are you spending too much time on your phone?

addressing the spirituality of screen time

Are you spending too much time on your phone?

If so, hear these harrowing stats:

• A study published in the journal BMC Psychiatry found that high levels of smartphone use were associated with increased symptoms of anxiety and depression in young adults.

• A study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior found that college students who spent more time on their phones had higher levels of depression and anxiety.

• The blue light emitted by screens can disrupt sleep patterns and lead to insomnia. A 2017 study published in the journal PLOS ONE found that people who used electronic devices in the evening had a harder time falling asleep and had poorer sleep quality overall.

As much as phones have increased our quality of life, they have also left a negative impact on our emotional, physical, and social well-being.

As it relates to technology, I can’t escape from what Jesus said:

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Matthew 6

He says your eyes are the lamp of the body. In other words, what you see determines how much light the rest of your body is.

Maybe Jesus was onto something well before our precious phones were invented. And the implications are startling:

Things that can negatively impact our souls:

• What we watch

• What we read

• what are entertained by

• what we laugh at

We have a really challenging conflict that we have to confront:

Our phones are addictive but they more than likely are blowing out the light of our souls.

Here are some questions to think about:

• How often are you on your phone?

• What triggers you to be on it? (Boredom, anxiety, fear?)

• What content do you consume that negatively impacts you?

How is your relationship with your phone and how it is impacting your relationship with God?

Let me know in the comments!

You were made for greatness,
Phil