Prisoners of Our Own Device

There might not have been a more world-changing invention this century than the smartphone. I remember in high school we would ask our math teacher if we could use a calculator, she deny us by saying, “Are you going to be carrying a calculator in your pocket every day?” Well, it turns out we would, plus a phone, computer, encyclopedia, message system, gaming console, news feed, and music player.

As great as the devices are, they come at a high cost and not just to our pocketbooks. Since the mainstream adoption of the smartphone, there has been a stark corollary increase in anxiety, depression, and suicide, especially in the younger generation. It is easy to see the distraction they make on the roads, in the classroom, and in the workplace. As author Jonathan Haidt put it, “The phone-based life makes it difficult for people to be fully present with others when they are with others, and to sit silently with themselves when they are alone.”

This convenience can become a prison that keeps us from our families, alienates us from friends, and draws us into a world of gossip, smut, and quarrels.

So, what do we do?

Maybe it starts by putting it down. Monitor your and your children’s time on your phone. Block off times, like at the dinner table and before and after worship, when you don’t use your phone. Set time limits for social media and games. Be conscious of the effect it has on you. Spend more time being social and less time on social media. Prioritize those in front of you.

Don’t let your phone become your prison.

“promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved”

2^nd Peter 2:19

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