The SmartPhone

In January this year, I was in Uganda visiting some friends. Wherever you travel in the 21st Century – the smartphone rules supreme. It does not seem to matter whether you are in the capital, Kampala, Eastern or Western Uganda (both of which can be quite rural); people are preoccupied with their phones. From men on Boda-bodas (motorcycle taxis) to police and army personnel, you rarely see anyone without a smartphone in their hand or beside them. Photos, news, social interaction and the writing of notes and messages are all routed through the phone.

At one stage, some intellectuals thought that the technology of writing had some major drawbacks. For instance, they argued that writing things down reduced your capacity to remember and that wisdom was rapidly being replaced by the mere accumulation of facts! If this is true of writing, then there definitely is some truth in it in relation to the many forms of technology we use today.?

Neil Postman (1931-2003), an American author, educator, media theorist and cultural critic, wrote several books addressing the issues arising from the use of technology. In one of his books, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (1992), he explains that we are in danger of losing our capacity to think through the overuse of technology. To quote, ‘the uncontrolled growth of technology destroys the vital sources of our humanity. It creates a culture without a moral foundation. It undermines certain mental processes and social relations that make human life worth living.’ ?If he is right in his analysis, we are living dangerously!

It's quite paradoxical that the very thing that was designed to improve social contact, communication, education, etc., could actually work against us. This article aims not to condemn technology or social media but to appeal for its wise use.

It has been said that we are the sum total of our thoughts! What we allow into our minds has a significant and lasting effect on us. Technology provides access to good and bad things, but it is only as good or bad as we are. Jesus Christ gave a searching commentary about our hearts and our minds. He taught us that our problems stem back to our character. Listen to his comments - 'the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.........For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts.....'1 Jesus then proceeded to list sins that are common in society, some you might recoil from (theft, murder, slander) and others a lot of people today think are quite acceptable in our society (fornication, adultery, coveting, deceit, sensuality, pride etc).?

Have we become desensitised to our moral state, and is one of the main causes technology? Neil Postman's prediction of the effects of technology was pretty accurate.

So, where do we go from here? Ditch technology? I don't think so. An awareness of our weakness and sin will cause us to look for the only viable solution that can be found – salvation, cleansing and a fresh start through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’2.

Bible References:

1. Mark 7:15,21

2. 1 John 1:9

?