Connectivitis

Things that drive me crazy. Here’s one—cell phones that go off in services, particularly a very solemn service like Good Friday. No less than six phones went off this year, a record for those counting. Worse, I was part of an early prayer meeting with leaders of the church last Thursday, and yes, a cell phone went off right in the middle of my prayer. And I lost my train of thought with God. It was maddening…especially because it was my cell phone!  For a moment, I had visions of the Verizon commercial, where the offender falls into the grave.

 

Let’s face it—there is a spreading disease out there. The symptoms are lives with lots of words on the page, and little white space left. We are becoming overly connected, such that it is almost impossible to get disconnected. And as I shared this weekend, technology seems to be doing its best to create even more opportunities to connect. Twitter is just one of the latest tools to keep us connected—joining snail mail, land line, cell phone, texting, Instant Messaging, Facebook, MySpace, etc.

 

What makes Twitter unique is that it is an online service in which one is confined to 140 characters or less. So most of the twittering amounts to issuing updates on the daily minutia of our lives…what we’re watching, eating, feeling, at any given moment…to no one in particular. On the good side, Twitter’s an amazing tool for instant updates, alerts that must get out immediately. Other online opportunities have the potential for us to make contact with people we have not connected with in years. One co-worker recently shared how Twitter and other tools have enabled her to establish contact with people she has ministered to in the past, and how God is opening doors to extend discipleship. I think that is great.

 

But as a caution, we sometimes need to stop and ask ourselves what are the dangers. This weekend I raised a number of questions with the congregation, questions regarding online technologies:

-are we lulling ourselves into believing we are more connected than ever—when in reality we might be becoming less and less connected?

-could Twitter—and other technologies--be another way of dwelling too much on ourselves, a subtle slide into narcissism, more about self-gratification than community building?

 

Last week I came across a recent article in Relevant magazine entitled: “Twitter: What’s It Doing to Us?” in which it asks these and other questions…

-what are incessant interruptions—mostly empty of meaning—doing to our minds, our souls?

-could constant updates—with tiny bits of information--that give us little time to reflect—condition us over time to no longer have the capability of reflection. Are we being trained to become indifferent to real needs?

 

Here’s what I am wondering—

-if we’re always available, are we worth anything when we are available?

-can we have so many friends, that we no longer really have a friend?

-is the slow drip of trivia pulling us away from the hard work of authentic community and connection?

 

It’s not that I am trying to sound like a Luddite, protesting technological advances. But I am wondering where it is all going. For now, I have drawn the line at cell phone and e-mails. I don’t text. I’m not even sure how to text. I honestly don’t want anymore connection. I already feel like the electrical outlet in my study that has two power strips attached to it. I can be engaged in a great book, composing a sermon, crafting a lecture, and stop everything at the sound of an e-mail coming in. My cell phone often gets more priority than face to face conversation. Like an unwanted guest, it sneaks even into my prayer closet.

 

Oh, I almost forgot. I am trying to connect with blogging. This is my cyberspace of choice. But I have long sense concluded it is a way for me to reflect my reading, express what I am learning, and give it the respect of careful thought. In other words, it is only worth the space if there is enough white space left in my life.

 

 

Comments

[Dan Stults]

"Socrates Meets Jesus" by Peter Kreeft speaks a little bit to this, about people being tricked into enslavement by the very things they invented to make themselves more free. Being connected through technology is the easy and cheap (existentially speaking) way of relationship. For example, not that I've commented on your blog I feel a little bit like I have remained in touch with my former professor and been a part of a really good conversation, and while that's true to an extent, because I haven't done the hard work of relationship, the face-to-face, what's *really* going on in your life type of stuff, I will not recieve all the benefits of real relationship.

[Sarah Probst]

Excellent! Such a relevant topic of conversation and your writing is stellar as usual. My question lately has been this: Can the aspects of relationships that REALLY matter be transferred electronically or is it only "face to face" where the supernatural connectivities of the heart take place?
Having been in a year-long state where all of my relationships were sustained electronically (overseas in China), I would hate to go without the information exchange, and my heart strings were occasionally touched by personal note or even a photo…but there really is something intangible and supernatural about seeing someone’s face. I suppose it’s that very same desire that refers us to our innate ultimate desire to see God’s face.