We live in a beautifully convenient technological era, a time of unprecedented comfort and devices that generations before us could never have conceived. With the advance of remote work, ever-present screens, instant streaming, and drone delivery, why bother leaving the house anymore? Pulling into our garages and shutting the door behind us, no neighborly interaction is necessary.
But there are always unintended consequences that accompany our leaps in technology. The devices we utilize also seemingly confirm the postmodern philosophical ethos we are swimming in: the belief that we are the sole definers of reality—living in the bubble of ”my truth” is all that matters. The isolated self easily falls prey to the fragmentation of our bodies and souls, content to stay in the safety of echo chambers and delusions of self-creation into whatever I declare myself to be.
And it’s not making us any happier. For all our comforts, the stats continue to flow formally and anecdotally that we are the most anxious generation. At the end of the day, “stuff” does not equal security. Many have lost a sense of greater purpose in their lives and an awareness that God exists, He can be trusted, and His hand of providence guides our lives.
“Social distancing,” one of the most ill-coined phrases of the recent pandemic, is ultimately an unhealthy and anti-human concept. We are created in the image and likeness of a God who loves us and is a communion of persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—thus we are “most ourselves” not when we are lone rangers but in community. Living in reality with one another is one of the most beautiful ways in which we encounter
So, how do we overcome this culture of social isolation and reorient ourselves to a life of meaning?
A few simple ideas:
- Love Thy (Literal) Neighbor. What if we took the command of Our Lord to “love your neighbor” literally and tended to the people living adjacent to us? It’s incredible that with our technology and 24-hour news cycle we can be aware of those suffering around the world, but it also creates a psychological burden of feeling globally responsible in ways perhaps God-alone is meant to experience (and thus it’s easy to succumb to a sense of helplessness). We can live locally and take care of those in our five-mile radius. Simple tasks like saying hello and showing interest in another does wonders in helping us be aware and engage with
- Serve. Whether through a formal parish ministry or local shelter, putting our hands and feet into action to assist another does wonders in getting us over ourselves and becoming other-oriented people. For “faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). It is good to grow in our head knowledge and intellect, but we also must put our faith into action. When we can enter into the sufferings of another, we grow in empathy and in gratitude for the blessings that can too easily taken for granted.
- Turn Off the Tech. We are all being bombarded: news apps, games, social media and “work” channels. Ironically we walk away more drained and alone even with all the connectedness. Secular culture is re-learning the benefits of rest as the notion of “tech sabbaths” are on the rise. Whether it’s one day devoted a week or having regular hours to turn off devices, we all need space to intentionally rest and reorient ourselves to ourselves. We are distracting ourselves to death. The God of the universe wants us to use our ingenuity and tools for good, but not be enslaved to them. When we deatch from our tech, we will also rediscover the wonder and recalibrating effects of being in nature or the joy of a slowed-down meal with those we love.
“Do not live entirely isolated,” we read from the Epistle of Barnabas, “having retreated into yourselves, as if you were already justified, but gather instead to seek the common good together” (Catechism 1905). The more we can be with one another, especially in real life, we will be reminded that no man is an island and we better ourselves together. “How good and how pleasant it is, when brothers* dwell together as one!” (Psalm 133:1)
