What Technology Has Stolen From Us All

September 1st, 2026

Written By: Clarice Hielema

I want you to really imagine with me here for a moment. Imagine someone knocks on your door, you answer, and they tell you they have a vision for what your life will be. They say, “You’re going to have abundant joy, you’re going to be relationship rich, you’re going to master countless different skills, you’re going to get deep with the Lord and become truly acquainted with Him, you’re going to be present and even though time will pass, you’ll have cherished each moment.” Sounds like a pretty wonderful and well lived life, right? I’d say so! Now imagine someone else comes up to your door and says, “Step aside, I have another vision for your life, and it’s yours to choose which you will accept. I envision that you’re going to have your joy stolen, you’re going to be relationship deprived, you’re not going to have the time or the will to master many skills, you’re going to ignore the call to grow deeper with the Lord, you won’t remember how to be present, and you’ll feel like time is flying, but it’s only because you have squandered it. But hey wait, it won’t be all that bad. In fact, the whole time you’ll be under the impression that you possess the life from this first vision. You’ll go through life never feeling like there’s a different or better way to live. You’ll look around and see that everyone else has chosen this life too. It’s just the generation you were born into after all, an inevitable addiction you’ll have. Just one catch… at the end of your life your eyes may be opened, and you’ll see what your life could have been, what you missed out on, and you’ll realize that you wasted all those hours of your life. Now, it’s your choice to choose which life you want. So, what will it be?”

I know this sounds like a dark allegory, but I can’t help but see this second life being played out in the lives of people I know, people I see in passing, and the person I see in the mirror. The grip that technology has on this generation is quite sickening to me. We have lost so much to the devices we own. And all the while, we don’t realize the sin of addiction in our lives, and if we do realize our dependency on technology, we either pretend like there’s nothing we can do about it, we try to quit but are too attached, or the worse response yet, we simply don’t care. But, I’m done not caring, I’m done trying to quit to no avail, and I’m done being passive towards technology’s effects on my life. I’m done selling hours of my week away, to get nothing in return. I want to obtain the first life laid out, the life that I believe God desires for each of us. God’s first law in Exodus 20:3 is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” How easy it is for us sinful creatures to erect idols for ourselves, and to exalt these things to places of worship and dependence in our lives. The Bible speaks heavily to idolatry, and the sad thing is that idolatry of technology runs rampant today, but it is widely accepted, conventional, and seemingly harmless. It’s not hard for us to make idols in our hearts, things we treasure more than God. It’s easy to say “no, no, of course I love God more than my phone!” But, what does the fruit in your life show? How are you spending your time? Where are your thoughts directed? What matters to you more than you even realize?

The topic of what technology has stolen from us has endless avenues and rabbit holes I could go down, and perhaps I will write more specific blog posts in the future regarding the different implications. However, I want to introduce this idea and hopefully plant a seed that gets us each thinking deeper about the effects technology has in our own lives. My phone usage is something I have always been convicted about. Even having greatly diminished my screen time, I still waste time and know deep down that I am addicted, even despite my progress. Here’s some honest reflection questions for you:

• Have you ever thought about reading your Bible, but reached for your phone instead?

• Have you ever scrolled on your phone for what seemed like 5 mins, but an hour went by?

• Have you ever felt awkward in public and pulled out your phone to cope?

• Have you ever had so much on your plate, but ignored all your responsibilities and scrolled social media?

• Have you ever felt jealous of someone online?

• Have you ever found yourself opening your phone or an app without thinking about it?

• Have you ever ignored others around you because being online is of more interest to you?

• Have you ever noticed your attention span decreasing or you being more quick tempered?

• Have you noticed that it’s harder to find motivation to do anything else besides sit on your phone? 

Truth is, most of us have experienced these things to some degree. And I think this is a major problem that we all need to wake up to and personally do something about. Is spending time on our phone really more life giving? Is it really worth directing our attention towards? Is what we’re doing on our phone glorifying God? I know scrolling social media, listening to a podcast, playing a game, or watching a Youtube video seem like harmless pastimes. You might even think I’m exaggerating way too much. But friend, look around you at the world! Our ancestors could never dream that the world would be like it is today. Call it progress, but I believe there’s been more damage done than development. We’ve traded joy, intentional relationships, self development, deep satisfaction from a job well done, a rich walk with the Lord, and slow living all for what? For a life online that will never satisfy and never bring us what we truly desire. Technology creates in us a void that is impossible to fill, and it keeps us distracted from what really matters. That’s why we pick up our phones without even thinking about it sometimes. That’s why we sit and scroll, ignoring our troubles, and don’t go to God in prayer. That’s why we find ourselves lonely, anxious, and depressed. That’s why we are quick to anger and have a hard time focusing on anything. That’s why we can’t find motivation to get up and use our time wisely. That’s why time seems to pass us by so swiftly. Because we’ve traded the essence of actual living for a counterfeit of life.  

I can’t tell you how sad it makes me to go outside these days and observe 90% of people on their phones or earbuds in, tuning out the world. We have become almost numb to it. It’s just our generation after all, right? It’s easier to find someone glued to their screen than it is to find someone who is truly experiencing life in real time. Even parents have forsaken their responsibilities and handed the parenting over to iPads. “I can’t entertain and be responsible for my own child, so this is my only option.” Go to a restaurant and observe how many couples or families are on their phones. Go to the park with your kids and see how most parents aren’t even watching their sweet kiddos playing and learning, they’re just sitting on their phone. People walking, biking, sitting at a red light, eating, waiting in line, shopping, sight seeing, wherever you go, there are people glued to technology. This used to not be so and this ought not to be so nowadays. If my generation is known for utilizing technology in every scenario, then I want to disassociate from it, wake up, and find what it is we’ve lost. 

If taking a look around your neighborhood doesn’t convince you that this generation has a true problem with screens, then let’s hear what the data has to say. If you Google “phone addiction” you’ll get millions of results. It’s a real problem in modern day society. According to surveys done by Bradley University, Americans spend an average of 5.7 hours on their smartphones daily. And if that’s not already bad enough, Millennials and Gen Z spend 6.5 hours. Friends, to put it into perspective, that’s relatively 20 years of someone’s life!!! The average person spends over ⅓ of their life staring at a screen. Our ancestors would be rolling over in their graves. Here’s some more jarring statistics from Bradley:

• 95% of Americans believe technology addiction is a serious problem, and 59% admit being addicted themselves

• 65% admit panic when they misplace their phone

• 43% say it would be extremely difficult emotionally to give up their phone

• 86% have felt hurt while talking to someone distracted by their phone

• Teenage smartphone ownership has jumped 313% since 2011, and adolescent depression has gone up 57% since then

 Folks, do you need anymore proof that phone addiction runs rampant in ours and the lives of people around us? We’ve become slaves to technology, and we can’t even conceive a reality without phones. Do you ever wonder what it would be like to grow up and live in the time period of our great grandparents? I wonder this often, wishing that technology didn’t plague me, my family, and my generation as it does. 

Let me share a story with you about my Grandma and Grandpa, who have since passed. They were born in 1940 and 1941. They married in a little white church, resided outside of a small town, had 3 daughters, and loved the Lord. My Grandpa made a living at the printing press and my Grandma was the church secretary, and she loved to cook, clean, and sew. I loved looking back at photos and hearing stories from their memories. When I was growing up myself, technology was just beginning to make its appearance in the homes of average Americans like us. We had a TV, a desktop computer with some CD video games, and a home phone. Visiting my grandparents' modest brick ranch always felt like a step back in time for me. They had a wall mounted phone, a big box TV that got about 5 channels, and my Grandpa’s beloved radio where he listened to his shows, relaxing in his favorite armchair. My sister and I loved playing with their vintage toys, doing puzzles, collecting and cracking pecans, reading on their porch swing, exploring their large acreage, playing badminton in their yard, and occasionally watching the one VHS tape that they owned and we loved. My grandparents loved bird watching, tending their 100 acres, gardening, taking walks, serving the church and community, and being with their loved ones. As I reflect on their lives, it’s evident that their days were marked by peace, intentionality, rest, joy, and gratitude. They led a life of quiet simplicity. Growing up surrounded by technology myself, I often wondered what my grandparents did from sun up to sun down. I pondered how they could possibly fill each minute of their day and not grow bored, especially being without electronics. Now growing up, I have realized my naivety in thinking this way. There is no complex recipe for the meaningful life they lived. In fact, my grandparents' secret was that they were content with the ordinary, satisfied with the mundane, and no stranger to the quiet. I am eternally grateful for the impact both my sets of grandparents have had on not only my childhood, but my adulthood as well. 

Since starting a family of my own, I have had this deep craving to lead a life similar to the one my grandparents did. A life of slowing down and smelling the roses. A life of enjoying each sunrise and sunset. A life of cherishing each moment with loved ones. A daily life that has a common thread of hard work, predictability, and counting your blessings. A life of deep contentment. A life of walking closely with the Lord and being attuned to His voice. A life of real substance. A life that may seem insignificant and humdrum to some nowadays, but I believe is a truly well lived life. Life isn’t found on a screen, real grit isn’t learned in a make believe world, skills aren’t developed just watching someone else do it, relationships aren’t cultivated through social media, hearing from the Lord isn’t made easy with all the noise and distraction, real time moments are missed, and the ability to make the most of our time is squandered. I don’t want to have my eyes and ears fixated on an artificial world that’s main aim is to consume all my attention and draw me away from what matters most. I don’t want to spend 20 years of my life in the prison that technology has built. Friend, don’t let technology take a hold of your life and make you forget what matters most. Don’t let your phone become an idol in your life, causing you to waste the precious time God has given you this side of eternity. Don’t freely give technology that which it has come to steal.

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:40