Disciples of Distraction: Reflecting on Technology, Hope and Despair

 

The annual January Series of Calvin College in Zondervan's hometown of Grand Rapids, MI, is a delight for anyone excited by the intersection of faith and culture.

If you're intrigued by how technology transforms our behavior and brains, this year's January Series boasted a special treat. The presentation delivered by Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and clinical psychologist, was called "Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other." (The lecture was related to Prof. Turkle's book of the same name.)

While I was not able to attend the presentation, Zondervan author Mike Wittmer was there, and he published an excellent summary of Turkle's points on his blog. I found this point particularly stirring:

[Turkle says] People who must constantly check their phone for new messages say that their mobile device feels like a place of hope. They desperately want the message they find there to make their lives interesting.

[Wittmer adds] This reminds me of what the medieval Christians called sloth. Sloth ... is the sin of distraction, which is rooted in despair. Is it a coincidence that our Age of Distraction is also an Age of Despair?

People see their mobile device as a place of hope? I have felt a little tingle of hope before logging on to Facebook, and my shoulders slumped whenever new activity failed to deliver whatever abstract commodity I was looking for. I didn't think I was looking for sources of hope and joy, but I think that was (at least part of) my motivation.

 

Learn More

But before we all throw our iPhones on a pyre, let's remember some salient points from Tim Challies's recent book on  technology, The Next Story:

"[It] is not the technology itself that is good or evil; it is the human application of that technology."

"Rather than changing the technology to fit our understanding of what is right and wrong, we change ourselves and our society's rules and mores, and we reshape ourselves in the image of the mobile phone."

"That iPhone in your pocket is not an 'evil' device. Yet it is prone to draw your heart away from God, to distract you and enable you to rely on your own abilities rather than trusting God."

"Our task, then, is not to avoid technology but to carefully evaluate it, redeem it, and ensure that we are using it with the right motives and for the right goals."

From the 50-some pages I've read of Challies' The Next Story, it's valuable for helping us see how our favorite technologies affect us. (That's just my opinion. You can read an excerpt of The Next Story on Scribd.)

What do you think about all of this?

Are you more distracted, or less distracted, than you were ten years ago?

Mike Wittmer reminds us that medieval Christians linked distraction to despair. Do you think despair is a motivation behind some of your technology habits?

 

More about Tim Challies & The Next Story

A pastor, speaker, and author, Tim Challies (@challies) is a pioneer in the Christian blogosphere. Over 20,000 people visit Challies.com each day, making it one of the most widely read and recognized Christian blogs in the world. Tim is also the editor of DiscerningReader.com, a site dedicated to offering thoughtful reviews of books that are of interest to Christians. Tim is the author of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment and Sexual Detox. (Learn more about Challies's books and eBooks.)

 

More about Mike Wittmer

Michael Wittmer is professor of systematic and historical theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and his books for Zondervan include Heaven is a Place on Earth: Why Everything Matters to God, and Don't Stop Believing: Why Living Like Jesus Is Not Enough. Visit his blog at mikewittmer.wordpress.com.

 

Hear author Gabe Lyons & N.T. Wright at the January Series 2012

Listen to these Zondervan authors' presentations live-stream online:

• Gabe Lyons on January 11 (Learn more about his The Next Christians DVD Study)
• NT Wright on January 24 (Learn more about his his Surprised by Hope DVD Study).

 

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's opinions are their own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Comments

[Rich Tatum]

Wish I'd been there! Sounds like an interesting talk, though I disagree with Turkle on so many things — when I've read her anyhow.

Good write-up.

R

[Timothy Fish]

I can see people seeing technology as providing hope, but I don't see that it is any different than the old Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown is looking for a card in the mailbox. The thing is, people long for interaction with other people. People want to know that other people love them. That is why God created marriage. But he did not limit us to that. Technology, when used well, can provide the healthy interactions we all need, as long as we don't make it into a god.

[Adam]

Timothy, I love your comparison to the mailbox! I'm old enough to remember what it's like to wait eagerly for a letter or magazine subscription...

I suspect Turkle and Challies might agree with you. Technology doesn't add new impulses, it just provides opportunities for us to "soup up" old impulses. In other words, giving a man a mobile phone is like giving a hungry man a bigger soup spoon.

By definition all technological devices, digital and otherwise, are tools -- and isn't the by-product of a tool a new expectation? If I have a hammer, I can build my house twice as fast? If I have a mobile, I can connect with my friends twice as much? Tools are powerful things that change our behavior and expectations, so the most powerful and often-used tools probably deserve more scrutiny.

I agree with your point on interaction. I'd like to see a study on what people *do* if they're let down by their inbox. Do they just get disappointed and check again in five minutes? Do they decide to write a note of encouragement for a friend who's struggling? etc.

-Adam

[Adam]

Thanks Rich, if you have time I'd love to hear what you disagree with Turkle about.

-Adam