Loving Technology Without Losing Touch
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This week in the Faith Hub: Where God and Technology Connect series, the focus is turning to the everyday sight of heads bowed over smartphones throughout public communities.
As Christians, are we loving technology without losing touch?
This week, knowing this post was forthcoming, I specifically tuned in to the world around me regarding this topic. On Friday in the grocery store, I noticed a woman with earbuds in while walking around doing her grocery shopping. My husband and I discussed the fact that in the waiting rooms at the hospital where he works, almost every eye is glued to an electronic handheld device of some sort. This afternoon when I glanced out the window, I saw a lady walking her dog, while texting at the same time. We’ve all seen the danger warnings and even devastating effects of texting while driving.
How can we plug in to the wonderful world of technology without tuning out the real world?
While many individuals seek online social communities for refuge and strength, there may be just as many who desire the escape from reality.
Why is it important to enjoy the gift of technology without losing touch? Because we live in the real world, with real people, who need a real Savior.
While I love the awesome blog readers who come to my growing virtual space, and the Bible Challenge Readers are especially becoming an incredible cheering squad for each other, it is equally as important for active engagement with the humans God places in my path everyday. Particularly those for which He is holding me directly responsible- my family. So let’s take a look at 3 ideas that will assist us in enjoying social media and technology for the gift it is without losing touch with the world God created.
1. We could set regular daily hours of being unplugged.
I know a family who does this from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm every evening.
If you eat dinner together as a family each night as we do, then during dinner, our rule is “No toys at the table and no tv on.” Perhaps a “No phones at the table” rule would be the thing to keep everyone engaged with one another at your house. Just an idea. 🙂
2. We could have one planned media-free day per week or even every two weeks.
There is a family I know who uses Sunday as a screen-free day. No television, no computers, no smartphones. While this idea might seem rigid, they actually find it very liberating.
3. Rather than limiting the amount of time we spend on technology and social media, evaluate where we are spending the time and eliminate wasted time.
Is social media what keeps you glued to the phone?
The goal is to control your social media usage and not allow it to control you.
Because I have a special needs daughter who has an underlying seizure disorder, I want people to be able to reach me regarding her needs. So while I typically try to keep the phone close by, I keep all the social media notifications turned off. This gives me the control to go to the social media when I can engage and respond well, rather than allow the social media to distract me from my daily tasks.
Maybe you love to play games and that love often steals time away from your intentions and priorities. Resolve to be disciplined in this area!
If you’re not sure exactly where you are losing time and you have an Ios device (Iphone, Ipad, etc.), then make sure you have the diagnostic reporting turned on. This will enable you to see when and where you are spending time in the usage logs. (ie: Fruit Ninja needs to get the boot. :))
Loving technology without losing touch means being proactive in your intentions and perceptive to your environment.
The reason I love technology, but don’t want to lose touch, is so I can share with others what God has done for me and shine light in a darkened world.
What does “loving technology without losing touch” mean to you?
Bloggers- thrilled to have you link up! Thanks for joining the conversation!
We had limitations too, when our children were little. They were allowed 30 minutes of t.v. per day, which we later expanded to an hour so that they could watch “Little House.” They were allowed 30 minutes on the computer every other day if they preferred that instead of t.v. that day.
We turned off the t.v. at 4:00 p.m. and it never went on again until after they went to bed (so that I could get in a little t.v. time of my own, lol!). Of course, sometimes there was an exception if we had a family movie night. We eventually eased up on some of the restrictions as they got older as we wanted them to learn to set their own boundaries and limitations on t.v. and computer, while we were still at home to encourage them to monitor that time. But we still had a cut off time later in the evening. Had a filter on the computer too. Always.
Thank you for hosting today!
I love that you embraced allowing the children to learn to set their own boundaries as they matured. I believe that point is SO very important for the next generation!!