Running head: SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 1

Transcription

1 Running head: SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 1 Smartphone Use From a Christian Perspective Sarah English Liberty University July 29, 2018

2 SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 2 Abstract Smartphones today are miniature pocket computers with touch screens that can store data from user input and retrieve data from the World Wide Web using several applications (apps) that are suited for use to that particular device. These devices, having both secular and Christian users, have changed the world, from how one lives, goes to school, communicates with work contacts, friends in social circles, and even how one worships. Smartphones make devotion, worship, social circle and organizational applications readily available to the user, but also include myriad distractions one might need to overcome to be able to take advantage of these applications. If one is able to avoid these obstacles, the smartphone is a great tool for the Christian user. Keywords: smartphone, technology addiction, Christian apps, cellphone use

3 SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 3 Smartphone Use From a Christian Perspective Christians are the church, the people make up the church. It is not the building, or the groups or the music, it is only the souls that can be saved that may follow after Jesus Christ and claim to be His, therefore being able to call oneself a Christian. To this author, this means that one can do anything as a Christian, and once one becomes a Christian, at the point of salvation, everything one does is therefore being done by a Christian. In today s culture, and even in culture among Christians, there seems to be a sacred and secular divide where we label inanimate things as Christian or Secular and tend to pick and choose between those things to satisfy what is believed to be the best thing to choose. However, this author believes, as Apostle Paul wrote in the book of Corinthians chapter 10 verse 23, I have the right to do anything, you say but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything - but not everything is constructive. In the New International Version of the Bible, this section is called The Believer s Freedom. This is how this author sees Christian use of technology. Christians, just like anyone else, have the freedom to use technology, specifically smartphones for the purposes of this paper, under the auspice of the Bible, which Christians hold in high regard for teaching on how to live the most Christlike life. So, to this author, Christian use of smartphones would be when a smartphone is literally used by a Christian for whatever purposes they need. The guidance of the Bible and the Holy Spirit, as with anything a Christian does, would be the guiding force on how the Christian chooses to use one s device. This author does not believe the technology itself is inherently bad or good, but what the Christian user decides to do with it that can either edify or degrade him or herself within the Christian realm of living. But what does it mean to be a Christian? What is consecrated to God, and not? A popular Christian author, C.S. Lewis, put it this way,

4 SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 4 The Christian way is different: harder, and easier. Christ says Give me All. I don t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked - the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours (1952, pp ). The main aim for all Christians is to become Christ-like and bring Glory to God. As with anything, there can be obstacles that might make that aim a bit slower to attain. With each new technology introduced, there are more opportunities for both edification and pitfalls to the Christian. Specifically in smartphones, one can have the world of knowledge, entertainment, social applications, information of world news and events, and a host of other applications at one s fingertips. It is possible in one tab to have the Holy Bible open and in another tab, pornography, but this is nothing new. Smartphones did not create sin and the freewill of man, as it has always existed since the fall. One could, and still can, walk right out of a Bible study and go right into a strip club down the street. The element of danger to a Christian that the smartphone technology embodies is the element of privacy that doing one s deeds is not afforded in public. A person can do things virtually in the privacy of one s own home that were unheard of a decade ago. Smartphone technology has become prevalent in Western Society. According to a fact sheet by Pew Research Center, 95% of Americans now own a cellphone and 77% of that number happens to be smartphones (Mobile Fact, 2018). Today one-in-five American adults are

5 SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 5 smartphone-only internet users meaning they own a smartphone, but do not have traditional home broadband service (Mobile Fact, 2018, para. 5). An article by InformationWeek cited a study where study participants used their mobile devices more than 84 times per day for a total of about five hours (Wagner, 2015, para. 2). The Oxford Living Dictionary defines a smartphone as A mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, Internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded apps ( Smartphone, 2018, para. 1). Time Magazine listed the Apple iphone as the most influential smartphone, saying that in 2007 it brought applications to the forefront, the iphone popularized the mobile app, forever changing how we communicate, play games, shop, work, and complete many everyday tasks (Eadicicco et al., 2016, para. 5). This technology has the potential to touch every aspect of a person s life, and one can never be too careful to make sure it is used within the guidelines of a Christian perspective. With everything, there are both pros and cons of the use of this technology, which by its very nature is neutral in and of itself. It is the way one uses it that can either be positive or negative. Discussed here, from a Christian perspective, are some ways that Christians can use the technology, such as mobile apps that foster the Christian faith, online church and the all around use of the smartphone that can benefit the Christian user. Some negative aspects discussed will be technology addiction, and the negative aspects of such readily available technology as it relates to social media. First, the good news. Smartphones are sold and pitched to buyers as devices that make one s life more convenient, and that is no different to the Christian user. There are myriad Christian applications, and one quick search on a phone s app store and one can find applications for reading the Bible, daily devotions, inspirational quotes, online communities and more. These

6 SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 6 applications make Bible study easier than before. Using the Bible Gateway application for example, one has access to numerous text interpretations, the Bible in various languages, Bible commentaries, audio Bibles and many other ways to learn and study the Bible from reputable sources that can greatly benefit the Christian user s quest for knowledge. Another way Christians may use their smartphone is to visit online churches. Online churches are Internet-based Christian communities, pursuing worship, discussion, friendship, support, proselytization and other key religious goals through computer-mediated communication (Hutchings, 2017, p. i). Since smartphones are basically pocket computers, one can easily visit websites such as online churches with ease. To this point, the Pew Research Center has stated that one in five Internet users in the United States are accessing the Internet strictly from mobile devices such as smartphones even while at home (Mobile Fact, 2018). In short, the smartphone has many applications that may benefit a Christian user. However, there are some negative ways a Christian user may utilize his or her smartphone, and there maybe some negative side effects to those uses. These issues are not beholden to only Christian users. Having such a powerful piece of technology at ones fingertips can lead to excessive use that can become problematic. Problems that can arise from excessive smartphone use are mental health problem such as anxiety and depression, physical health, and social problems (Wolniewicz, Tiamiyu, Weeks, & Elhai, 2018). Problematic smartphone use, which is marked by excessive use of a smartphone on the internet or social media applications can also lead to a dependence that has the same symptoms as drug dependence, such as withdrawal when not using the device (Wolniewicz et al., 2018). A study by Chun, Choi, Kim, Cho, and Ahn (2017) states that smartphone addiction symptoms were identified [as]

7 SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 7 disregarding of harmful consequences, preoccupation, inability to control craving, productivity loss, and feeling anxious and lost (p. 1). Smartphone addiction is getting wide attention these days, and has even caught the eye of Pope Francis who has been noticing widespread use of cellphones during Catholic mass. He has called attention to it in one of his weekly messages condemning its use during mass (Ziv, 2017). Although this is one specific denomination calling attention to the distractedness of its parishioners, one only has to look around during a church service to see that this phenomenon is no respecter of denominations. In conclusion, knowing these possible outcomes of use, a Christian user should take caution and heed the Bible s guidance on self control, which is a fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22, New International Version). It seems that since it has been about a decade after the first iphone and major smartphones came out, that people are starting to understand these problems, and that platform makers and users alike are trying to put things in place to guard against problematic use. Nir Eyal, a behavioral designer said, people have the power to put this stuff away and they always have... But when we preach powerlessness, people believe that (Stolzoff, 2018, para. 18). When used within the tenets of the Christian faith, and for purposes of furthering one s biblical study habits and devotional life, smartphones can be beneficial for Christian purposes. However, just like walking in the world, Christians must exercise caution so that they do not get caught up in addiction and distraction.

8 SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 8 References Chun, J., Choi, J., Kim, J., Cho, H., & Ahn, K. (2017). Altered brain activity and the effect of personality traits in excessive smartphone use during facial emotion processing. Retrieved from ProQuest website: Eadicicco, L., Peckham, M., Fitzpatrick, A., Pullen, J. P., Luckerson, V., & Howorth, C. (2016, May 3). The 50 most influential gadgets of all time. Time. Retrieved from Hutchings, T. (2017). Creating church online: Ritual, community and new media (1st ed.). New York, Ny: Routledge. Retrieved from Lewis, C. S. (1952). Mere Christianity. New York, NY: Harper Collins. Mobile Fact. (2018). Mobile fact sheet. Retrieved from Smartphone. (2018). In Oxford living dictionary. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from Stolzoff, S. (2018, February 1). The formula for phone addiction might double as a cure. Wired. Retrieved from Wagner, D. (2015, November 4). Smartphone use ballooning to 5 hours a day, study finds. InformationWeek. Retrieved from Wolniewicz, C. A., Tiamiyu, M. F., Weeks, J. W., & Elhai, J. D. (2018). Problematic smartphone use and relations with negative affect, fear of missing out, and fear of

9 SMARTPHONE USE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE 9 negative and positive evaluation. Psychiatry Research, 262, Ziv, S. (2017, November 8). Sinful: Pope Francis slams ugly cell phone use during Mass. Newsweek. Retrieved from