Once upon a time in a land far, far away, families gathered
around campfires, wood stoves, or in gas-lighted parlors to talk, share stories,
or recapture family memories. Or they congregated at a dinner table, not only
to eat but also to converse. They’d ask mundane questions like, “How was your
day?” – and actually wanted to hear the answer.
Then devices called radios were invented, becoming centers
of attention as mother, father and children – and even extended family – would join
in a living room or kitchen to listen to the news, comedies, dramas, and
suspense shows. Sound effects incorporated into programming flung imaginations
into many directions.
Next came the television, at first having a grand total of
three stations for most users. Because program selections were limited each evening,
parents and offspring again convened to laugh together, share shivers during
mysteries and thrillers, and sing along to musical variety shows.
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| Are we in danger of becoming, as Gary Turk suggests, "a generation of idiots, smartphones and dumb people"? |
With the advent of cable TV, programming choices exploded in
number, and in most homes TVs multiplied so each family member could view the
show of their own choice. No need any longer to huddle together, to laugh or
cry together. Uniting around entertainment became so old-fashioned, and now,
so-20th century.
Today we don’t even need individual TVs. We have tablets and
smartphones with live-streaming, along with a vast menu of movies, online-only
programs, apps, and videos – myriad alternatives for grabbing and holding onto
our attention. Even email has become outdated for some, replaced by texting and
social media. Who needs to talk to one another, to gaze intently into someone
else’s eyes – and listen? If we do feel the need to look, there’s always Skype
or FaceTime.
Intentionally or not, we’re increasingly dispensing with the
bother of real, physical human contact. Even in shopping malls, restaurants, or
meeting rooms, noses are buried in technological gadgets that spare us the
annoyance of having to take part in direct, personal, face-to-face interaction.
This point is well-presented in “Look Up,” a clever video
produced by Gary Turk, a viral filmmaker and speaker from London, England, and
posted on Viral Thread. In a slow-paced rhyme, he starts by declaring, “I have
422 friends, and yet I am lonely.” Then he adds, “this media we call social is
anything but…. We’re at our most happy with an experience we share, but is it
the same if no one is there?”
It seems, if anything, our “social media” has turned into anti-social media, encouraging isolation
and diminishing our capacities to engage and reason with and care for one
another. We’ve all seen car bumper stickers that read, “Co-Exist,” but how can
we do that alone, in solitary settings?
This is why one of the underlying precepts of the Bible is
the idea of genuine relationships – God’s desire to have a relationship with
each of us, individually and collectively, and the value of our relationships
with one another.
It’s been like that from the start. After creating the first
human, God declared, “It is not good for
man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). The Lord then fashioned “a helper suitable
for him,” woman. Nothing suggests God’s reasoning was, “Well, Adam needs
someone he can text.”
After first sending out His 12 disciples, Jesus then “appointed 72 others and sent them out two
by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go” (Luke
10:1). He instructed them not to take even a purse or bag or sandals, and
definitely didn’t command them to bring smartphones.
Writing to his young protégé, Timothy, the apostle Paul said,
“And the things you have heard me say in
the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be
qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2). Addressing believers in the
city of Philippi, Paul wrote, “Whatever
you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into
practice” (Philippians 4:9). In both cases, truth, principles and practices
were taught in the context of close, highly interactive relationships.
The writer of the book of Hebrews also underscored the
importance of “hanging out” together, communicating in meaningful ways. “And let us consider how we may spur one
another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as
some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” (Hebrews
10:24-25).
I’m not advocating a boycott of social media, or refusing to
utilize the advantages of email and texting. But when they transform into
anti-social media, inhibiting us from appreciating and enjoying real time with
real people – preferring tweets, icons and emojis over eye contact and real
smiles – then maybe it’s time for social mediation.
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