There are real health issues associated with our high-tech world. I read about one survey where 37 percent of young motorists, aged 18 to 27, admitted to typing text messages on cell phones and other hand-held devices while driving. Beyond car crashes, the overuse of high-tech gadgetry can cause other health concerns.
“Blackberry thumb” is pain, numbness, and tendonitis in the thumb and hand caused by too much time spent emailing, text messaging, and Internet surfing on a Blackberry or other PDA (personal digital assistant). “Cell phone elbow” is caused by constantly holding a cell phone to your ear, putting pressure on the nerve located on the inside of the elbow. This condition can cause pain and numbness in the joint or tingling in the ring and pinkie fingers. “iPod ear” is caused by listening to an iPod music player at too loud a volume for too long a time, straining the eardrums and causing a temporary hearing loss, while increasing the risk of permanent hearing loss.
But enough of the public service announcement portion of this article, let’s get back to the less serious, but nonetheless irritating technological troubles of spam, spim, and spit. As most of us know, spam is out of the cupboard and into our computers. Spam, what we typically call electronic junk mail or any unsolicited e-mail, is everywhere. Some think the term comes from a Monty Python song that includes a seemingly endless repetition of “spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, etc.”. Like the song, spam is worthless text that just won’t end. Others think the term came from a USC computer lab group who gave it the name because it has many of the same characteristics as the lamented lunchmeat: nobody wants it, asks for it, or ever eats it, but sometimes it’s actually tasty—like 1% of junk mail that might be really useful to somebody.
But wait, there’s more! Spam over instant messaging (spim) and spam over internet telephony (spit) are perhaps more vexing because you may have to stop and deal with the intrusion immediately, rather than just let it sit in your inbox. Partly, because it’s such a fun phrase to repeat, I say again: our lives are full of spam and spim and spit.
But more than just our high-tech toys, our lives are full of stuff we didn’t necessarily request and we really don’t want to have. Surely, our spiritual lives get cluttered with junk that crowds out good messages we need to keep. What are the best practices to protect our lives and our souls from commercial or corrupt communications? For starters, let’s (1) realize the risks and (2) use good filters.
And one more thing…as recipients of God’s grace and mercy, let’s never be senders of spam. Religion that is marketed in unscrupulous and unsolicited ways is unwise and unlike Christ. Let’s keep the good news uncluttered. When someone starts to corrupt the simple, loving truth of God, with eternal spamnation, just say, “Can it!”.
Dennis Lynn
