My Phone and my Faith

I don't know about you, but the way my life operates has changed dramatically since I started using an iphone in July. Those of you who have the pleasure of using an iphone or a similar android model know that it's seriously like having a tiny computer in your pocket. I can pull up websites or find directions or edit photos in the snap of a finger. It's kind of crazy how much a person is capable of doing with a phone like this.

Before the iphone, I had one of these:

And yes, it was that color.

As you can see, the screen was about 1.5 square inches and was mostly black and white. The keys were small. The "application" selection included a few necessary built-ins like calendar, camera, and contacts. I could pull up the internet, but there was no way to zoom in and so everything appeared in size 2 font on that little screen, and you had to scroll using a stylus. As such, I didn't use it very often.

When I first got the iphone, I was astonished by all it could do. Just six months later, I'm astonished by how quickly my faith journey has been impacted by this one simple change in my life.

I don't know about you, but suddenly it's like I cannot stand a single minute where I am not occupied. Waiting in line? iphone time. Tyler goes to the bathroom while we're at a restaurant? iphone time. On hold with customer service? iphone time during iphone time. The opportunities are endless-- play a game, scroll through facebook, read some blogs, send photos to friends, check three different email accounts, look at the weather for the upcoming week, watch a youtube video, or any number of the millions of other things this little piece of technology can do.

Now I find myself uncomfortable with down time. I've become that person that so is absorbed in something all the time that I don't know how to simply be still anymore.

Have any of you guys felt like this as a result of your technology?

In my many years of therapy (unashamed! I love therapy), pretty much all of my counselors recommended some form of meditation. Apparently if you have trouble getting your mind and/or heart to stop racing, it's a good idea to take a few minutes several times a day to simply "be." You know, to assess how you're feeling mentally and physically, to be present in your surroundings, and to absorb the fundamental truth that you are okay.

Not only have I ignored this advice by not taking purposeful breaks, but I am now refusing to accept accidental downtime as just that-- downtime. It's become another chance to do something other than think, be aware, and relax. And what I'm doing instead-- the games, the texting, the internet surfing-- are NOT life-giving pursuits.

As I have realized this, I've been trying hard to PUT THE PHONE DOWN. I've been rather appalled by how tough it is. In any case, I'm working to not buy into the idea that downtime is wasted time, because I don't want to be a slave to a phone. And I don't want my future kids to learn that it's a bad thing to be unoccupied. And because I don't want to trade those quiet minutes with God that I used to have while waiting for the next teller for the lesser pursuit of a high score in Scramble.

We're quickly becoming a culture-- Christian and otherwise-- that is so technologically focused that we're ignoring our own fundamental need of communion with one another and communion with God in exchange for immediate entertainment.

What do you think? Have you experienced this?