Aha! I have just discovered the reason I was depressed a few weeks ago:
The American Academy of Pediatrics warns of a new problem called "Facebook Depression." It results from being bombarded with friend tallies, status updates, and photos of people happy, having the time of their lives, when you are not.
Here's the link to the full article:
http://www.kgw.com/lifestyle/health/Facebook-depression-122631789.html
Actually, I don't think that was the reason. In fact, I know it wasn't. But I am still looking for ways to disengage from technology or, at least, be a whole lot more aware of how it is affecting me.
Tim Challies' book, The Next Story: Life & Faith After the Digital Explosion, is the culprit. Or, should I say, hero. True, I read most of the book on my android phone, and then my Kindle, which I got for my birthday (50% better contrast, 21% smaller, and 17% lighter -- that's the Kindle, not me).
I'm now 22% through Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. Slight change of style and topic. But I'm find myself still thinking about Challies' book. It's that kind of book.
While there is a range of possible responses--from enthusiastic embrace to strict separation--the response of the thinking Christian should be disciplined discernment. In this approach, a Christian looks carefully at the new realities, weighs and evaluates them, and educates himself, thinking deeply about the potential consequences and effects of using a particular technology. Through it all, even as he is using a particular technology, he disciplines himself to be discerning, to embace what can be embraced and to reject what needs to be rejected. He moves beyond the broad strokes of utter rejection and complete acceptance. Instead he relies on the Holy Spirit, who speaks his wisdom through the Bible, to learn how he can live with virtue in this new digital world.
- Tim Challies, The Next Story (Zondervan, 2011), 17.
