How to avoid the pitfalls and temptations of life online
Y
esterday I walked to the bottom of our driveway to get the mail. Once again it was filled with sales flyers, political ads and a few bills. Nothing personal. I lamented how long it had been since I’d received a handwritten letter from anyone. I realized that, while my mailbox remained empty, my e-mail inbox was full. Yet, there was nothing personal in my inbox. It was all workrelated information, requests, expectations and updates with the occasional devotional or notification that I was tagged in a Facebook photo. My inbox is a daily reminder of the “tyranny of the urgent” and the lack of personal connection that plagues our society today. 14 May 2016 Salvationist
BY NANCY TURLEY The rise of the Internet has made 21st-century life busier, more hectic and demanding. For example, in 2000, the average person spent 2.7 hours per week online. By 2012, that number had increased to 38 hours per week. Moreover, in 2012, 188 billion text messages were sent each day, 25 billion apps were downloaded and more than a trillion YouTube videos were viewed. Today, Facebook has 1.6 billion monthly active users, while Twitter has 305 million. The average person now spends eight hours and 41 minutes on electronic devices each day. And these numbers continue to grow. The Internet and portable devices can play a healthy role in our world
today. The Internet is home to a wealth of information and resources, most of which is free to anyone with an Internet connection. It also provides a fast, simple avenue for communication with others, making long distances much shorter. However, as the Centre for Technology and Internet Addictions has stated, “the very nature of the internet lends itself to overuse and abuse, encouraging behaviours that are counterproductive, isolating and disruptive to ourselves, our families and our communities.” One area where negative impacts are most apparent is the realm of social media. Rather than connecting us with others, Facebook can, in fact, be an anti-
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Digital Overload