Wired for Silence: Disconnecting from Technology to Reconnect with God

New research shows that increased use of technology alters the way the brain processes information. In essence, "technology is rewiring our brains." While the Internet increases the brain's ability to hunt and gather information, it also decreases its ability to focus and think deeply, a finding that has especially serious implications for the spiritual life.

NASHVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - Let us be silent, that we may hear the whisper of God - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Anyone who has begun to notice more frequently scattered thoughts, a nagging inability to focus even on family or prayer, a discomfort in sitting quietly alone, or difficulty in meditation or deep thinking, should consider that technology and other media may be changing the way he thinks.

The Internet Splinters Focus and Rewires Brains

New research shows that increased use of technology alters the way the brain processes information. In essence, "technology is rewiring our brains," according to Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and one of the world's leading brain scientists. The measure of human intelligence is founded on the ability to transfer information from provisional memory, the scratch paper of consciousness, to permanent or long-term memory, the mental filing system.

Provisional memory is limited; it is short-term and designed to hold a relatively small amount of information at any one time. When information, whether factual or experiential, enters long-term memory, it is because the brain has performed an intricate ballet of deconstruction and reorganization into intricate concepts and ideas that add richness to thought.

Anyone who has crammed for an exam knows that the attempt to transfer large amounts of information from provisional to permanent memory (which has an almost unlimited capacity to hold information) can cause a bottleneck in the brain that results in memory gaps and forgetfulness. Short-term memory is also fragile, so that a break in attention can sweep the contents away completely.

The Internet and other media technology, however, is a virtual interruption system, seizing one's attention only to divert it elsewhere through related links, minute-by-minute news and gossip feeds, tweets, updates, and incoming email, text, or voicemail alerts.

Electronic media and gadgets cater to the primitive response impulse; immediate threats or opportunities provide stimulation and provoke excitement. The Siren song of digital stimulation is the accompanying squirt of dopamine in the brain similar to that of food and sex, two other essentials that can be counterproductive and even addictive in excess.

The Brain on Computers

People with technology overload change application windows or check e-mail or other programs nearly 50 times an hour, according to research. They check email before any other activity, often obsessively.

Engrossed in gaming, surfing, or skimming, they may forget an appointment, something on the stove, or things that need to be done. They have trouble focusing on other people. Family members may complain that although they are in the same room, they are not engaged.

Even when they are needed by others, they may insist on a few more moments online before responding. They might lie about how long they have been online, and choose media gadgets over actual personal connections.

In the absence of stimulation, they experience boredom. It seems they can no longer be fully in the moment. Even after unplugging, they crave electronic stimulation. They may be distracted by the desire to return to the computer or get online, and reconnecting often lifts their depressed or nervous mood.

While they may believe technological multitasking makes them more productive, research shows such addicts actually have more trouble focusing and filtering irrelevant information, and they experience more stress from the different kinds of media bombarding them simultaneously.

The ability to skim and browse through information is as important as the ability to read and think deeply and attentively. This skimming, however, has become the dominant mode of thought and preferred method of learning and analysis, rather than simply a way to identify information for further study.

Technological overload reduces by distraction the few remaining moments of quiet solitude that remain to us in our busy lives, time that is absolutely essential for relationships with one another and with God. While the Internet increases the brain's ability to hunt and gather information, it also decreases its ability to focus and think deeply, a finding that has especially serious implications for the spiritual life.

Reconnecting to Reality

The Doctors of prayer, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, agree that in order to connect deeply to God, which is our human calling and purpose, we must first be capable of the focused rigor of ascetical prayer, which requires reflection, silence, and inner quiet.

Even more difficult is deeper prayer, where one must focus on simply being present with God. Where is there time for "recollection" when the busy person can no longer tolerate being alone, quiet, or "disconnected"?

Learning to balance the need to be "connected" with the need for silence and meditation is an essential requirement for even a modicum of a spiritual life; it is the one way of relating to God. Without deliberate silence, it becomes harder to hear the whisper of God, whose still small voice requires one's full attention.

Those who are completely absorbed in the virtual world, feverishly checking email or returning phone calls, never appreciate the sermon in the spectacular nightly fireworks of summer lightning bugs. They do not hear the operas that God writes from the music of rivers, or notice that He whispers "I Love You" in the wind and sends us poetry in the Psalms. 

Hearing God means solitude, deliberately preventing everything in one's life from being filled up. It means saying "no," disconnecting, so that somewhere we are not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, solitude means to create a space in which something can happen, something that we had not planned or counted on.

Imagine

Developmental psychologist Patricia Greenfield, after reviewing more than 40 studies of the effects of various types of media on intelligence and learning ability, concluded that, although there are benefits to our use of the Internet and other screen-based technologies, they have also diminished our capacity for the "deep processing, critical thinking, imagination, and reflection" that underpins a vibrant spiritual life.

Yet, "[t]he heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Biblical expression, the heart is the place 'to which I withdraw.' The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant" (CCC 2563).

If we decline to connect to that which is the seat of the soul, we can never be truly connected in the place of truth, nor encounter the One hidden there. Take at least one day off a week from the Internet and phone. Instead, reach out to Jesus who is reaching out to touch you. Connect deeply, focus attentively, incline an awkward ear to the call of God whose Word is our mother tongue.

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Sonja Corbitt is a Catholic speaker, Scripture teacher and study author, and a contributing writer for Catholic Online. She is available to speak on the New Feminism, current events and your preferred theme. Visit her at www.pursuingthesummit.com for information and sample videos.

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