The word “link” suggests a connection between two things or persons. It is to join, associate, couple, wed, or marry two things together. A link is the joint or bridge between two things. A link connects you with something.
We live currently in a world of links. People are always connecting especially as most things are now done online. In order to get information, all you need is a link (the URL) to connect to the site. When someone tells you about an opportunity online, the next thing you will most likely say is, “Send me the link!” You need a link to do virtually everything today.
Institutions, organizations, and establishments give out opportunities, offers, admissions, adverts and all forms of communications through links. You are not linked until you get the link.
Unfortunately, links, which are meant to connect people, now disconnects them. People move from link to link yet they are not linked. We seem not to find what we are actually looking for. We spend hours on our smartphones and personal computers surfing the internet yet the vacuum in our hearts are not filled.
One of the greatest deleterious habit people grapple with today is addiction to their phones. An average person cannot go without his or her phone for more than 15 minutes. People are becoming less productive while others suffer from information overload. There is that fear of missing out. We want to be aware of everything that is going on. Social media platforms designed to connect people now create more disconnection.
Website designers have even made it more difficult to let you go once they get you in their site. The page is catchy and full of snares and traps here and there called links and hyperlinks. There is the lead magnet, which is promised to be given free in exchange for your email so that you can constantly receive more notifications and consequently you become engaged with the site. We experience a deluge of data or what is called information overload.
As we move from link to link, we experience three types of disconnection:
- Disconnection with God
- Disconnection with Others
- Disconnection with Self
I still remember watching a short video of a young woman who was praying but also responding to a chat. After the prayer session, she had a dream in which she was taking ‘selfie’. Since she was distracted, a thief drove off her car. She obviously understood the meaning of the dream when she woke up. The enemy took away her blessings because she was distracted.
Disconnection with God is perhaps the greatest form of disconnection people experience today. This disconnection leads to other forms of disconnection. When you are not in touch with God, you lose touch with other things. When God is no longer in charge of the affairs of our lives, we lose control and cease to be in charge. This is what happens when we become addicted to the internet.
The time we spend in prayers today have been drastically reduced because of our attachment to our phones and computers. Yes, we get to know about the things that are going on in our world today faster because of the internet but most of us are oblivious, ignorant and naive about the things of the Spirit. We have all the links but we don't know what the Spirit is saying. We are current but we are not correct. Decisions are now made based on the trends not the directive of the Holy Spirit. We are disconnected from God.
About a decade or more ago, people spend the night praying and interceding but today you are likely to find the average person online at night. We become anxious when we run out of data or have no internet connection but there is no worry if we cannot pray for a week. As long as we are connected on earth, we no longer worry about our connection with God.
People are beginning to advocate that we return to the use of our hard copy Bibles instead of the soft ones on our phones, tablets and computers. The reason is simple - many do not have the discipline to stay focused on the Bible they were out to read when they picked up their tabs and phones. Social media notifications and email alerts distract them. As a matter of principle, I am beginning to learn not to start my day with my phone because the tendency is to get distracted. I have also realized that once the morning is lost, the whole day would most likely be lost.
It is time we begin to cherish our link with God more than our link with the world. It is time we put more priority on keeping our connection with God than our connection with the world.
In my discussion with a friend recently, he could not stop lamenting about how he has lost the attention of his wife because she spends most of her time on the internet. This is the experience of many couples today. Communication is known to be the bedrock of every thriving relationship but unfortunately, this is becoming increasingly rare because of our addiction to the internet.
Most of us are guilty of ‘phubbing’; the act of snubbing our partners for our phones. Most relationships are constantly being ‘phubbed’; a phone buzz halts the juicy story your friend is telling you. Children now spend most of the time in the private rooms with their phones instead of sharing good times with family members in the living room. Tablets and smartphones are driving a wedge between our loved ones and us. It is not unlikely that the person you are talking with is constantly looking at or pressing his or her phone. By checking our phones, we consequently check out of the conversation. Thus, our talks lack depth. We have become so superficial in our discussions.
It is time we begin to create deeper connection with our friends, partners and loved ones intentionally by ensuring a gadget free zone or a gadget free time so that we can enjoy the time spent together.
With the constant information overload, addiction to phone and the fear of missing out that keep us glued to the screen, people are becoming more and more disconnected with themselves. They feel empty, dry and unproductive. When the junk of the time has been spent online, the spirit and the soul becomes drain; we lose the ability to concentrate and do deep work; we cannot focus. Apart from these, there is also the loss of sleep time, which leads to less effectiveness.
The key to victory is to become intentional in our use of phones and other electronic gadgets. We also need to turn those gadgets into tools for our ministries, businesses and enterprises else they will continue to constitute traps and toys they have always been and we will continue to lose our touch with God, others and ourselves.
You also need to decide on what every minute of your day will be spent for. This way it will be difficult to fall into the temptation of getting distracted with the internet.
Paul said things have power and they can exert that power on us in ways that will negatively influence our lives. This was why he resolved that he would not be brought under the power of anything (1 Corinthians 6:12). It is also not a sin to use the world and the things in it but we must not become attached or engrossed with it (1 Corinthians 7:31). There is no other time in history when we must become extremely disciplined.
Ultimately, you need to discover the reason for your living. You need to find God’s purpose for your life. You need to discover what you are passionate about; it is the ultimate antidote to internet addiction. It will guide your use of time and what you browse online.
Next time when you are tempted to follow a link, think of the effect and the impact it might have on you, others and your relationship with God.
May we receive grace to live a self-controlled life in this present world. Amen.
