The best achievements occur outside of virtual reality. We can realize meaningful achievements by setting aside technology and developing ourselves.
If you’re anything like me, you quietly ignore the weekly usage report from your phone. I accidentally opened mine recently, and I saw that I had spent an average of nine hours a day on my laptop or phone—often on both simultaneously—and I’m sure I had Netflix on the TV for some of those hours.
Image by Laura Penwell
I read “Things As They Really Are” by Elder David A. Bednar, and his words stuck with me: “Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, earbuds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person-to-person communication.” I was startled into a moment of self-reflection.
While I have enjoyed playing League of Legends, Super Smash Bros, and other video games, the hours I’ve devoted to games and TV shows mean little compared to the hours I’ve devoted to the world beyond my screens.
Elder Bednar’s words have renewed my commitment to pick up my guitar instead of playing a quick game of Apex Legends. I started writing stories instead of reading or watching them. I call my mom on Sundays more. I go for walks. I have time to whistle and whittle again. I can crochet an ugly hat on my own.
I’m not advocating for removing technology from our lives. Most technology has been divinely inspired in its development for the benefit of mankind. I am, however, advocating a healthier balance between the things that really are and the things that really aren’t.
Read more about our purpose in life and an ideal relationship with technology in this 2009 CES Fireside, “Things As They Really Are,” by Elder David A. Bednar.
Source: ChurchofJesusChrist.org
—Kyme Lambson, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURED IMAGE BY SEBASTIAN VOORTMAN
Find more insights
Read “How Can I Minister as Christ Did?” by Avery Andros to learn how to use technology to minister better.
Read “#floodtheearth: Hastening the Work Through Technology” by Mariah Kerr to find out how to use technology to do God’s work.