Technology is so much a part of our lives that we often do not realize its impact. It certainly is not all bad, but technology does seem to be one of those areas that we tend to be a bit careless about and underestimate its influence on our lives. One of The Collaborative’s mantra is to be more intentional about everything we do and technology is no exception.
The following article by pastor Zac Harrel gives us some good great ideas to help us be more thoughtful when considering the technology that permeates our lives.
TECHNOLOGY IS SHAPING YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE
(by Zac Harrell)
Christians should not live their lives dominated by fear and anxiety.
Yet, many of us are almost constantly filled with fear and anxiety. One of the main contributing factors to our constant fear and anxiety is our social media activity. Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and all of the other social media platforms help us connect to others in ways we could not imagine even ten to fifteen years ago.
Social media does so much good for us, but there is also a price we pay for constantly being connected. We are addicted to this connection as well as the gratification and importance it gives to us. This need to feel gratified and important leads us to fear and anxiety. Our addiction to social media produces a deep fear and anxiety in at least two ways.
Anxiety of approval
Our addiction to social media has fueled an anxiety of approval. We post a picture or video, share an article, open up our lives and then we obsessively check to see how many people have liked our post or how many people have commented. The power of likes and comments is stronger than we know. So many young men and women find their identity in this tangible affirmation. When the likes aren’t there or when someone in particular has not liked our picture or post anxiety takes over.
Social media allows us to paint those different than us in whatever light our bias desires.
Social media produces this anxiety in us in the power we give it over our lives.
Social media hooks us by making their sites essential for our daily lives and positioning us to value our identity in the approval of others. Alan Jacobs once said in an issue of Comment magazine: “We are addicted to one another, to the affirmation of our value—our very being—that comes from other human beings. We are addicted to being validated by our peers.”
We all need to be loved and accepted and social media has created a way for us to find this love and acceptance almost instantaneously. The problem is this acceptance and love is fickle because the social media community is fickle. When we find our identity in the likes and comments of social media we make others the arbiter of our worth and value. We give others power over us. When we find our identity in social media anxiety cannot help but overwhelm our lives.
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