Cyber- Life and Techno-Gloom Guest Post by Nancy Kehr

So many things plague people these days!

More than ever we need a place of solace and refuge.

Over-stimulation is here. People just don’t stop! People can’t be quiet! More to the point, they don’t make themselves be quiet. Most everyone I know is in some sort of over-drive mode. Much of it spins around the internet and electronics: games, phones, cameras, apps, TV, GPS, e-mail, social networking and more.

Constant connection is spawning a myriad of difficulties and dilemmas. It poses hazards for individuals and families, alike! Common sense, judgment and the feeling of well-being are gradually becoming compromised and redefined. I’ve heard it said that people cram so much into their lives that they tend to schedule their own headaches!

Funny, but not really! Life has a way of accelerating us to death, without adding another switch that constantly stays “ON”!

One person whom I was trying to encourage has become very withdrawn. Obviously disquieted, she exclaimed, “I don’t feel safe. They’ve gone a bit too far with technology now. It’s an invasion of privacy. We don’t need anything more on a cell phone than what we need to make a call. We don’t need games, we don’t need cameras, and we don’t need the Internet. All this stuff has gone too far. I don’t like the fact that I can be tracked just by carrying my phone!”

While I have continued to utilize invention and connectivity as great resources, my attentions are not totally spellbound by any of them. I am thankful for digital phones, cameras, websites and online connectivity. It has been useful in many ways, from business to personal. Others, however, have withdrawn into it and without realizing it, have made the cyber-world their only outlet for entertainment or diversion.

One mother recently expressed her anguish to me,

“You have to be careful what you put on Facebook and other websites like this. Employers are watching their employees via Facebook. I can see how kids could get into trouble, thinking that the people they meet on the pages are who they say they are. Then they meet up with them and end up being raped or murdered. All these things seem like fun, but they are inherently dangerous left unchecked.”

Yet, did she make any strides to monitor, or limit her children’s online forays? I highly doubt it as her kids seem to run the household. Everything is centered on and around them, their classes, their games, their activities! Her kids are too young for cell phones with cameras or even iPads, yet they have them. What is worse yet, these kids feel they are entitled to these things!

I was absolutely appalled at the outburst of another acquaintance of mine. She posed that there probably have been a lot of divorces caused by spouses who spend all their time on social media. To my inquiry, she hotly retorted,

She continued, “I am tired of my husband who can’t wait until he wakes up at midnight after going to bed at 4 PM, so he can get onto Facebook. Then he’s on it until he leaves for work at 3:30 AM, and is back on it again the moment he walks in the door from work!  Dinner has to wait while he’s doing his games! Afterwards, he eats and heads to bed. His life revolves around these stupid online games and Facebook. I might as well be single for the amount of attention I get. Can you blame a person for going out on a spouse when they are ignored like that?

When my husband was into other online games, it was the same thing. While he played the games, he got to chat with all the people playing the same game as he was. The next thing I knew, ALL he ever does, and wants to do is to chat with these people!

Things around the house and yard never get done now, because he’s on the computer all the time. So, I am basically alone anymore.

Oh well, when he dies, I’ll have everything he’s earned and a house to myself. I don’t care anymore.”

Honestly, I felt a little helpless. The isolation of cyber-living may yet trump other excesses and habits. “Everything in moderation” is still a good guide.

God doesn’t have a website, and people don’t need a phone to connect. Prayer opens immediate contact. He doesn’t Tweet, but He gave us His Holy Spirit to keep us connected to our source of Power, and to give us direction.

He has put His promises for us in a “text”, called the Bible. Peace of mind and security of soul can be found there, and there are no limits on the characters. He prepared church so we can have some face-to-face reality – better than HD any day!

Want to tap into Ultimate Connectivity? It’s not “God.com,” it’s “Come to God!”