Salt Pillars

Technology and Virtue

A young man sits at a coffee-shop table. In front of him, his laptop. In his hand, his iPhone. In his ears, headphones. At least three of his senses are simultaneously caught up in a digital whirlwind. As far as the world around him is concerned, he may as well be the cold and dead sculpture of a living and breathing human being; a human being that can only be reached in an in-human world, an artificial dimension, a digital universe.

It is not uncommon to hear the cry "disconnect!" from various corners of the worlds of internet and print, yet more and more, we are connecting, and becoming much more efficient at doing so. If, for just one minute, we disengage our minds from the digital bombardment, we might be shocked at the rapidity with which this has happened to us. The past twenty years have seen a dramatic increase in the electronic communication and entertainment devices available to the average person. The nearly limitless capacity for distraction that these devices have is astonishing. Frenetically moving from one superficial digital thrill to another, our minds are constantly occupied and incessantly searching for novelty and excitement with the security of knowing it is all a pixelated construct, as "harmless" as a dream.

People are beginning to study the effects of such superficial intellectual activity, and the results are not encouraging. The problems we see with internet addiction, the lower standards of education, withdrawal from the "real" world and the simple ignoring of tangible relationships in favor of digital ones pose troubling concerns for humanity.

The definition of progress implies that it is inherently good. If not, then it is not progress. It is not difficult to see the fantastic advantages of current and future technology. But, these machines are tools, devices meant to serve a particular purpose, a purpose that is, in the grand scheme of things, to make man's life better. Thus, with that end in mind, those with sincere moral concerns often ask such questions as: what is the proper use of these devices? How much should they be used? How can we use them for good ends? Perhaps one possibility is being overlooked: that the "goodness" of these machines, their "moral" potential and use, is in their non-use. 

Of course, I am not advocating a mass exodus from the digital world; we are far too invested for that. Most of us must be connected in some way in order to function properly in the world. And our technological advances do represent genuine progress. The reader might then offer the correction that by "non-use" I simply mean "moderate" use. The veritable "golden mean" in all things he will, no doubt, solemnly promulgate. And of course he is right.

By suggesting that virtue lies in the non-use of technological devices, I am merely drawing attention to the fact that it is in the setting aside of such devices that virtue is formed. Next time you want to write to a friend, put away the laptop and write a letter, with paper and ink, and then try to convince yourself that there was no virtue to be found there. A family member is in his room, all the way upstairs, so rather then texting him the latest news, walk to his room and speak to him personally, and then try to argue that lounging in front of the television while texting would have been better for your moral character.

Maybe it seems like I am simply promoting the standard "disconnect" theme. This is not the case. What I am doing is heralding the vast potential for developing virtue that is available to us because of our new machines. There is no need to speak here of the amazing capacity these machines have for helping humanity advance in a purely technological way. They are indeed great gifts, not simply because of the things they can do, but also and perhaps even primarily because of the things they cannot do. Never will a machine replace a real human encounter. Never will the words "I love you" formed by a few keystrokes mean as much as the same words said with the force of breath and life.

We all know how difficult it is to put away the laptop or get off the cellphone (and those are not the only devices demanding our attention). But this only makes what I have said about virtue even more important. What we need, indeed what our world demands, are heroic men and women. We need people who can recognize the things that machines can never do, people who can shrug off the illusory demands of efficiency and time-management in favor of genuine human development. We need people with the will to not use those things that would enslave us. Because of the incredible amount of grace and virtue required to do this, those who do can truly become heroes and saints who are even greater than those of past ages, simply because in our age, we have more to give up.