Within me exists a tension between what I am discovering on this pilgrimage to determine the characteristics of a flourishing life, and the realities that our current culture (along with a very real enemy) is doing everything it can to stack the odds against us flourishing in any area, whether it be personal, professional, or spiritual. And, Spoiler Alert, even though I am completely confident that I know who wins in the end, I feel this urgency to take immediate intentional action, like putting my Armor On against my digital devices, in order to not succumb to culture’s pull that I know ultimately leads to comparison, anxiety, and an overall unhealthy status.

Since beginning this research on Emerging Generations years ago, the pros and cons of the current digital world, and its impact on our health, have been reappearing in both secular and faith-based writings again and again. Some of this research was shared in the post entitled A Flourishing Generation, so I won’t revisit those same resources today; however, this weekend while reading J.M. Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, I found my mind returning once again to the need for all of us to create a Digital Philosophy, and to guide those within our sphere of influence to do the same. A common theme scattered throughout this flourishing research has been to Take It Slow, and Comer insightfully shares why slowing down is important both to our health and to our God. He provides practical ways that guide us in establishing a Digital Philosophy which might help prevent the influence that a speedy culture has on our lives.

One of the humorous ways that Comer shares his twenty rules to slowing down (and I’m sure I’ll be sharing many more of these in future posts), relates to parenting our phones. “Parent your phone; put it to bed before you and make it sleep in. T’s and my phones ‘go to bed’ at the same time as our kids: 8:30 p.m., sharp. We literally set them to airplane mode and put them in the drawer in the kitchen. Otherwise we burn time and end up frying our brains with blue screens rather than winding down for bed with a good book, or you know, couples stuff.”

When I consider parenting, or any position of influence over emerging generations, I wonder how many of us have created rules about our phones in the same manner that we have established rules for drinking, cursing, driving and other forms of behavior, especially  when guidance is so often needed during these years of development. Unfortunately, we cannot rely on how our parents guided us because this crazy technology didn’t exist during our childhoods, and boy, am I ever thankful! Amy Blankson in The Future of Happiness,mirrors Comer and many others when she shares, “The further we get from our authentic selves, the further we move from becoming our ideal selves. The way that we prevent that ‘mission drift’ is by grounding ourselves in a set of guiding principles that inform our behaviors and habits.” To me, this communicates that if we desire to be our flourishing selves, it may be necessary to take a difficult stance and create a Digital Philosophy.

What I enjoy about Comer, John Ortberg, Alan Fadling, and many others who have written on the need to Take It Slow, is that they focus on the importance that our speed has on our relationship to God and others. Rather than taking a legalistic stance on why digital devices are harmful, we are encouraged to view the issue through the lens of our faith and then make personal decisions on when and how our devices lead us to either flourish or flounder. Finding that balance, choosing the right metrics for Keeping Score, and understanding how our devices impact our Presence with God and others, is the real purpose in sharing their thoughts on this issue.

As you consider the role of devices in your life, what steps have you initiated, such as Comer’s parenting your phone, that you feel are leading you to a healthier lifestyle? Please share in the comments below.

References:

Blankson, A. (2017). The future of happiness: Five modern strategies for balancing productivity and well-being in the digital era. BenBella Books, Inc.

Comer, J.M. (2019). The ruthless elimination of hurry. Waterbrook.