DISTRACTED MINDS AND DIVIDED HEARTS
“I can’t read cursive.” The young lady was honest as well as earnest. She had been asked to read a letter that someone wrote by hand. She was unable to fulfill the request, since she had never learned to read anything that had been handwritten.
I could share several takeaways from this episode, but I want to focus on one: we are becoming a culture that watches rather than reads. Beyond that, in many cases the only things people read are headlines rather than the information the headline introduces. Because of this, we are slipping further and further into decline—not just educationally, but emotionally, and also in our ability to think critically.
Despite the preponderance of electronic communication, such as text messages, video chats, and emojis, reading is still a necessary life skill—and I predict that it always will be.
You may not remember the process you went through to learn to read, since you probably have been reading since you were very young. Learning to read involves acquiring a number of specialized skills and engaging in a great deal of practice to become proficient. Children are ideally suited to this process, since in most cases their developing brains acquire these skills readily. Children who read have learned something that distinguishes them, and gives them a sense of accomplishment that they would not have if they did not learn to read. Reading also opens an entire world of knowledge that would not be available to them otherwise. Of course, this serves them well in nearly every area of endeavor in which they may become involved.
Contrast this with watching—whether it be a television program, a motion picture, a video, or a computer-generated image on a screen or a smartphone. Watching requires no specialized skill as reading does. All anyone must do to watch is to have functioning eyes. Everyone can watch without learning how to do it—no learning is necessary, as it is with reading.
Reading is an active cognitive process, while watching is a predominantly passive one. Reading involves building a scene, while watching is mainly receiving a scene that is already built by those involved in creating the visual medium.
I am not saying that either of these is wrong—but they are most certainly different, and result in different outcomes. I am saying that an overemphasis on watching creates difficulties that can be avoided. Reading involves high imagination and cognition, sustained, internally driven attention, and engages the executive function of the brain. Watching involves low imagination and cognition, stimulus-led attention, and emotional processing. Let me summarize this: reading involves more thinking. Watching involves more feeling. When people spend most of their time watching rather than reading, they tend to feel more than they think. Does this have cultural consequences? I think it does.
Here is a characteristic of a watching/feeling culture that I have noticed. Since people tend to watch rather than read, more and more visual content is being created. However, there has to be some way to get people to watch the content. Much of the time, the device used to arrest people’s attention is a headline. The more immediate, sensational, and even bizarre the headline is, the more likely it is to get people’s attention. The more people who watch the content, the more views, likes, shares, and other indications of use or approval the content creator receives. The more attention the content creator receives, the more money they can potentially make.
Since there are so many content creators competing for people’s attention, some of them, and perhaps many of them, resort to ever more astounding claims in their headlines. At times this becomes so excessive that what the headline promises sounds more like a sideshow barker or a tabloid’s front page than anything else.
Here is another concern. The more outrageous the headline, the more likely it is that viewers will receive a dopamine release just by looking at it. Not only that, but such headlines may trigger curiosity and uncertainty, and can even condition a person’s brain to seek novelty and emotional intensity. Some research points not to the content, but the very anticipation of the content as the trigger for this system of emotional reward to be activated. The result is that people scroll through their preferred video feeds incessantly, looking for emotional “hits” in the process.
Could it be that this is one reason that for two generations, people have been wedded to their smartphones? Is this why any suggestion that people relinquish their phones for any reason is met with opposition, and even hostility? Does this have anything to do with why children (or adults, for that matter) can’t focus on a task to its completion—or can’t even sit still?
I am certainly not advocating that anyone should throw away their smartphone or stop watching podcasts or videos. I produce a weekly podcast, and the church I pastor streams our services to homes and individuals to proclaim the gospel around the world. What I am saying is that the frenetic pace of our current culture is producing frantic people, who have difficulty receiving the gospel message, or any message, in a traditional church service. In addition, the gospel must compete with millions of other messages that are bombarding people from every direction at every moment of the day and night.
I am convinced that distracted minds lead will eventually lead to divided hearts. Is there anything we can do to reverse this disturbing trend? I believe there is. Let me share some suggestions with you.
The first suggestion is that at every opportunity, encourage people to read their Bible. When God wanted to communicate with us, He gave us a book, not a videotape, a download, or a podcast. I advocate that people read the physical paper-and-ink book, but if people want to take advantage of the convenience of reading the Bible on their electronic device, that is far better than not reading it at all.
Next, unplug from the phone for a certain period of time each day. Isn’t it amazing that years ago, before the proliferation of cell phones, people seemed to get along all right without being able to contact other people instantaneously? How did we ever survive? It might be time to revisit that age, at least on a temporary basis.
Another suggestion is to not look at a screen continuously for hours at a time. Just as your body benefits from getting up from a sitting position every so often, your brain can become fatigued by constant staring at a two-dimensional format. Even a few minutes away from the screen will help you to reset and recharge. Look out a window, close your eyes, or otherwise refrain, even for a few moments, from looking at the pixelated images that seem to confront us all the time.
Speaking of physical activity, here’s a good suggestion: take a walk. If you live in a climate where going outside is uncomfortable for some period of the year, find a building where you can walk. Walking, stretching, or any systematic or rhythmic activity can have both physical and emotional benefits.
There are other strategies you can employ to resist the negative effects of our fast-paced and over-the-top culture. Here is a final one: protect the first and last moments of your waking hours. It is at these times that your mind and heart may be most receptive to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to you. If the first thing you look at is your phone when you awaken in the morning, you may be missing an important download from heaven, designed to give you guidance for the day or for the future. Don’t forsake eternal benefits by succumbing to an internet scroll the first thing in the morning or the last thing before bed. Focus on Him, and allow His word and His Spirit to be the first and last thing on your mind every day. Keep your mind from distractions and your heart from divisions that would compromise your worship and your work for the Lord.
Yours for the Harvest,
Dr. Rod Parsley
Founder & General Overseer
I could share several takeaways from this episode, but I want to focus on one: we are becoming a culture that watches rather than reads. Beyond that, in many cases the only things people read are headlines rather than the information the headline introduces. Because of this, we are slipping further and further into decline—not just educationally, but emotionally, and also in our ability to think critically.
Despite the preponderance of electronic communication, such as text messages, video chats, and emojis, reading is still a necessary life skill—and I predict that it always will be.
You may not remember the process you went through to learn to read, since you probably have been reading since you were very young. Learning to read involves acquiring a number of specialized skills and engaging in a great deal of practice to become proficient. Children are ideally suited to this process, since in most cases their developing brains acquire these skills readily. Children who read have learned something that distinguishes them, and gives them a sense of accomplishment that they would not have if they did not learn to read. Reading also opens an entire world of knowledge that would not be available to them otherwise. Of course, this serves them well in nearly every area of endeavor in which they may become involved.
Contrast this with watching—whether it be a television program, a motion picture, a video, or a computer-generated image on a screen or a smartphone. Watching requires no specialized skill as reading does. All anyone must do to watch is to have functioning eyes. Everyone can watch without learning how to do it—no learning is necessary, as it is with reading.
Reading is an active cognitive process, while watching is a predominantly passive one. Reading involves building a scene, while watching is mainly receiving a scene that is already built by those involved in creating the visual medium.
I am not saying that either of these is wrong—but they are most certainly different, and result in different outcomes. I am saying that an overemphasis on watching creates difficulties that can be avoided. Reading involves high imagination and cognition, sustained, internally driven attention, and engages the executive function of the brain. Watching involves low imagination and cognition, stimulus-led attention, and emotional processing. Let me summarize this: reading involves more thinking. Watching involves more feeling. When people spend most of their time watching rather than reading, they tend to feel more than they think. Does this have cultural consequences? I think it does.
Here is a characteristic of a watching/feeling culture that I have noticed. Since people tend to watch rather than read, more and more visual content is being created. However, there has to be some way to get people to watch the content. Much of the time, the device used to arrest people’s attention is a headline. The more immediate, sensational, and even bizarre the headline is, the more likely it is to get people’s attention. The more people who watch the content, the more views, likes, shares, and other indications of use or approval the content creator receives. The more attention the content creator receives, the more money they can potentially make.
Since there are so many content creators competing for people’s attention, some of them, and perhaps many of them, resort to ever more astounding claims in their headlines. At times this becomes so excessive that what the headline promises sounds more like a sideshow barker or a tabloid’s front page than anything else.
Here is another concern. The more outrageous the headline, the more likely it is that viewers will receive a dopamine release just by looking at it. Not only that, but such headlines may trigger curiosity and uncertainty, and can even condition a person’s brain to seek novelty and emotional intensity. Some research points not to the content, but the very anticipation of the content as the trigger for this system of emotional reward to be activated. The result is that people scroll through their preferred video feeds incessantly, looking for emotional “hits” in the process.
Could it be that this is one reason that for two generations, people have been wedded to their smartphones? Is this why any suggestion that people relinquish their phones for any reason is met with opposition, and even hostility? Does this have anything to do with why children (or adults, for that matter) can’t focus on a task to its completion—or can’t even sit still?
I am certainly not advocating that anyone should throw away their smartphone or stop watching podcasts or videos. I produce a weekly podcast, and the church I pastor streams our services to homes and individuals to proclaim the gospel around the world. What I am saying is that the frenetic pace of our current culture is producing frantic people, who have difficulty receiving the gospel message, or any message, in a traditional church service. In addition, the gospel must compete with millions of other messages that are bombarding people from every direction at every moment of the day and night.
I am convinced that distracted minds lead will eventually lead to divided hearts. Is there anything we can do to reverse this disturbing trend? I believe there is. Let me share some suggestions with you.
The first suggestion is that at every opportunity, encourage people to read their Bible. When God wanted to communicate with us, He gave us a book, not a videotape, a download, or a podcast. I advocate that people read the physical paper-and-ink book, but if people want to take advantage of the convenience of reading the Bible on their electronic device, that is far better than not reading it at all.
Next, unplug from the phone for a certain period of time each day. Isn’t it amazing that years ago, before the proliferation of cell phones, people seemed to get along all right without being able to contact other people instantaneously? How did we ever survive? It might be time to revisit that age, at least on a temporary basis.
Another suggestion is to not look at a screen continuously for hours at a time. Just as your body benefits from getting up from a sitting position every so often, your brain can become fatigued by constant staring at a two-dimensional format. Even a few minutes away from the screen will help you to reset and recharge. Look out a window, close your eyes, or otherwise refrain, even for a few moments, from looking at the pixelated images that seem to confront us all the time.
Speaking of physical activity, here’s a good suggestion: take a walk. If you live in a climate where going outside is uncomfortable for some period of the year, find a building where you can walk. Walking, stretching, or any systematic or rhythmic activity can have both physical and emotional benefits.
There are other strategies you can employ to resist the negative effects of our fast-paced and over-the-top culture. Here is a final one: protect the first and last moments of your waking hours. It is at these times that your mind and heart may be most receptive to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to you. If the first thing you look at is your phone when you awaken in the morning, you may be missing an important download from heaven, designed to give you guidance for the day or for the future. Don’t forsake eternal benefits by succumbing to an internet scroll the first thing in the morning or the last thing before bed. Focus on Him, and allow His word and His Spirit to be the first and last thing on your mind every day. Keep your mind from distractions and your heart from divisions that would compromise your worship and your work for the Lord.
Yours for the Harvest,
Dr. Rod Parsley
Founder & General Overseer