In 1997, Douglas Groothuis (Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary) published The Soul in Cyberspace. Now, 12 years later, Challies interviewed Groothuis to get his current thoughts on technology and computer-mediated communication. Groothuis says many interesting things. One of his comments, sure to cheer book lovers, is the following:
... each communications medium shapes its content distinctively and shapes
the perceiver necessarily. For one thing, we lose a sense of history
when we move from books to screens. Books can be old friends, both the
content (which stays in our minds) and the artifacts themselves, which
we treasure. For example, I would not part with my 1976 edition of
Francis Schaeffer’s The God Who is There, which I read
shortly after my conversion. It was that book, those ideas, that
sparked my vision for Christian ministry. Moreover, I love the cover of
that edition and enjoy looking over the many notations I put into the
book through multiple readings. Having the same book in a digital form,
while worthwhile in many ways (for example, I could capture text and
put it on my blog!), would not be the same. Much would be lost.
Me: Yes! How useful and "civilized" to see personal notations in the back of a book or in the margins!
Here's another of Groothuis' comments:
Knowing what matters most—truths about God, ourself, and creation—takes
time and effort. Being awash in information is not the same as gaining
knowledge (truth received in a rational way). Americans are usually
well-informed ignoramuses. We have oceans of facts or information at
hand, but little knowledge. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge.
Americans typically have no idea how to handle all the data thrown at
them: the more information, the less meaning. . .
All very true. Today's Oprah Winfrey show focused on families challenged to go without cell phones, computers and TV for a week. Viewers were made aware, if they hadn't realized it before, how massively addicted we have become to technology and the costs of that addiction on family relationships.