MANKIND HAS BEEN ON THE QUEST for a faster, more convenient way since the dawn of time. We have a natural abhorrence to anything laborious or inconvenient. The plethora of creative life hacks that we have come up with are evidence of our constant search for ease and convenience. Throughout history, many inventions are rooted in this desire to improve our existence in some way.
Perhaps no other invention has made our lives more convenient than the combination of the internet and screened devices such as the smartphone. Today, the world’s libraries of knowledge and information are contained in our pocket. We are able to work from the comfort of our living room couches. We conduct business, do our banking, enjoy recreation, go shopping, and even socialize with our loved ones–all just by looking at a screen that fits in the palm of our hand.
Due to the rapid technological advances, life has changed more dramatically in the last few decades than in the span of centuries preceding. And while changes used to be more localized or limited to specific demographics, the current changes largely transcend these and instead, have reached into the farthest corners of the world.
No one can deny that these advances have made our lives remarkably more convenient. Who doesn’t enjoy browsing through an unending list of options, purchasing our favourites with a few swift movements of our fingers, and have the items arrive at our very doorstep the next day? How many of us would prefer to go back to snail mail instead of being able to be in constant and instant communication with loved ones?
We could even argue with a lot of merit that these technological advances have not only made our lives more convenient, but have improved and enriched them in many different ways. Surely the ability to spread the gospel to every nation, in any language, has been made exponentially easier by the internet. The access to unlimited information and knowledge has enabled us to learn, attempt, and accomplish things we couldn’t have dreamed of before. Through these technologies, we have access to innumerable opportunities to do good and improve the lives of our fellow man.
But with all its benefits, these technologies have also acquainted humanity with unsurpassed opportunities for evil. The damage these technologies have brought with them is becoming more and more evident. And with younger and younger children having access to the internet on their personal devices, these effects are becoming both more pronounced and irreversible.
A growing number of experts are sounding the alarm. Nicholas Kardaras raises several poignant and alarming concerns in his book Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids. He writes, “An ever-increasing amount of clinical research correlates screen tech with psychiatric disorders like ADHD, addiction, anxiety, depression, increased aggression and even psychosis. Perhaps most shocking of all, recent brain-imaging studies conclusively show that excessive screen exposure can neurologically damage a young person’s developing brain in the same way that cocaine addiction can.” When one understands how addiction physically shrinks the brain’s frontal cortex–the part of the brain that regulates impulse control–it is alarming to think of the possible life-long impact this is having on children whose brains are still developing.
Study after study is showing that we are perpetually more depressed, anxious, suicidal, addicted, and lonely. The connection of this problem with technology and the internet is also becoming increasingly acknowledged. It is not surprising then to find that creators of these technologies are themselves cautious about their use. Steve Jobs, the creator of the iPad, did not allow his children to use it. “We don’t allow the iPad in the home. We think it’s too dangerous for them in effect,” he admitted. Similarly, Bill Gates upheld strict rules on the use of technology in his home.
These technologies, with social media and innumerable apps, have an uncanny way of deceiving us into believing we are living full lives, while robbing us of the very essence of what makes life beautiful and worthwhile. We feel as though we’ve seen the most breathtaking beach sunsets, while in reality we never left our cozy bed and never got to smell the ocean breeze or taste the salty water as the waves crash into us. We feel like we’ve shared a laugh with someone simply by choosing a laughing emoji. We’re able to be there for a struggling friend by merely copying and pasting a nice quote. And we get to feel like a real hero when we have a gift or flowers delivered to a loved one’s home. It’s easy to post curated and edited photos of our lives on social media, and for a moment, we feel like our lives are flawless.
But in all our instant and convenient connection with people through social media and our phones, we are still left feeling the gaping longing for deep connection. We walk away from the emojis, the likes, and the comments, and are forced to acknowledge that, in reality, we are crushingly alone. We come out of the virtual daze the screens held us in, and face the reality that our lives are in fact rather messy, difficult, raw, and unsophisticated.
What we have forgotten is that no amount of laughing emojis can make up for the bond that is created out of joint, loud, and contagious laughter in person. While flowers that show up on our doorsteps are valuable, they lack the healing that can only come from the touch of a loved one, the feeling of someone physically wiping our tears away, and holding us close. And although watching others might make us feel as though we are able to join in their experiences from the convenience of our homes for free, no amount of watching others can replace the fulfillment and joy that comes from taking the time to create our own life’s experiences.
Indeed, to live these experiences is time-consuming, difficult, and laborious. And no one can deny that real relationships are messy and anything but easy or convenient. But what if the difficult and laborious aspects of life are exactly what make life worth living? And what if the raw, uncomfortable, and sacrificial aspects needed to forge those deep connections with people are exactly what makes relationships worth fighting for?
In our perpetual search for convenience and ease, it is imperative to understand that easier does not always equate with better. There is a point where convenience and ease cease to be worth it. Considering the beauty, good, and well-being these technologies have robbed from us, it might be safe to say that we have passed that point.
Perhaps it’s time to take the smartphones, iPads, and laptops out of the hands of our children. Or rather, perhaps it’s time we put our own screens away and took the time to live so fully and vibrantly that our children would prefer to join us in experiencing life in all its beautifully inconvenient, raw, and unedited glory.
