Scrolling Ourselves to Death?

 

A Challenging Book

On my last break away I read "Scrolling Ourselves to Death" - a series of chapters written by American Christians. We summarised the book and encouraged everyone in the church home groups to go through the findings and warnings of these Christian writers. Here, instead of a review, I have gathered quotes from the book. 

For sure if the findings of these American Christians are true, and true of the situation in the UK, the church has a new threat and challenge before us. I shan't state page numbers. 

Three Summary Quotes

"From the rising of the sun to its going down, we scroll our way through the day. We scroll our way through life. And we are scrolling ourselves to death".

"Today, we're living through the early days of a revolution at least as dramatic as the Protestant Reformation and printing press. And we don't know the outcome." 

"The vast majority of American adults are walking around shooting up digital dope without raising an eyebrow. The best of us are responsible users who can consume media in moderation. But none of us is fully sober." 

The facts

The average UK adult time spent online is 4.5 hours, more for teenagers (ofcom).

"Between TV and digital media, the average American uses screens for 10.85 hours a day." "This is the zombie apocalypse, this is insanity, this is death, and this is death more redundantly” (rather than  “more abundantly.”)  

The Potential and Real Dangers

Mental health issues: "Researchers have made compelling correlations between smartphone (especially social media) usage and rising mental unhealth, especially among teens and young adults."  "We become anxious... angry....  addicted.... numb... lonely... delusional... detached from reality."

· Trivialising issues: "Within a sixty-second scrolling session, the social media "user" may witness chilling scenes of human carnage in Ukraine, corpses in Israel, a groomsman losing his lunch at the altar, and an orange kitten that looks like Donald Trump." "Mindless scrolling, like its near ancestor of mindless channel surfing, perpetuates mass trivialisation." 

Producing distracted minds: "Distraction has become a norm...Consider how frequently and rapidly in the course of any twenty-minute period we shift our attention for one thing to another...we usually have multiple screens on... it's no wonder our capacity to think coherently is severely atrophied." 

Wasting our precious time: "Television (and the internet in general) was designed to keep viewers engaged long enough to sell them soap via commercials." 

Moving us away from thinking to entertainment: "Television's (and all visual media) currency is visual delight rather than thoughtful action, engaging images rather than textual argument."

Discouraging us from thinking about the future or past, focusing on the NOW: "the internet is designed to keep us fixated on the present, rewarding and reinforcing engagement with what is current, new, and seemingly urgent."  "Americans seem to know everything about the last 24 hours but very little of the last six centuries or the last sixty years."

Reducing our attention span & ruining relationships: "If the first victims of our addiction are our time and attention span, the second (and far more important) victims are our families and relationships." "In late 2023, the US surgeon general released a report entitled ‘Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation.’"

Addiction: "Your phone is a digital syringe"  "Your brain is seeking dopamine. It's whispering, "Get out the digital syringe. Take another hit. Then the boredom, stress, irritability and blues will go away." "Digital Dope"

What do the Scriptures say?

1) Technology is surely neutral in itself. It's how we use it that marks it for good or evil. The printing press was neutral and then harnessed for good - it is unlikely that the Reformation would have happened without it. It's helpful therefore to discuss the many benefits of social media. The Amish community discerns what technologies help or hinder community - is that a helpful way to assess the impact of this one? "...the community's strength (Amish) is the primary concern when they evaluate technology." 

2) We should not be addicted to anything, “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything." (1 Corinthians  6:12) When we wake up, are we "gagging" for digital dope? "Dopamine media is the most powerful, pervasive and engineered form of communication technology in human history, and its not shaping us to love Jesus most."

3) We need to watch how social media affects the way we relate to one another. This is perhaps one of the most crucial things we need to discuss. God made us for community, and as a spiritual family and the body of Christ we need one another.

4) Our teaching ought to come primarily from real-life teachers, elders and pastors in our local church, whose lives are open to scrutiny. Any deceiver can set up a YouTube channel.  "Young believers, or those in periods of doubt, often turn first to online sources rather than to church leaders or communities for guidance."  "The internet - not the local church- has become the primary place where Christians are formed today. Before their leaders ever speak, many church members already know what they believe. After all, they've been reading, listening, and watching their favourite teachers all week. And they expect their leaders to conform,-or else. Preaching, then, is expected to confirm the convictions already developed through the internet. No wonder so many church leaders feel like they've lost their footing this century."

5) We need to disciple young  believers through real-life relationships.  "How would Jesus mediate his relationship to his followers if he were to come back today? My view is that he would communicate in the year 2025 the exact way he did circa 25: live, embodied, in-person.."

6) We should all avoid the itch for publicity and fame.  "Stop trying to reach the 150,000 impressions per video required to be an influencer in the virtual world." (p.187) 

7) We should use paper Bible wherever we can, in home groups and on Sundays, to marginalise the phone "encourage paper Bibles during the services.." (p. 213)