Loneliness has spiked in recent years. The statistics are that people are lonelier than in past decades. The irony is that we are more connected technologically than ever and yet more disconnected emotionally than ever before in history. The advent of the text and email age has caused a chronic loneliness; and for good reason. The problem with the written medium is it removes our body language, tone of voice, and the light in our eyes that reveals our souls (Matthew 6:22). When we text, post, email, or instagram it is taking a three dimensional human being and putting it in one dimension of written text which allows for way too much interpretation and misunderstanding.
I have seen fights break out between loved ones over texts, posts, and letters that would have been avoided with a phone call, Skype, or personal visit. Satan has gotten humans to marginalize their communication to a medium that can be interpreted and twisted too easily. As a result people get offended over a post and miss the meaning because they can’t hear a person’s sarcastic tone or see their jesting facial expressions. There are actors who have had to apologize over a happy birthday tweet because people misread the intention of the said tweet! Ugh its getting crazy!
Christ created us to express ourselves in multiple ways: tone, facial expressions (like a smile or frown), body language (rocking, arms crossed, shaking), eye contact, and the words we choose to speak. A person posts”I hate you!” And a friend gets troubled and thinks they are hated. But if a friend calls and laughs and says in joking tone, “I hate you! (Envy you)” The two laugh knowing its said in jest; but texting or posting those words do not carry the heart of the message or how it was meant to be delivered or received. This is the problem, new generations communicating via a marginalized medium of print, text, post, and written words that cannot convey without Victorian writing skills, the intent or context of a sentence like “I hate you!” As a result more and more people are getting offended and turning on each other over what in most cases is misunderstandings. This supposed technology that is meant to connect is a weapon to disconnect people.
Worse people use aliases on online forums, chat rooms, instagram, yahoo comments, and etc and sow death, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Psalm 18:21). They post malicious words and do not have to be held responsible for them because they post it with a username like smurfguy789. The internet has become a dark place for sadists who under the guise of usernames troll and seek to tear down others.
This written age of communicating is causing chronic loneliness. Because people are not able to express their whole selves via body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, eye contact, and etc; they feel less known and because written communication causes so many fights, offenses, and misunderstandings; people spend much more time putting out social fires, and in turn it exhausts them, and makes them introvert. Thus technology is aiding in creating insular people, which in turn breeds loneliness which gives birth to depression which can lead to self destructive behaviors and even suicide.
Technology itself is not the problem, it is the use thereof. As Christians we have to consciously choose to express ourselves in the ways God meant for us to. This means making phone calls, Skyping, facetime, and yes meeting in person. The apostle tells us, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25). We draw encouragement from each other in person. So make time each week to meet with fellow Christians, so that your isolation and loneliness is kept in check. This is how to curb the negative side effects of this writing medium, by dwelling in person with our brethren in Christ. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment