Every morning, first thing after i get up and bring our little man into bed for some morning cuddling, a couple things always take place. First, I inevitably grab my iPhone to check the new blog posts for the day and shortly after I start reading blogs on my iPhone, Elijah usually starts climbing on me and pointing for the iPad which is charging on the nightstand next to us. Since Daddy is on the iPhone, he should obviously get to watch Mickey Mouse on the iPad.
Technology does some incredible things. We are more connected in our world than ever before. Something can happen on the other side of the world and I almost immediately can hear about it. I found out about the recent election of the new pope without ever once checking a news source. My son will have technology at his finger tips that I cannot even begin to imagine. People walk around with bibles in their pockets on their phones; hundreds of years ago you couldn’t own your own bible let alone read one while you were in the bathroom. Technology changes the way we function.
But this isn’t always a good thing.
I’m okay with my morning routine of checking my blogs on the iPhone; it’s the modern day equivalent to reading the newspaper in the morning. But what about the times where I’m hanging out in the bedroom with my son and my phone vibrates, do I have the discipline to simply be present with my son and ignore the looming notification. I’m far from having this figured out, but I’m working on it. I’ve tried to make sure that at certain times I don’t have my phone out and just be with my family. We don’t usually just leave the tv on as background noise when we are playing in the living room. When we are reading the bible as a family, texting isn’t okay.
The New York Times had an article describing the love we as americans have for our technology and it was a bit revealing:
“But most striking of all was the flurry of activation in the insular cortex of the brain [when presented with an iPhone], which is associated with feelings of love and compassion. The subjects’ brains responded to the sound of their phones as they would respond to the presence or proximity of a girlfriend, boyfriend or family member.”
I don’t want this to be me.
When I’m with my family, I want to actually be with my family. If I love my phone the way I love my wife and my son, that’s a problem. I’m not getting rid of technology and I’ll still probably use it more than the average person, but I’m also working to be cautious. And that starts at my house.
How are you trying to be cautious with your consumption of technology?
Photo Credit: NBC News Facebook