Added new article on the mobile phone.
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blog/posts/0141-know-your-enemy-the-phone.cfg
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filename = 2021-08-12-know-your-enemy-the-phone.html
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title = Know Your Enemy: The Phone
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description = It would seem that despite everyone knowing that we have an unhealthy relationship with our technological devices, hardly do we act to counteract this negative influence in our lives.
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created = 2021-08-12
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updated = 2021-08-12
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blog/posts/0141-know-your-enemy-the-phone.html
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<p>With this title, I cannot help but think of and mention Rage Against the
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Machine's hit song, "Know Your Enemy."<sup><a href="#r1" >[1]</a></sup> So I'll
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just drop that little gem.</p>
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<p>Those who know me personally will also know that I'm pretty anti-technology
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for a software developer. The complete opposite of your typical technophile who
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was extremely excited about the Google Glass,<sup><a href="#r2" >[2]</a></sup>
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and was among the first to buy it when it came out, just to regret doing so when
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ultimately it wasn't all people were expecting. And nothing I believe more
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accurately expresses this attitude of mine than my phone: a brick phone. What I
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want to express in this article is why we should view these technologies as our
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enemies in order to make sure that we control them, instead of them controlling
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us.</p>
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<p>I think it's worth noting that I have never once received a negative reaction
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when someone noticed my phone. In fact, quite to the contrary. Normally I'm met
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with the exact same reaction every time: that it's great, and they wish they
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could do the same, but they can't. The reason why they think it's great is
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usually that this way one can be more disconnected, but more attentive to those
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around them, and truly enjoy the moment more. They wish they could do the same
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because they notice how they themselves are enslaved to their phones and the
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notifications. They cannot, however, use a device like mine, typically because
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they require some application - usually a messaging application such as WhatsApp
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- for communication. And I fully understand this reason, but I think that
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sometimes we also make excuses for ourselves in this regard, and aren't doing
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all that we could be doing.</p>
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<p>Let's begin by going over why our phones are harmful - although ultimately
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this can also apply to other things such as social media accounts. The biggest
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issue is, I believe, being constantly connected, and having the habit of
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prioritizing this virtual (and often times unimportant) communication over
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real-life in-person communication and relationships. The way I normally see it
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happening is that it starts by taking out the phone for one simple task, e.g. to
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check if an e-mail was received, to send a quick message, to make a call, to
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look something up. But then, immediately once the screen is turned on, the
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person gets flooded with notifications of other things unrelated to the original
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task, and they feel the need to respond to them immediately. The interesting
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thing is, if they had not taken out their phone in the first place, they
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wouldn't have felt that need, indicating that it truly wasn't that important to
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begin with. Finally, before you know it, what started out as a simple search has
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turned into having to respond to all the notifications you have received in that
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time. In the meantime, the other person takes advantage of the opportunity to
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look at their phone, and the same happens to them. Before you know it, everyone
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is on their phones, and if any of them bothers to look up they'll notice the
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other is on their phone, so they decide to continue doing something until the
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other person "finishes what they're doing." I've seen this happen many times,
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and it's probably the saddest thing.</p>
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<p>So evidently we have a problem with using our phones. All too often we're
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carried away and controlled by them, rather than us controlling the phones. And
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I think a lot of people recognize this, hence the recognition that it's better
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to be less connected. The problem is that last part, "but I couldn't do it."
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Everyone, depending on their place in life, has different needs, and some will
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need to be more dependent on their phones (for work, family, etc.) than others.
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While some may be blessed enough, such as myself, to be less dependent in
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day-to-day life on the phone, others do not have such a luxury. I am not trying
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to convince people to neglect these necessities by dumbing down their phone. I
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do, however, believe that there is always something more that we can do to
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minimize our dependency on our phones, digital technologies, social media, etc.
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And the way we discover that is precisely be taking a radical stance of
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animosity with these things: the phone is your enemy.</p>
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<p>Considering that phone addiction is a real
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thing,<sup><a href="#r3" >[3]</a></sup> it therefore makes sense to treat the
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phone as an alcoholic would treat alcoholic beverages, particularly because
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phones are actually designed to be addictive.<sup><a href="#r4" >[4]</a></sup>
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Typically when we try to set limits for ourselves regarding our phones or other
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technologies, we do so with a mentality of moderation for the sake of utility:
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"I'll just make sure I use it with moderation." Yet this is the same as the
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alcoholic who decides he's only going to have one beer on Fridays with his
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friends. Ultimately, those occasions will come around where you find it
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appropriate for some reason to make an exception, and then the exceptions will
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become more frequent until they become the rule and you're right back where you
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started. By viewing the phone as your enemy, as something that will try to ruin
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your life and your relationships - just as an alcoholic should view alcohol -
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you mentally become more aware of when you actually need to be using the phone,
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and you will always use it with reluctance, trying to avoid it whenever
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possible.</p>
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<p>I believe this mentality is especially important from the Christian
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perspective. We must remember that we are not of this world, nor are we to be
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moulded by it (Romans 12:2; 1 John 2:15). The world is, in fact, our enemy, as
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it belongs to the devil. Your phone belongs to this world; it will not come with
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you to Heaven. But we must learn to use that which is of the world for the ends
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of Eternal Salvation of souls. To do this, we must use these devices with
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reluctance only to do that which is God's work through them, and despise them
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for all the rest that they are.</p>
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<p>I would like to reiterate that none of this is to neglect our legitimate uses
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for these technologies. If your job requires you to have a smart phone to be
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connected to your work e-mail, don't be unreasonable. But in all that you are
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able, minimize the impact of your phone and its presence in your life. Turn off
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notifications, power it off at night, place it in a basket at the door to your
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house when coming home; there's always something more you can do.</p>
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<ol class="refs" >
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<li id="r1" >
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JukTvlrh-Wk"
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target="_blank" >
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"Rage Against The Machine - Know Your Enemy (Audio)" on YouTube
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</a>
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</li>
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<li id="r2" >
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass"
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target="_blank" >
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"Google Glass" on Wikipedia
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</a>
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</li>
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<li id="r3" >
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<a href="https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/phone-addiction/"
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target="_blank" >
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"Phone Addiction: Warning Signs And Treatment" from Addiction Center
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</a>
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</li>
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<li id="r4" >
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<a href="https://www.addictioncenter.com/news/2019/08/technology-social-media-addictions/"
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target="_blank" >
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"Quitting Technology And Social Media Addictions Is Harder Than
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Quitting Cigarettes" from Addiction Center
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</a>
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</li>
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</ol>
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