My computer had a huge temper tantrum yesterday, throwing all its toys around, then locking its door and refusing to come out. In the absence of an effective locksmith all I could do was obliterate the room and start again. A day and a half of reformatting, reloading, hunting for keycodes, forgetting passwords and the like and I should be back in action. Mostly. (There’s all the web favorites, lost documents, etc to maneuver through yet).
In the meantime, even though my trusty IT department (Harold) is doing all the work for me, and has set up another PC for me, my productivity has gone down to next to nothing. All the tools I depend on, several of the files I need – I am all but lost! And this even with web access to email – if I lost that, withdrawal would be complete. Because, yes, I am utterly dependent on technology to do my job. Bereft without it, I am frozen into inaction.
Do you remember the days before this addiction? (No of course not, you’re too young. Well take my word for it, there were such days!) Those were the days in which we were OK with sending out a letter (typewritten or even hand-written) and waiting three or four days for a response. Those were the days in which research was something done at the local library, over hours or days with the help of a friendly librarian, not committed to Google (usually quite uncritically). Those were the days when we were dependent upon the mental resources God had given us, and the help of colleagues who sat in the same office, and admittedly sometimes by telephone. There were no “virtual communities” – we were it.
What have we gained and what have we lost? Is technology moving and changing so fast that we don’t have time to stop and seek God’s intervention and wisdom? Are we so swamped with information that we’ve lost the ability to step back and see things in perspective, a proverbial inability to see the wood for the trees? Or is this simply a matter of viewing the past through rose-tinted spectacles?
I think I’ve concluded that the Biblical virtues of patience, love, faith, grace and wisdom (among others) are technology-independent – unlike us. These virtues are learned the hard way regardless of the speed of email and the volume of Google searches. But they were just as hard before computers. And no more or less necessary. Perhaps we have deluded ourselves into over-valuing technology, but if it wasn’t this there would be another excuse – the reality is that sin does not like God’s way and only by being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2) can we be truly dependent on the only valid object of dependency – God Himself.
Hey Graham - I certainly remember those days! My wife and I were just talking about that to our kids. But it's no doubt that we love our technology, and use it to the max. No, I can't imagine waiting three days for mail or having to drive all the way home before I could use the phone. I remember going to the library to do research. It was actually enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI can't say as to whether it's making us less or more spiritually inclined... All I know is that at times I need to step back from it all. And other times it has actually spurred me on to good works.
You said it best (as you usally do!) that the lessons of virtue do not come easy, with or without technology.
I so remember the days of letters. I even remember when my grandparents moved to Israel when i was young and didnt have a phone for 5 years.
ReplyDeleteSome days I yearn for those simpler days. But change is what it is. For good and for bad.
I love your conclusion and not just because I completely agree. It's just refreshing to not read about 'the good ol days'. And technology has forced me to grow in all those virtues as much as real life. And God has yet to send me an email OR a handwritten letter so I doubt he's offend by either
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I especially like Alex's point about God's forms of communication - He doesn't care - so long as we actually do communicate!
ReplyDeleteWell I finally got my computer back. I'd like to say it was a freeing, growing experience. But truth is it sucked and I'm glad to have it back. So much for kicking addictions ...