Artificial Intelligence.

Relational Bots.

High-powered devices.

Our relationship with personal technology is REAL.

We interact with sophisticated digital machines.

We consume massive bytes of online information.

We seem to be always connected online.

It is interesting to note that our relationships with personal technology can be healthy. Modes of productivity, the ability to connect with others and be informed about our world, are like nothing before in human history; and yet, at the same time, modern-day forms of technology can be extremely unhealthy as personal technology isolates us from each other, hooks us into damaging modes of information, manipulates our thought processes, and can even damage our souls.

Modern-day loneliness is REAL.

Isolationism caused by digital spaces, hypersensitivity to individualism, consumerism of relationships, and an increase in personal technology has caused…

… A skeptical outlook on authoritative structures, an acute criticism of shared community standards, the rise of mental health issues, busyness due to economic and political realities, and personalization of truth, and…

 … I propose that quality + mature human relationships will be the highest form of wealth in the modern-day world?

We live in a world bombarded with information.

Unregulated, the modes of information coming at us through our digital devices can cause symptoms of information overload, which I call Infobesity.

Symptoms of distraction, blue-screen fatigue, slight forms of mental illness, and feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, and sadness can set in.

Even spiritually, Infobesity can cause damage to our souls – we lack coping skills to deal with personal brokenness, relational isolationism, identity confusion, polarization of truth, and hyper-personalization of God.

 In saying this, how can modern-day followers of Jesus living in a digital age practice the Sabbath?

You might have heard the term “brain rot”.

It can be used by younger generations, labelling their friends as digital zombies or mentally unaware. 

AS words are important and share NOT only the language of the day but also reveal societal shifts, it is interesting to note that Oxford released the word of the year to be “brain rot” – the symptoms of constantly being online, with cheap dopamine hits and endless connections, leading to mental numbness, stunted cognitive growth, and immature social skills. (1)

But what does brain rot do to the soul?

Let’s consider…