I spent an entire work day, a total of 12 hours, refreshing Twitter incessantly. There was a mass shooting in Las Vegas the night before in which 58 people died. Little was known about the killer or how something like this could occur. As an accountant, the first of the month is always the busiest day. Yet, despite this, I managed to mindlessly get through my busiest day of the month with my mind completely absorbed in the news. When I laid in bed that night my mind was exhausted. When I closed my eyes all I saw was Twitter. It was then that I realized there was something wrong with me. I knew that I needed to stop looking at my phone but I couldn’t. Every time I pulled away, it sucked me back in. I felt out of control. I was a slave to it.
The word ‘slave’ carries strong connotations and may evoke disturbing images for many people. However, at its essence, slavery involves the deprivation of one’s ability to exercise their own will and being subject to the will of another. And on that day I was subject to the will of another. But who? It was my phone. I had the freedom to do what I wanted with it at any time. So it wasn’t the phone’s fault. Was it the website? No. I could have closed Twitter at any time I wanted. I was under no threat to stay on the site. In reality, it was my own actions and choices that kept me tied to the phone like a slave.
I didn’t start out this way. Like most unsuspecting Americans, I embraced the new technology as it came along. Over the past twenty years technology progressed rapidly. When I got my first cell phone it was just a phone and I carried around in my pocket. Then it became a phone and a camera. Then social media came along and it became my outlet to the world. I wasn’t the only one who adapted to this change. Society as a whole also changed, and we are now more connected online than ever before. Yet, many of us lack meaningful connections in real life.
You might ask, if it was a problem in my life, why didn’t I just quit? I also had this thought. So, I tried to quit many times and in various ways. At first, I turned my phone off at all times unless I was actively using it. This worked until I needed my phone for work. Then I tried downgrading to a dumb phone. I did this at least seven times. The longest I ever lasted was a month with out a smart phone. But my failure should be expected. Attention is extremely valuable to businesses, which is why they have invested billions into understanding how to capture and keep it.
But this time, I’m resolved to really break free. Unlike in the past, I’m not relying on my own willpower or ingenuity alone. I’m attacking the problem at the source: my own human desires. I am the source of the problem. I believe that through the spiritual exercises of the Exodus 90 program will finally have the tools I need to break free from this attention stealing mind sucker. And all the tools point to the ultimate source of power, Jesus Christ. I am so looking forward to the program. I can’t wait to be free.