I'm concerned. I've been concerned for sometime now. I'm still not quite sure what to think of it or even how to process it. My concern started in 2011 when I first read
Tim Challies book The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion.One of my key takeaways from this book was: we still really don't know what all this technology and instant gratification is doing to us.So, several years later, do we know now? Have we learned anything about ourselves and our walk with God now that we can spend endless hours on our smart phones, tablets and Netflix?I think we are beginning to figure it out and the results are not pretty. The truth is, I'm ashamed of my media habits and lack of discipline with technology. I'm even more concerned for my children. I want to do something about it. So where do I start?There are three books that have arrived on my desk this week that I want share with you. I have not finished reading them but I have begun to explore the aim of these books and they are aiming right at my heart.The first book is called
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter. This is not a "Christian" book per se but the Christian principles are promising. This book is the #1 Best-Seller on the "Human-Computer Interaction" list. (Am I the only one that didn't know this list existed?) I could go on and on about this book but in the very beginning of the book, the most shocking thing I learned was that Steve Jobs would not allow his own children to have an iPad. What else needs to be said?A second book I just picked up is called
The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place by Andy Crouch. His 16-year-old daughter, Amy, wrote the forward to this book and it is amazing! This book looks very promising and seeks to help families use wisdom with technology in their homes. The Gospel Coalition has a helpful
review of this book. Another scary moment for me was when I read in Crouch's book this line, "Apple introduced the groundbreaking iPhone in 2007. An awful lot of children born in 2007, turning ten years old as this book is published, have been competing with their parents' screens for attention their whole lives."Lastly, the book that is set to arrive any day now is
12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You by Tony Reinke, forward by John Piper. I have not read this book yet but I have watched
this video and it will scare you! He has a great follow-up article on Desiring God that just came out:
Smartphone Addiction and Our Spiritual ADD.I'm not sure where this is all going to lead. It may mean I buy a flip phone. I know that I would like to have less screen time and more time cultivating relationships. I know that I would like to be less connected to the digital world and more connected to the real world: relationships, God's creation and meditation/prayer/communion with my Savior.Should I become a Luddite?The Luddites were a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest. This label is used today of someone who is increasingly concerned with technology and what it is doing to us.I would love to hear your thoughts on this. I would love for any of you to read some of these books with me and tell me your thoughts.See you Sunday!By His grace and to His praise,Wilson
