I don't like to single out any one technology as worst, since some of the most seemingly benign technologies are, in fact, the most pervasively malignant. But, the ever-present scourge of the mobile phone is certainly a demonic stain upon our times. In no other technology does the evil of the Machine make itself so abundantly manifest. When people approach me shocked at my views on technology, I tell them to spend a day, even just one day, really paying attention to people and their faces. Those individuals who try this experiment and who approach it with discernment come to realize that the constant use of phones has dehumanized man and turned the man in the street into a robot. Twenty years ago, people were still hooked into the system, with disastrous consequences, but many of them were still human; now "smart" phones have created a generation of sub-humans incapable of the most basic human expressions. Fr. Alexander Schmemann considered humans to be homo adorans (man the worshiper), but if modern man is any longer capable of worship, it is directed towards diabolical forces through the altar of the phone.
As for the feeling of being alienated: I would take that as a good sign! A good or moral person who finds himself or herself in a den of evil should feel alienated. I think any decent human being would and should feel alienated upon entering a modern nightclub. As such, feeling alienated from the mass of modern men and women is a good thing. Perhaps the best we can do is to be an example for them. If we change and show them the power of the old ways, we will emanate light, and become a beacon for those who still have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Yes, the giving of these devices to children is a tremendous tragedy. Adults can at least make informed consent (though I wonder how many adults would give up tech even if they knew all of the pitfalls). Children are actively having their entire lives ruined due to this. I have seen parents give three year old kids ipads in lieu of a pacifier. This rewires the brain and opens the children up to physical, mental, and emotional problems later in life.
Of course, as horrible as all of it is, none of it is surprising. It was inevitable as soon as humanity lost a sense of the sacred. Without some sort of sanctity in one's life, without some sort of consistent eschatology, the overarching philosophy and way of life has come straight to nihilism. And since people have lost all meaning other than the false joy they get at buying new things, the fear of death reigns strongly, and modern music, television, social networking, etc. all exist to dull this fear. Sadly, by filling in the emptiness modern man may never come face to face with meaning, since meaning only comes after one accepts emptiness and silence and allows truth, beauty, and goodness to fill the chasm.
Things have changed qualitatively in the last twenty years. A few decades ago a person could theoretically live in the modern world without being of the modern world. Now, it is nearly impossible to escape the traps of modernity without being pushed out onto the streets. I know very well how much the modern world pushes a person to have a phone, since I refuse to have a dumb phone let alone a smart phone. I am typing this on a nearly 2 decade old computer that was destined for the landfill, but I would still prefer to be writing a letter by hand or speaking face to face. I think the only solution now is for people to set up communities separated from technological civilization, drawing on Amish communities and Benedictine monasteries, but open to people of all faiths, who can work together and worship together, free from the traps of this decadent age.
I don't like to single out any one technology as worst, since some of the most seemingly benign technologies are, in fact, the most pervasively malignant. But, the ever-present scourge of the mobile phone is certainly a demonic stain upon our times. In no other technology does the evil of the Machine make itself so abundantly manifest. When people approach me shocked at my views on technology, I tell them to spend a day, even just one day, really paying attention to people and their faces. Those individuals who try this experiment and who approach it with discernment come to realize that the constant use of phones has dehumanized man and turned the man in the street into a robot. Twenty years ago, people were still hooked into the system, with disastrous consequences, but many of them were still human; now "smart" phones have created a generation of sub-humans incapable of the most basic human expressions. Fr. Alexander Schmemann considered humans to be homo adorans (man the worshiper), but if modern man is any longer capable of worship, it is directed towards diabolical forces through the altar of the phone.
As for the feeling of being alienated: I would take that as a good sign! A good or moral person who finds himself or herself in a den of evil should feel alienated. I think any decent human being would and should feel alienated upon entering a modern nightclub. As such, feeling alienated from the mass of modern men and women is a good thing. Perhaps the best we can do is to be an example for them. If we change and show them the power of the old ways, we will emanate light, and become a beacon for those who still have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Yes, the giving of these devices to children is a tremendous tragedy. Adults can at least make informed consent (though I wonder how many adults would give up tech even if they knew all of the pitfalls). Children are actively having their entire lives ruined due to this. I have seen parents give three year old kids ipads in lieu of a pacifier. This rewires the brain and opens the children up to physical, mental, and emotional problems later in life.
Of course, as horrible as all of it is, none of it is surprising. It was inevitable as soon as humanity lost a sense of the sacred. Without some sort of sanctity in one's life, without some sort of consistent eschatology, the overarching philosophy and way of life has come straight to nihilism. And since people have lost all meaning other than the false joy they get at buying new things, the fear of death reigns strongly, and modern music, television, social networking, etc. all exist to dull this fear. Sadly, by filling in the emptiness modern man may never come face to face with meaning, since meaning only comes after one accepts emptiness and silence and allows truth, beauty, and goodness to fill the chasm.
Things have changed qualitatively in the last twenty years. A few decades ago a person could theoretically live in the modern world without being of the modern world. Now, it is nearly impossible to escape the traps of modernity without being pushed out onto the streets. I know very well how much the modern world pushes a person to have a phone, since I refuse to have a dumb phone let alone a smart phone. I am typing this on a nearly 2 decade old computer that was destined for the landfill, but I would still prefer to be writing a letter by hand or speaking face to face. I think the only solution now is for people to set up communities separated from technological civilization, drawing on Amish communities and Benedictine monasteries, but open to people of all faiths, who can work together and worship together, free from the traps of this decadent age.
Great writing, I wish I'd come across it earlier. I've just joined , and this is 'Part 8' - how do I access previous posts?
Thank you. All previous posts are available here: https://rananim.substack.com/archive.