Mama says Ben Franklin, Foosball, and Technology is the Devil

Bobby Boucher: Mama, when did Ben Franklin invent electricity? Mama Boucher: That’s nonsense, I invented electricity. Ben Franklin is the Devil!

After watching the Waterboy, I learned lots of things were the devil. Foosball, girls, electricity. If Bobby Boucher brought home a dazzling new iPhone 6 you can be sure Mama would stomp that thing to death as she exploded,

No son of mine is gonna play any eyesphone, eyesphone is the devil!

Does Mama, even with her overdramatized, overprotective, and outrageous behavior, have some wisdom for us? Is technology wicked, cruel, punishing? Does it rob us of love, relationships, and at times feel like it could take our soul?

What are the costs of technology, for living in a digital world?

Switchfoot at The Landmark Theater, Syracuse, NY

We watch concerts through our DSLR video features, see sunsets through our iPhones and zoom cameras, and have what could be face to face conversations through emails or Hangouts.

I confess, I am the biggest offender of overusing social media, my camera, and have been sucked into the digital vortex.

• I text friends who are sitting across from me.
• I Skype or FaceTime my teens and spouse instead of walking upstairs to ask a question. Ok, I LIKE to do this but I don’t like it when they do it to me.
• I message friends on Facebook in place of speaking on the phone or in person.

It’s great to have this technology, but let’s not don’t go too far. Interpersonal communication with a physical human being that includes touch, facial expressions, inflections, tone – remember that?

Do I really believe technology is the devil? Not completely, but it can be a baneful influence if we let it. If you want to be healthy and happy there has to be balance and moderation in everything. How about you? Do you need to pull the plug on your technology, even a little? Why not give it a try? Turn off your phone. Shut the computer. Take a walk. Read a book. And when your break is over, grab some clean, cold, high quality H20 and watch The Waterboy. This post was published on LinkedIN Pulse on September 23th, 2014

Originally published at blog.life-verses.com on October 6, 2014.