There was a time when I saw every complaint about any technology as an assault on the blessings of liberty. My loyalty to free markets made me suspicious of anyone casting doubt on the marvels of new whiz bang machines. One can, however, hate the idea of government interfering with x and thinking x is maybe not such a good thing. Caveat emptor, “Let the buyer beware” means both “Keep government out of it” and “Beware.”
I did not own a cell phone until 2002 nor an i-phone until 2010. My laptop get’s more use than my phone. But I must admit the phone is impressive. I love that meme that shows a picture of a telephone, video camera, still camera, Walkman, notepad, road atlas, laptop, radio, etc. all of which are contained in any smartphone. It rightly amazes.
The trouble is that it messes with our minds. Last semester my college students and I watched The Social Dilemma. There, the very experts who write the code concede they write it not to serve us but to hook us. The whole class quivered, frightened by what they saw. For a day or two. Then they went back to “normal.”
But it’s not normal. These students literally spend half their waking hours on their phones. Whether they are doom scrolling, watching or posting tik-toks, running duck lip poses through various filters, they’re doing it all day. How easy to consider this behavior as just something kids go through, a fad, harmless. It’s not.
The ability of teens to reason carefully, to delay gratification, to think creatively plummets with increased use of smartphones. Perhaps we should call them dumb phones. And this doesn’t even touch on how social media works fiercely against biblical sexual morality. We are only scratching the surface of the long-term impact of the ubiquity of porn on the internet.
The great agrarian Andrew Lytle once argued that the demise of the American family could be blamed on the rise of central heating. Before its advent, families all gathered around the fire, and had to get along. Once the house was all one temperature, people adjourned to their rooms. Until, of course, the television brought them together again. But now we all have our own televisions in our pockets. Even when we are together we are apart. Each of us bows our head before our idol wrapped in otterbox.
For parents, please watch the movie and if you haven’t already, give more serious and prayerful thought before handing down to your children your idol 13 because you want a shiny new idol 17. If necessary, get them a dumb phone, or a gizmo. For young adults, please watch the movie and do a little research on the impact your phone is having on you, body and soul.
Older adults, we too can be impacted. Watch the movie, and come up with a plan to make sure you use your smart phone as a tool, rather than it using you as a tool. Set yourself a reminder to check how you are doing in a month or two. Getting free isn’t easy. But it is good for you.