BEING A GOOD PERSON (III)
How ‘human progression’ steals, kills, and destroys the produce of healthy, Holy fruit
Being a GOOD PERSON – Part 3 – What does technology ‘unwittingly’ do to us?
I recently heard an interesting definition of technology.
In the plot of the computer game where I heard the definition, the future has led humanity to ‘self-augmentation.’
No longer are apps on our phones; they’re now part of us—grafted into our bodies like biological organs!
No more Flashlight App; we can augment our eyes to see in the dark!
No need for Kindle App—we can read books using an interface within our eyes and store the books in our brains!
Google Maps App? We’re now a walking GPS. We can never get lost again!
And a Public Transport App you say?
Why bother? We can augment our lungs to run without getting breathless!
The definition of technology used in this game is that it’s a form of ‘self’ evolution; it’s humans evolving ourselves by our own hand.
Bringing this definition in alignment with today’s use of technology, we’re seeing a growing dependence on humanity to advance our capabilities with electronics and artificial intelligence.
In this movement, a very strong message unfurls collectively from humanity of our belief that either (i) we don’t want God, (ii) He’s not needed, or (iii) He doesn’t exist.
The message is a subconscious by-product of our everyday activity and growing reliance on our phones for all matters of life.
Currently, human progression can be viewed as a movement that boldly shouts, “we can be our own gods,” and for the sake of clarity in this thesis, this is the perspective I’m taking, using some common observations to support this perception.
Subsequently, I ask you the reader:
When a person is creating technology, what is their intent?
When a person uses technology, what is their intent?
Putting aside all the good intentions that a creator or user may have, what is at the root of the creator’s purpose or the user’s purpose?
I would suggest that it’s self-dependence, convenience, and a limiting on the need for others.
Think about the supermarket self-checkout machines, or the simplicity of online shopping.
These mechanisms cut out the communication and service of human-to-human interaction.
Another way to review human progression is that it removes the purposes and/or functionality of community; it establishes an autonomy for individuals that we’re more than happy to relish.
There’s no need to talk to anyone anymore; just get the job done efficiently through our new apps or self-service checkouts.
What does this bode for our relationship with our Creator, Who calls us to recognise our NEED to depend on Him for everything?
Well if God is correct and we do NEED Him for everything, we’re going to suffer severe relationship consequences, the way our human biological makeup would suffer if we decided against using our heart organ.
But…I will delve into those consequences later in the separate parts of this thesis.
To start on some simple problems with the excessive reliance on technology, here are a few basic examples of impacts on my own life as well as what I’ve observed in others.
Please extract what you feel is real to your own experience:
(1) Electronics steal our ability to sleep well – blue light from a phone at night-time is not healthy. I’m not diving into the specifics of this as this isn’t a medical journal.
Suffice to say, sleep patterns are better if we turn off all electronics half an hour before going to sleep, allowing our brain time to prepare for slumber.
(2) Computer games – steal our social skills.
Sure, you can socialise online if you feel that fits your definition of socialising, but it’s very different to our standard face-to-face communication.
A side note – there is an obscene abundance of profanity during online gaming…doesn’t seem healthy to me.
(3) TV and movie streaming – there’s something about ‘too much choice’ that again doesn’t seem healthy…
(4) Technology through social media – the dopamine rush akin to drug addiction is relished here more than we might realise.
How can one truly experience sincere joy in real life, if they’re feeling constant ‘hits’ of pleasure from the virtual world?
(5) Apps that change our appearance – How can a person experience their true worth and value with apps that can transform our God-given appearance so deceptively well?
These are just a few examples of the issues I’ll be delving into later.
To highlight where I began to see the cost of technology on our souls, it was during a year’s abstinence from Facebook and Whatsapp.
The result was:
(1) A clarity over my own human condition – our built-in strong desire to be wanted, liked, and admired was really clear to me.
(2) A realisation over the innate God-given qualities we have as people – a need for social interaction was conspicuous.
(3) The way technology robs us of our potential to be of service to others – mainly in tainting the spiritual fruit of God of which I will explain further on.
(4) When free from a phone and internet for prolonged periods, I’ve noticed a considerable drop in anxiety, insomnia, and stress.
*** Just in case you’re wondering, my return to Facebook and Whatsapp came due to requirements with various ministries, otherwise I might not have gone back. This hasn’t stopped me applying what I learnt during my abstinence, which is to be vigilant over my technology use e.g. social media for me personally is a communication platform and not ‘a virtual persona.‘ I will explain about the massive dangers of the virtual persona later.
The aforementioned and subsequent musings are merely observations and revelations that have come alongside my daily walk with Jesus’ Word–The Bible.
I’m not suggesting for any moment to dramatically drop technology or the service it provides. As I’ve said, I don’t personally dislike technology.
It’s simply important to be aware of the tax on the soul cunningly lifted by using technology.
NOW…this my friends is where we get into what I truly believe technology does to us as a species. But just before that, let me explain the healthy Holy fruit…
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