The following is a transcript of our podcast which can be found on www.anchor.fm/godsgym
Mark: Hello and welcome to God’s Gym, the podcast where we consider how we can reach our full potential as human beings, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Jesus said he had come that we might have life in abundance, and we ask, what is abundant life and how can we live it? I am Mark, and Army Chaplain and with me is Paul, an Army Scripture reader and today we are talking about smartphones, those tiny devices that control us and keep us awake at night doing their bidding. Is that a good thing or is there a sinister angle to them? Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone at Macworld Expo in 2007. I still had my Nokia 3310. My first smartphone was a blackberry with the tiny keyboard. Paul do you have a smart phone?
Paul: Yes, I am the proud owner of a much loved and treasured iPhone, but I am old enough to remember life before mobile phones, and now I can’t imagine life without them. They burst on the scene back in the 1980’s, I remember the first phones being the size of a brick (Del Boy Only fools & Horses) and then as time wore on, they became smaller to the extent that some models were really tiny, that fitted snugly into the palm of your hand, but now in recent years ‘big’ is back, especially with the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Your phone says a lot about you, ringtones and home screens for instance.
Mark: with the improvement of internet access, accessibility to the globe is almost unlimited and the phone is no longer a phone but a portable computer, not only can I do my online banking, facetime the kids, and order an uber, I can make a movie, record a podcast, and keep up with the Kardashians on tv anywhere in the world. My iPhone is such a part of my daily life, I rarely think self-reflectively about it. That is precisely what should concern us isn’t it?
Paul: So Mark that’s a good thing then, having a mobile phone is positive?
Mark: there are many positive effects of having and using a mobile phone.
1. Improved Communication
The key reason why phones were invented was to fulfil one of the basic human needs; to stay connected. I can not only text, but I can also video chat with multiple people, if I can get a signal! I can send documents. I even arranged my mortgage and signed for it using my phone!
2. Help Us Stay Organized
Life is increasingly busy and it can be difficult to keep track of everything. Smartphones are a mini office with everything you need to keep connected. Even as I fall asleep at night, it will ping to remind me someone has sent another tweet about the Kardashians or someone has posted a picture of their takeaway meal! All in all, the small device helps you stay sorted and in control of everything. I think part of the problem is that by being more connected and more accessible, we have made life more busy! So it is a bit of a catch 22, isn’t it? Is multi-tasking a good thing? Or should we be more focussed on each and everything we do? Again, ironically, along with mobile phone use, the focus on mindfulness is increasing!
3. Everyday Chores Made Easier on the other hand, no more waiting in long queues to pay the utility bills or stressing about finding a reliable travel agent to book a hotel, you can do it all through an app. You want a quick break in Morocco? You could book one in a matter of minutes and pay for it all with the phone. 4. Ensure Stress-free Travelling what about tickets and boarding passes? Guess what? Most modern airports now allow you to use the phone. And what you arrive, and you start to look around for a nice bookshop to buy a travel guide, but wait a minute: google maps, and trip advisor and you are sorted!
5. Help In Emergencies what if something goes wrong? In case of natural disasters or large scale emergencies, the authorities can track mobile phone signals to track the location of injured or trapped people. Since earthquakes and tsunamis are common in Japan, the government sends notifications to all users, whenever there is a warning of a natural disaster. This helps people to take preventive measures and reduce the chances of loss of lives. 6. Provide Easy Access to Information & Increased Awareness why buy a newspaper anymore? I just check twitter to see what my favourite angry people are talking about. No seriously, if used the right way, mobile phones help people to stay up-to-date on the political, economic, and social issues affecting the world. Indeed in the Arab spring mobile phones and social media helped organised protests and keep people informed and safe. 7. Increased Security In view of increased security risks, parents are highly concerned about their children’s safety whenever they are not home. With mobile phones, parents can keep track of their children’s locations and contact them any time. Similarly, children can immediately contact their parents and/or 999 in case of any threat or emergency. 8. Promote Overall Health and Well-Being Mobile phones can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. I use Strava when I run and keep a record of my workouts and seen what other people are doing. We organise sporting events on the app and especially over lockdown we have run virtual races against each other. What a world!
So that sounds good Paul, but it can’t all be positive?
Paul: Like everything that seemingly is good for you there is always a negative side as well. I read the below comment on-line:
A growing body of research has identified a link between smartphone dependency and symptoms of depression and loneliness. However, it’s been unclear whether reliance on smartphones precedes those symptoms, or whether the reverse is true: that depressed or lonely people are more likely to become dependent on their phones.
Believe it or not there does seem to be those who suffer from Smartphone addiction, and I discovered that new terminology has entered our vocabulary to deal with it:
nomophobia: the fear of going without your phone
textaphrenia: the fear that you can’t send or receive texts
phantom vibrations Trusted Source: the feeling that your phone is alerting you when it really isn’t
There’s some debate in the medical community as to whether phone overuse is an addiction or impulse control issue.
Mark: Indeed, there are, a lot of similarities between phone overuse and other behavioural addictions, like compulsive gambling.
The similarities include:
loss of control over the behaviour
persistence, or having real difficulty limiting the behaviour.
tolerance, the need to engage in the behaviour more often to get the same feeling.
severe negative consequences stemming from the behaviour.
withdrawal, or feelings of irritability and anxiety when the behaviour isn’t practiced.
relapse, or picking up the habit again after periods of avoidance.
Paul: Someone has listed some tell-tale signs to see if you have an overuse problem with your phone?
You reach for your phone the moment you’re alone or bored.
You wake up multiple times at night to check your phone.
You feel anxious, upset, or short-tempered when you can’t get to your phone.
Your phone use has caused you to have an accident or injury.
You’re spending more and more time using your phone.
Phone use interferes with your job performance, schoolwork, or relationships.
People in your life are concerned about your phone use patterns.
When you try to limit your use, you relapse quickly.
Mark: But of course, there is always a remedy. Try these other practical steps:
Remove time-consuming apps from your phone and access them through a device you don’t carry with you all day.
Change your settings to eliminate push notifications and other disruptive alerts.
Set your screen to night mode to keep it from waking you at night.
Place some barriers around your phone use that force you to think about what you’re doing. At the dinner table, no phones!
Develop hobbies that feed your soul. Replace the games and social media apps with hands-on, real-world activities, like meeting up with friends, creating music or art, or doing volunteer work.
Make a movie on your phone!
Adopt a growth mindset. Brief relapses, adjustments, and withdrawal symptoms are part of a journey toward healthier phone use. Don’t expect to get it right immediately. Expect some setbacks, and learn from each experience.
Paul: So Mark I suppose this suggested phone addiction could be shrugged off by many people as insignificant, but do you think it highlights other areas that also go unheeded and unnoticed, like loneliness and depression.
Mark: Whilst mobile phones open up the means of communicating with others, yet so many people suffer loneliness in silence. It’s good to talk and even better to talk face to face with another person.
Paul: Connect with other people! Good relationships are important for your mental wellbeing. They can:
help you to build a sense of belonging and self-worth.
give you an opportunity to share positive experiences.
provide emotional support and allow you to support others.
And yes even mobile phones can help break that cycle of loneliness, stay in touch with friends and family. Video-chat apps like Skype and FaceTime are useful, especially if you live far apart.
Mark: So, there is great utility in mobile devices but also great danger and finding a balance is the challenge for us. And like everything it must be held in balance with everything else. Just to remind us that there really is more to life, I was challenged by the words of one wise person who said:
Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our mobile device?
What if we carried it around all the time?
What if we flipped through it hundreds of times a day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
What if we used it when we travelled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go….hmm…where is my Bible?
Paul: Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our mobile device, we don’t have to worry about the cost of the contracts because Jesus already paid the bill; there is always a perfect signal both ways and unlike the mobile, we are not being manipulated but released to truly live life! It makes you stop and think ‘where are my priorities?’
Mark: Well, there is so much more we could say about this and all the subjects we discuss. If you are listening and want to think let us know what you think then do get in contact via twitter or Instagram. Your comments are always welcome, and if there are topics or issues you would like us to address, we are always open to suggestions.
Until next time, thank you for listening and remember that you are capable of so much, God tells us so, so keep striving to reach your full potential as God made you.
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