The Epidemic of Distraction

by Tim Hunter

You are engaged in stimulating conversation with another individual, and you are both passionately discussing the topic at hand. However, said individual is abruptly interrupted in the middle of the conversation. 

Might as well have been a fire-alarm, because their attention is completely elsewhere now. 

But it is not an external force that has brought distraction into this previously stimulation conversation. It is a little square block, an electronic device. Perhaps an appendage might be a more accurate way of describing this object. 

We call it the iPhone.

And the iPhone has just completely shipwrecked your conversation, while your friend is dead to the world around him as he responds to whatever beeping or flashing or dinging demands are emitting from the device he stares down at. 

It is the Epidemic of Distraction. 

Now I do not give this story to shame. In fact, if I am honest I am often the individual in the story who is distracted. Rather, I want to point out that an epidemic that has infected me, I would wager has infected you at times also, and I am convinced down in my bones that it is wreaking havoc in the church in the world at large. We are a distracted people like never before. 

The Problem:

The addition of the iPhone (and other technology for that matter) has completely shifted the way that we live. While bringing numerous benefits to our daily lives, providing copious amounts of entertainment at our fingertips, and giving us access to endless entertainment, perhaps we need to start realizing that there are enormous ways in which the iPhone has detrimentally affected us. 

I am not a social scientist. I am not a neurologist. Both have written tremendous books on this topic -  I am not them. 

I am simply a follower of Jesus trying to figure out how I can cling to faithfulness to Jesus in a digital age. 

And if we were to peel back the layers, and look beneath the surface, and analyze stats, and dissect personal experience here is what I think we would find. 

Distraction is killing us. And I am not talking about killing us the way that texting and driving quite literally kills many. I believe that distraction is deadening our souls from the inside out. 

Distraction is the enemy to devotion to Jesus. Distraction is the enemy to deep relationships with others. 

We wake up, check our phone.

We go to the restroom and scroll on our phones.

We eat breakfast while checking the news headlines.

We head to work with a podcast coming through the speaker and each stoplight leveraged as an opportunity to steal a peek at social media.

At work we struggle to focus on the task at hand without reaching for our phone, or opening another tab, or endlessly refreshing email.

We finish our day, driving home with more music blaring through our speakers, we know we shouldn’t but hastily type out a few texts while we drive.

We come home. Eat dinner, check our phones again.

Plop down on the couch and watch Netflix.

Finally, we drop exhausted and weary into bed. One more scroll session. 

Lights out. 

It’s almost like we are running from something. 

Or someone. 

Blaise Pascal brilliantly said it this way: “all of humanity’s problems boil down to our inability to sit alone in a room.” 

Scripture says it this way: “Be still and know that I am God.”

Silence and quiet and stillness and presence are wildly important for our walk with Jesus and our relationship to other people. So what is our path forward? 

The Solution: 

Here’s the thing. Simply bemoaning something does not inherently produce a solution. Perhaps you are familiar with this concept. For decades the church has complained about the state of the world around them. Simply crying about a disease does not create a cure. Rather, a path forward must be forged. And here’s the thing: a path implies a journey. 

An epidemic is not cured by a decision. A disease is not cured by a choice. A pandemic is not stopped because we decide to speak against it. 

Any prescription takes an ongoing treatment. So if we ever wish to see our lives, our families, our churches saved from the deadening effects of digital distraction we must think through the lens of formation and habits. See, simply bemoaning and crying about the epidemic of distraction will not get us anywhere if we are not serious about rolling up our sleeves and doing the hard work of digging into our own soul, our own schedule, our own patterns of life and considering where it may be that the enemy is using distraction to steal our devotion to Jesus. 

Formation over Fear. 

I don’t know what this looks like for you. What I do know is that for me it starts with a question. 

What would it look like to intentionally disconnect from technology to intentionally connect with God? What types of rhythms can I build into my life to ensure that I am subversively resisting the current of distraction and am leaning into life-giving relationship with God? May I suggest a paradigm? 

Helpful Rhythms:

For me, it is helpful to think through daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly rhythms. 

How will I daily withdraw from technology and distraction?

How will I weekly disengage from technology to engage with God?

What is my monthly rhythm, and is there something I can do annually to give a more extended period of rest from distraction to fill my soul up? 

Here is what it may look like. (And I am far from perfect at this. For me it is often three steps forward, and two steps back. But remember, its a journey and all that stuff) 

A daily rhythm of staying off your phone for an hour before bed, and an hour after rising. A weekly rhythm of sabbath where you stay off of social media for 24 hours. A monthly rhythm where you choose a day to completely keep your phone off, and a yearly rhythm of taking a week off from technology. 

These are just suggestions. The important thing is that we are intentionally thinking through how we will subversively resist the epidemic all around us. 

Distraction is the enemy of devotion. Daily formation leads to faithfulness to Jesus.

Let us be faithfully devoted.