Screen Time 1
In 1895, the first commercially
successful moving pictures were developed. In 1905, the first commercially
successful movie theatre, the Nickelodeon, was built in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. In 1927, the first feature length talkie film, The Jazz Singer, was
released. In 1938, the first commercially available television was produced. In
1961, the first entertainment video game, Spacewar, was built at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1971, the first coin operated arcade
video game, a version of Spacewar, came out. It immediately transitioned to
desktop computers when those arrived. Currently, 66% of the America population
plays video games. In 1977, the first commercially available home desktop
computers were released by three different manufacturers, led by the Apple II.
In 1983, the first commercially available cell phone was put on sale by
Motorola. In 1989, the first company was launched to sell internet access to
the general public. Previously, it had been limited to defense and university
purposes. In 1996, the first cell phone with internet access was launched in
Finland, the Nokia 9000. In 2005, the first video was uploaded to YouTube by
Jawed Karim, Me at the Zoo. It is still up. Now five billion videos are watched
every day just on that platform. In 2006, the first television livestream
service, Justin.tv launched. Now, every minute, 97,000 hours of Netflix alone
are streamed around the world. In 2007, the first iPhone appeared, with all of
its ancillary world of apps. Now, approximately 2.5 billion smart phones are in
use every day around the world.
It is difficult to put into words just
how revolutionary this paragraph is in world history, and how impactful it is
sociologically speaking. To illustrate, I lived through the second half of the
above paragraph. I remember the first desktop computers and their limited
capabilities. My Dad had a RadioShack Tandy one that I played Connect Four on
as a kid. We did not own a television as a child, but, of course, all of my
friends did and watched theirs often. I remember the first time I saw a cell
phone being used in public. It was at my college graduation in 1995. I remember
the first time I logged onto the internet, listening while AOL tried to connect
with that weird screeching sound. It was 1998. Email became a part of my life
that year for the first time. I remember my first smart phone. I was in my
mid-30s. Now then, not counting writing or sermon prep, I spend more hours a
week on a screen than I care to admit.
Screens have changed me. They have
made me more efficient. They have educated me. They have allowed my ministry to
expand exponentially. They have also stolen my time, tempted me, and addicted
me. In none of this am I alone. Our entire society is in some real sense being
radically shifted as a result of screens. Our politics, education,
entertainment, work, dating, growing up, spending patterns, and a host of other
things are being influenced by screens. Nor is our religion exempt. The whole
concept of a church service and of church itself is being shifted.
Is all of this use bad or wrong or
wicked? Of course not. Is all of this use good and right and edifying? Of
course not. Two things are factual, however. Screens occupy a larger and larger
part of our life. And since they are not right or wrong intrinsically
discernment in that usage is required, in some cases desperately required.
God could, if He so chose, have listed
everything that will ever be right or wrong in the Bible. For several reasons,
He chose not to do so. He does list some specifics in the Word of God, but for
the most part He offers us biblical principle and calls on us to use it to
discern the specifics of right and wrong in each generation. For when for
the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which
be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need
of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in
the word or righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that
are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5.12-14). In fact, as we mature, we are
supposed to exercise this discernment in line with biblical principle so often
that we actually become very good at it. Mature Christians use these muscles a
lot.
From time to time, I meet with those
who insist if something is not spelled out in black and white in the Bible, I
am not allowed to preach that it is right or wrong. That is utter nonsense. Paul
told the Thessalonian church to prove all things; hold fast to that which is
good (I Thessalonians 5.21). To prove here is to test something. It is to
assay the ore in order to determine whether it is genuine or not. Why? Because
with many things we do not automatically know. There is not a specific chapter
or verse that speaks to it. So we must test it against biblical example and
biblical principle, and carefully make a sound judgment call.
In addition to this truth, just
because something is not wrong does not mean it is good for you. A concept or
practice may not be sinful but that does not necessarily mean it is edifying
for the Christian. Paul instructs us in Philippians 1.10 to approve
things that are excellent. This word “approve” is similar to his word
“prove” above. It is to stamp “pass” on an idea or practice rather than “fail”.
But the bar here is not ok or even good; the bar is raised to the standard of
excellent.
While I cannot deal with all of the
issues at play here, between now and Thanksgiving on this blog I do intend to
deal with some of the larger ones. I might also add that I found two books
particularly helpful along this line. I will use some of their content in this
series, though you would glean much more if you picked them up yourself. The
first is a secular book by the experienced child psychologist Nicholas
Kardaras. It is Glow Kids: Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids and How to
Break the Trance. The second is an evangelical Christian book, Tony
Reinke’s 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You. To the illustrations and
facts and thoughts I found here I will add some additional biblical principles,
principles designed to help to prove all things, to help you discern
both good and evil.
I hope it will be a blessing and a
practical help to you and your family. We will begin next week with nine
questions to ask yourself in relation to your screen use.
See you then.
I am really looking forward to the rest of this series. I've been one who struggled with social media addiction. I would use it as a Gospel platform, a tool to encourage other Christians, and to connect with distant friends. But I still had to come to the conclusion that nearly everything else about it was slowly wrecking me emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The benefits were not worth the costs. I do not say that everyone has to come to the same conclusion on it as me, but after ten years, I deleted my account. With all the good its deletion has done me since, I hardly miss it.
ReplyDeletewhile i don't expect to read these books i will telegraph what my expectations are by saying i will refer to them as psycho book and phonebook
ReplyDeletePastor knows, but for those who don't know me, you may want to make note i haven't owned a phone for years, and except for the very few weeks that God saw to it i had one to get into a homeless shelter ( the phone got wet the night i was told i was admitted, just show up tomorrow for intake) with that exception no regular phone access for well over half my life
I look forward to see if Pastor mentions some of the "professional" observations i have developed independently