Dear friends,
Amidst all the news of hurricanes, typhoons, floods, and other natural disasters last week, the ten-year anniversary of the iPhone skittered past with barely a notice. Yet, the truth is, the iPhone and its competitors set off a social revolution like few other inventions in recent history.
In her book Alone Together, MIT professor Sherry Turkle points out that while ten years ago the word "selfie" was scarcely known, now nearly 93 million "selfies" are taken each day in America alone. One study revealed that the average eight-year-old spends 7 hours a day looking at a screen and the average young adult gets 167 texts per day.
The effects have been deleterious. George Lakoff in Resisting the Virtual Life writes:
"The more you interact, not with something natural and alive, but with something electronic, it takes the sense of the earth away from you, robs you of more and more embodied experiences. That's a deep impoverishment of the human soul."
This week's passage is complex and fascinating but at its root is a message of both the importance of community and the value of friendship, a precious gift in rare supply today. I encourage you to read it and come prepared for a great Sunday.
Warmly,
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