude, and renewal. I suspect that if we did take an internal Holiday of the soul, visiting those
exotic far off, neglected areas of our inner being, while leaving our
electronic gadgets behind, we just might encounter the God who is
unseen--the God who reveals himself in the wilderness, and speaks in
"the still, soft whisper.""Go out and stand before me on top of the mountain," the LORD said to him. Then the LORD passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks--but the LORD was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake--but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire--but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12).
"Yet Jesus often withdrew to lonely places for prayer" (Luke 5:16).
So, Jesus Creed friends:
How do you escape the constant buzz of the 21st century technopolis?
How do you practice Jesus' habit of retreat and solitude amidst your busy schedules? How do you intentionally unplug?
How do we help hyper-connected teenagers disconnect for their own "internal Holiday of the soul"?
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
E-mail at work especially (including Blackberries) has gotten out of control and become a new tyranny instead of a time saver. In addition to “the more hidden places of our being” we also owe it to ourselves to re-connect with the people around us. This is part of our “spiritual” life and can be hugely victimized by the distraction of electronic media. The other side of the coin is that electronic media can and does help me connect with others, but there has to be a balance.
Thanks for the comments.
Keith (#10) - My comments were more hypothetical than personal in this post - writing on behalf of a world addicted to technology. I personally have pretty good at guarding myself and creating sanctuary from constant connectivity. For instance, I ditched my blackberry after 2 weeks: too connected to constant emails, I don't Twitter (i just feed my blog posts to it via Twitterfeed), and until just 2 months ago I was the only person I knew (under 30 years old) who did not have internet at home. I intentionally kept it out of the house so I wouldn't open my laptop, check email, bring work home, ignore my wife, etc.
My friends thought I was crazy - not being able to check my email at home, but having to drive to the nearest coffee shop to check it.
I just gave in and got internet because my wife's new job required it. Now I am really observing how my own lifestyle is changing. For starters:
1. I used to read book after book at home. Since getting the net, I find myself surfing blogs and reading shorter articles. I never get around to finishing a book. Anyone else notice this trend?
2. On the positive side, I'm free to interact and read blogs like Jesus Creed. This is a joyful but time-consuming hobby I need to monitor and put boundaries around.
3. I still need to be intentional to put the laptop down when my wife is home and not let it eat all my free time.
But, with everything in life, we need (like Steve #11) said, BALANCE and moderation. I don't blame technology. I love it. Let's just be good stewards of technology and our time, and do all to honor Christ.
(And I'm a bit ashamed to admit I'm typing this from my memorial day vacation spot in Cross Lake, northern Minnesota, which happens to have wireless. I'm going to BBQ and play bocce ball now. Peace.)
It took about 200 years for the industrial revolution to unfold from textile mills in Scotland to putting a man on the moon. We're only 20 or so into the internet revolution.
Buckle your seat belts.
I'm a pastor and read this site as part of my Sunday preparation time. So I don't think the wired world is the culprit but our discipline of time (or lack of discipline) does it. My source of inner refreshment is reading the Word with no aim to preach or teach it, swimming in the ocean, sitting on the beach not reading but watching the water, long walks when I pray clearly.
Jeremy,
I'm glad to read that your post consciously adopted the voice of a technology-addicted world. Some of my critique was obviously misplaced, and I already knew that it sounded harsher than what I really intended.
I too find myself surfing for shorter and lighter reads, rather than putting the effort into reading books.
I think the essence of my original point was that advice of this sort (and it can involve anything that our culture takes to excess) frequently takes the form of considering taking a brief respite, rather than serious examination and alteration of our lifestyle. Not mere breaks, but boundaries, as you well put it, are often needed. I think the milder advice style is used to secure a hearing, which is understandable, but sometimes has the effect of minimizing the problem and offering a solution that is insufficient to really address it.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.