Driving to the office this morning, I was humming along, admiring what could be one of the last beautiful mornings of summer (it’s Michigan, anything can happen!) and stopped at a light. Looking around at my fellow commuters, I noticed every one of them was staring at their phones. This observation brought my mind right back to a recent dinner with a group of friends. We had finished eating and were gathered around the table having one of those great, deep, organic conversations, flowing from topic to topic and getting to the heart of things. Suddenly, a phone goes off. In the scramble of “let’s all check to see if it’s me,” one person getting a phone call led us all to dive into our screens, and we lost the moment.
I don’t know about you, hunters, but this is happening more often than not. Technology has invaded our lives in so many ways, to extraordinary benefit: we have the world at our fingertips every moment of every day, but the very technology designed to set us free has us tethered more than ever, are we simply becoming robots to our phones? Think about the last time you were in a park, kids with eyes down, staring at screens catching imaginary creatures. It’s no wonder they don’t find joy in ordinary nature they can see every day right in front of their eyes.
This is why Shabbat has been such a revelation for my family and me. It has forced me to be conscious of my connection to my phone and my boys’ inevitable attraction to their tablets and screens. It’s hard to separate the advantages from the disadvantages when it comes to tech. Application for learning? PLUS. Emotional disconnection? MINUS. Advances in healthcare? Bonus. Loss of human contact? Ouch. This question is one that bothers me incessantly. Of course, we want to be connected and readily available, but to what extent are we willing to distance ourselves from the humanity that defines us?
It was so good to hear everyone’s ideas last week and an opportunity to learn from all of you. Maybe one of your ideas will be a part of the Weekly Weapon or in my next book. This week, I challenge you to weigh in on this debate: Technology: Good or Bad? There is no easy answer to this one, and I value your opinions. Hit me up by replying to this email; I can’t wait to read your thoughts.
