An Important Wake-Up Call

My husband purchased our first cell phone in 1999, when our oldest son had a car wreck in his first week of college and was hospitalized for 10 weeks. To be honest, I did not want a phone. I had been resisting the new technology, even though most of our friends already had cell phones. But it was a necessary purchase with one child hospitalized, the other son attending school, and my husband and I taking turns at the hospital.

Ironically, over the past 27 years, since that first purchase, my initial worries about what I perceived as an invasive piece of technology were well-founded but also naïve. In my defense, who could have imagined that in such a short time, a simple cellular phone could morph into a handheld computerized doorway to everyone, everything, everywhere? In fact, the cellular phone might be the most universally impactful invention since fire.

Ok, that might be a bit dramatic! But when I think about the world we lived in when we bought that first cell phone compared to today’s culture, it is almost impossible to explain to our grandkids. They have no concept of daily life without phones, watches, iPads, and various sizes and styles of computers.

In fact, our grandkids (and most American kids) today were able to successfully navigate the World Wide Web as toddlers. Just think! It’s almost unfathomable how quickly the advances in technology are changing and impacting the world in which our children and grandchildren live.

As one of the nation’s leading voices on digital safety for kids, Common Sense Media (CSM) has been researching the impact of this type of technology usage on kids for the past five years. In its 2025 survey of Media Use by Kids Zero to Eight, five of CSM’s key findings were enlightening – and somewhat frightening:

By age 2, four in 10 children have their own tablet (40%).
By age 4, more than half (58%) of children have their own tablet.
By age 8, one in four children have their own cellphone.
Overall, 51% of children age 8 and younger have their own mobile device (tablet or cellphone).
About 1 in 5 children use mobile devices for emotional regulation, mealtimes, or to fall asleep.

That last statistic is possibly the most disturbing of all five – to think that 20% of all children this age uses a device as emotional support. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine our society in the next generation, especially as the science behind Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing at an exponential rate. My great-grandkids will probably live in a world that seems like science fiction, and that thought worries me immensely.

But what worries me even more is the way technology dominates everyone’s life – not just the lives of our kids.

My concern is justified, based on a May 2025 study conducted by the global research data and analytics group of YouGov.com. After examining the statistics of this survey, I was actually surprised to learn that the majority of Americans do not share my concern, with 53% of surveyed adults believing their phone usage has a positive impact on their lives.

Yet, at the same time, a similar percentage of people (57%) admitted to using their smartphone for over five hours each day. So, I am still not convinced that our phone fixation is a healthy trend for us, our kids, or the future of our society.

If that statement sounds overly sensational, I challenge other Christians to put their phones down and look around. In any public venue, such as a restaurant or even a church service, stop and count the number of people who are not on their phones.

Most of the time, people are engaged with their phones and computerized devices, instead of interacting with other people. Even when people do engage, their communication is often interrupted with quick peeks at phones and minimal eye-to-eye contact.

Subsequently, the art of conversation is quickly declining, and as a result, I worry that empathy and compassion for our fellow human beings will be casualties of that decline. How can we love and minister to people in need if we never even see that need?

I don’t want to be sacrilegious or disrespectful, but I must think that even the Good Samaritan mentioned in the Bible might have missed the man lying in need on the side of the road if he had been preoccupied with an iPhone.

But I realize the irony of my own preoccupation with technology, including this blog, which most people are probably reading via a smartphone or iPad. I also realize that computers and phones are a big part of our world, and our need for this technology in our daily lives will probably only grow and expand until the day that Jesus returns.

So … what’s the point? Well, the point is that anything or anyone that takes precedent (in our time or attention) over my relationship with Jesus is nothing more than idolatry. Yes, I use my phone for communication, study, and work. I even use it as a ministry tool. And admittedly, just like 43-44% of Americans in the YouGov survey, my iPhone is often the first thing I check in the morning and the last thing I check at night.

Which means that, whether I want to admit it or not, my use of phones and computers is very close to idolatry. Now, I know that my smartphone may not look like those carved idols of the Old Testament, but the concept is the same.

Realistically, I cannot smash my phone and computer, or completely quit using them, but I can prioritize my time and my usage of any object that should be a tool rather than an idol. Simply put, “The things I refuse to manage will eventually manage me.”

To be honest, God is the only One who can manage me or my sinful nature. That’s why total surrender of everything, including my heart and my possessions, is my only hope for victory in this world and the next. In fact, the Bible warns that a man’s treasure is directly connected to his heart. So, let’s make sure a silly smartphone is not the heart or treasure of who we are or what we do.

Instead, let’s surrender it to Jesus and follow the wisdom of Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Now, that’s a wake-up call that will always ring true!