Taking A Stand Against the Idol of Technology

I refuse to do it!  I refuse to allow social media to become my one and only source for communicating with others in this world. I don't want to wake up and go straight for my phone/computer to see what the latest is on Facebook. I don't want texting to be my shortcut for hearing someone's voice. I don't want to only rely on technology to do my main talking for me. I don't want to have a relationship with my phone.

I admit it! I love handwritten notes, one-on-one conversations, and being together with others. I get giddy when I open the mail box and get something that someone else put thought into sending to me. I love having a humble, real chat with another person and having that chance to go through life with them. I prefer that interpersonal side of relationships that today's world doesn't make room for any more.

Unfortunately, I have fallen on the addicted to the computer/iPhone bandwagon. I've found myself shushing my children so I could finish reading the latest on the newsfeed. I have ignored my duties at home so I could browse with both happiness and desire to keep up with the Jones'.  I have looked on with some envy at those who appear to go on multiple vacations and have perfect lives while wishing for it for my life too. Who else has done this? I know I am not in this addiction camp alone.

So I've forced myself to put up walls against it all. I deactivate my Facebook account for most of the time to keep from making that an idol in my life. I push myself to work harder at communicating with others without relying on technology. 

Yes, it can be useful. If I need to get the attention of a lot of people quickly, I can go on to Facebook to do it. Yes, it may be more convenient. I don't have to worry about being dressed and ready for the day to find out what someone else has to say in regard to a message I've sent them on there. Yes, it's fun. I can find people I usually wouldn't have normally talked to on an everyday basis, such as an old friend from childhood or someone from a previous location we've lived. I get to see pictures of their little ones growing up and find out what they've been up to at the moment.

But is it worth it? Is it worth the sometimes wishful thinking when I see their lives so "well put together?" Is it worth sacrificing our marriages, home lives, and health to spend so much time idle, looking for hours on end?  Is it worth sharing so many details of our lives such as what we ate for dinner, where we've been, and what we look like every day? Is it worth allowing ourselves to become so addicted?

Because that's what it has become for most people. It's an addiction. Studies have shown over and over that people are addicted. Headlines have said many times on the news that social media addiction is real and is worse than alcohol or tobacco. It's created to be an addiction and the more you use it, the harder it is to get away from it. Think about it. How many times have you used it today?

Not only that, but it's also causing society to turn into a bunch of narcissists. The mentality of people is that it should be all-about-me-all-of-the-time. Should it be? Do we really need to make everything about us?

It's that way when people post "selfies" over and over again. It's that way when one strives to get as many "likes" and "comments" as possible. It's that way when a person will post just about anything, whether it's an conflicting article that will cause some dispute or what they just ate. It's that way when pictures are posted, minute after minute and hour after hour of each day.

Snap. Post. Snap. Post. Like. Post. Comment. Post.

Do the creators of these social media websites want us to know that it's supposed to draw us in? When this is the number one way to communicate, are we really developing healthy relationships with one another? Does it's use take precedence in our lives above all else?

How about the time we don't have to play a game with our little ones? How about the time we don't have to make conversation with our spouse? How about the time we don't have to help out a neighbor? How about the time we don't have to read our Bibles and spend time with God? How about the time we don't have to live life other than something we hold in our hands?

As we all know, life keeps on ticking. We all have been given an amount of time to live on Earth  by our Creator. How do we want to spend our time? Do we want to spend it with God and the people He's surrounded us with? Or do we want to spend it wondering if someone we would normally barely talk to has posted another picture of their feet in front of the sunset? 

Our life is here and now. Let's make the most of it!