The dangers of using technology

At the weekend away I presented a seminar on ‘Using technology in your Christian life’. The notes will be available on my website, Communicate Jesus (www.communicatejesus.com) in the coming weeks.

I’m an advocate for thoughtfully and strategically using technology to grow in our faith, to help us love and serve each another, and to advance the gospel. And there are numerous positive applications - reading the Bible on your phone, studying the Bible via correspondence, listening to podcasts and subscribing to blogs, sending encouragements, supporting missionaries, inviting outsiders to visit church – technology, and particularly the internet, provides fantastic opportunities for us.

To thoughtfully adopt technology however, we need to be aware of its dangers. I’ve collated a list (certainly not an exclusive list) of some of the dangers we need to be aware of in our adoption of technology. If you can think of others, or would like to comment on these, you’re most welcome to give me a call or send me an email.

1. Alienation. Several times people have shared that they had been excluded from social events because they didn’t have a Facebook account. That’s not very nice. If lack of access to technology excludes people from community, this should sound the warning bells. At the very least, there should be more than one way for people to access information - limiting communication about an event to one channel (e.g. Facebook) is exclusive as it assumes that people a) have access to technology (e.g. Facebook), and b) want to use it. We should assume neither.

2. Addiction. Last week the media reported a South Korean couple starving their child to death while caring for a virtual child. Obviously this is at the extreme end of the spectrum. But the need to be plugged-in, to know what’s happening, to read updates, to share updates is a modern and unhelpful phenomenon. If only we felt the same eagerness to read God’s word and pursue our relationship with Him.

3. Laziness. Some things are best communicated face-to-face, or at least over the phone (I’ve learnt this the hard way). Technology allows us to be lazy and laziness is never good. For example, sending your Connect Group leader a text message to let them know that you won’t be coming tonight. That’s lazy - if you are not going to be there, it’s courteous to pick up the phone to apologise and explain. It’s easier to send a text, but for the benefit of your leader who has spent hours preparing and who is responsible for caring for you, it’s not a good option. This sounds like a strong word, but would you or I cancel dinner with friends via text message?

4. Potential to sin. I’m not sure if our opportunities to sin have increased with technology, or if we’re simply more aware of them. But take for example Facebook - it can prompt jealousy and envy (I wish I had what she has), pride (posting status updates to promote ourselves), lust (looking at unhelpful photos of people), gossip (sharing information about others on Facebook, or that we heard on Facebook). The list goes on. Sure, Facebook didn’t invent jealousy, envy, pride, lust and gossip - but it sure makes these sins easy to fall into!

5. Wasting time. Nielsen recently revealed the extent of time spent on Facebook, and how this is increasing. Australians spend 29% of all time online, on Facebook. Technology can make us more efficient and productive, but it can also just help us to waste time. And we waste a lot. When the Master returns, I want to be busy doing his business, not procrastinating on Facebook.

May we use technology to the glory of God.

Steve Kryger
Media and Communications Pastor