Unplugged – God’s Gift To Busy People
(dramatic music) (bright music) (mellow music) - Singapore is a modern-day wonder. It's a wealthy city-state in Southeast Asia, sometimes referred to as the Lion City. Once it was just a simple British colonial trading post, but today it's morphed into a thriving global finance, commerce, and transport hub. It's described as one of Asia's economic tigers.
And what a tiger it is. With a population of just 6 million, it ranks as the world's most technologically ready nation, the city with the best investment potential, the second most competitive country, the third-largest financial centre, third-largest oil refining and trading centre, and the world's busiest port. Wow. In just over 60 years since gaining independence from Britain in 1963, Singapore has become one of the most prosperous countries in the world.
No wonder it's all action here and such a bustling metropolis. But it's in the area of technology and digital expansion that Singapore really excels. It's the city best prepared to adopt and integrate new digital technologies and innovation. It has come up tops in a survey that looks at how ready economies are to maximise the potential of the digital revolution. Singapore is on course to becoming a digital nation, and it seems that that's the future for all of us.
Our societies are all moving in the same direction, and it's not surprising when you consider that new technology is doubling every two years and that it's being utilised more and more. Last year, the technology industry generated the world economy about five and a half trillion dollars. And that's not surprising, because so many of us are part of it and use this technology. Over 5 billion people use the internet, about 2/3 of the world's population.
Nearly 200 million new users joined the internet last year. That's over half a million new users every day. There are 2 billion websites and 60 billion web pages on the internet. Google receives 100,000 searches every second. There are over 7 billion mobile phones in the world.
Over 85% of the world's population have a mobile phone. Added together, the world spends 12 billion hours using social media every day. 400 hours of new video are uploaded to Facebook has 3 billion active users.
Nearly 40% of the world's population use it every day. On the average, we spend about seven hours a day on screens, and for many people, it's significantly more than that. These statistics are mind blowing and a reminder that we're all becoming more and more tightly integrated into the new digital world and utilising it in our daily activities. It's convenient, and it makes life so much easier and interesting. We're locked in.
We're truly living in a world of screens. But there's a dark side to our immersion in the digital world and the increasing use of screens. With all the convenience and benefits comes a dangerous downside.
With the increase in our use of digital technology and exposure to screens has come a corresponding increase in depression and other mental illnesses, anxiety, obesity, loneliness, isolation, reduced empathy, and reduced attention spans. Excessive use of our screens is taking a massive toll on our health and wellbeing. But providentially, there's an ancient remedy that's tried and tested in our modern world that can protect us from these dangers. And the good news is that it's readily available to all of us. Join me on a journey into the world of digital technology and then back through time to discover this wonder cure.
(bright music) Singapore is well known as a food haven, a real food lovers' paradise. This city-state is a melting pot of cultures, and this is reflected in its cuisine. There's a blend of Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, Indian, and Western influences. The depth and diversity of food available here is astonishing. There's something to suit everyone's taste.
There are restaurants, hawker stalls, food courts, and street food vendors, all offering a multitude of colourful cuisines. But there's one thing all of these eateries have in common. Whether it's a Michelin Star restaurant on Orchard Road or a small diner in Little India, technology has dramatically changed the way they do business.
So let's give it a try and see how it works. Once we've decided to check out a particular restaurant, we make a reservation through a mobile app. When we arrive and are seated, we use electronic menus on a tablet, swiping through various pictures of the items offered before placing our orders on the screen. Then once the food is prepared, it's delivered to our table by a mobile robot. And after we finish the delicious dishes prepared, we make the payment by using our mobile phone. These are increasingly common scenes in Singapore.
Digital technology is changing the way businesses operate. Websites, apps, social media, cloud computing, big data, tablets, e-commerce. These technologies are among the fastest moving trends that are changing the way we do business, not just here in Singapore, but right around the world. This isn't the world of the future. It's the world of today. And in order to operate and participate actively in society, we've got to embrace it. So what about our personal lives? How do we cope with all of this? As we know, screens are everywhere.
In fact, from the moment we wake up, we reach for screens. They're with us virtually all day, until we finally put them down when we go to sleep. But even then, we make sure they're still close to us, within reach.
There are about 7 billion smartphones in the world today. That's nearly enough to provide one for every person on Earth. Smartphones are the most widely used and sold piece of consumer technology today. This one small screen has changed our lives forever. The mobile phone is considered to be one of the most important human inventions. It's become such an important part of our daily lives that it seems impossible to carry out our everyday chores and responsibilities without our phones.
So let's look at this small screen that's been the real game changer in society, the smartphone. It's radically changed the way we do things with its many apps and functions. Does anyone remember the old clock radio that used to sit proudly beside the bed? It was the alarm clock that told us to get up and the radio that gave us the important news headlines of the day. What about the street directory that was needed to find your way in a city? And then when did you last write a letter and buy a stamp at the post office? Then there's the news newspaper, the camera, the video camera, all now features in your smartphone. How about the calculator, your watch, bank passbooks, a torch, the weather report? They've all been replaced by your smartphone. And then do you remember CDs? That's how we listened to music, but not anymore.
Now when it comes to playing music, we use our smartphone. Once people used to watch Hollywood blockbusters on DVDs, but not anymore. Movies and watching television programmes are all on demand via the internet and can be watched on your smartphone. And that's what we use now for booking travel plans, ordering fast food, social media and games, and the thousands of apps that are available. Where would we be in our fast-paced world without our smartphones? They make life so much easier and more interesting.
And with all the benefits and pleasures that our smartphones bring, it's not surprising that the average person spends between three to five hours on their phone each day. And that doesn't include work-related smartphone use. So that's about a third of our waking hours we spend on the phone. In addition to our smartphones, we're also watching other screens like television, computers, and tablets. This means that the average person is watching screens for between 7 and 10 hours a day.
We're becoming more tightly integrated into the new digital world and utilising it in our daily activities. We're truly living in a world of screens. But screens come at a price. There's a dark side to our immersion in the digital world and the increasing use of screens. With all the convenience and benefits comes a dangerous downside.
And no matter how useful the mobile and screens might be, we cannot ignore the underlying negative effects they carry. Here are just some of them. Addiction. Yes, mobile phone addiction is a real concern. Today, research shows that at least 50% of people admit to being addicted to their phones. According to addiction experts, our smartphones are making us dopamine junkies, with each swipe, like, tweet, and notification feeding our addiction.
In the 2020 Netflix documentary "The Social Dilemma," Dr. Lembke discussed the drug, or addiction, that is social media. Dr. Lembke emphasises that we are now all
feel-good addicts to a degree. She even calls the smartphone the modern-day hypodermic needle that we turn to for quick hits, seeking attention, validation, and distraction with each swipe, like, and tweet. Lembke also adds that since the turn of the millennium, there has been a huge rise in behavioural addictions as opposed to the substance addictions of the 20th century. She says that we are seeing a huge explosion in the numbers of people struggling Every spare second in our lives is now an opportunity to be stimulated in the TikTok vortex, scrolling Instagram, checking up on Facebook, and dare I say it, swiping through Tinder or bingeing on porn, online gambling, and even e-shopping. Now, there's so much more that could be said regarding our phones and addictions. But let's move on to another of the smartphone negatives, and that's the increased use of screens among children that has exploded over the past decade, both in school as an educational device and outside of school.
Between homework, social media, video games, and YouTube videos, many children spend of screen time daily out of school hours. Although screens and digital technology can be useful vehicles for information and can engage the learner, it's important to find a balance between screen time and real-life interaction, because everyone needs relationships, and screens don't provide that. As children spend more time on screens, there are some worrying concerns of children overdosing on screens. Some of its disadvantages are that it can stifle creative thinking that comes through tactile play and learning by touch.
It also interferes with the child's social development, their academic performance, and changes behaviour. Leading paediatricians generally recommend the following guidelines for screen time. Under two years, zero screen time, except for video chatting with family and friends. Two to five-year-olds, no more than one hour per day of viewing.
And 5 to 17 year olds, no more than two hours per day, except for homework. So how do we become screen savvy for ourselves and for our children? We all want our children to be healthy and to achieve, so it's best to set clear limits on screen time and establish screen-free home times. But most importantly, we as parents can be a good role model on the appropriate use of screens. Now, there's another issue that pops up regularly in relation to smartphones, and that's waste of time. Our smartphones can certainly waste our time.
Did you know that the average person checks their phone once every 12 minutes? That's about 80 times a day. According to researchers, the average adult spends between three and five hours a day on their mobile phone. That's around 35 hours a week and around 150 hours a month. In addition is the gaming addiction that can waste hours of time. If you've ever played games on your mobile device, you may already understand how easy it can be to lose track of time when you're solving fun puzzles, slaying enemies, or chasing after fictional characters in a virtual reality setting. The video gaming industry is worth over $200 billion a year, and these games are now more accessible than ever thanks to mobile devices.
And although there are some positives to video games, such as relaxation and hand-eye coordination, there's also a flip side, where playing video games too often for more than several hours can negatively impact a person's overall health and livelihood, and lead to problems with finances, education, social relationships, and addiction. Many video games are designed to be addictive, using state-of-the-art behavioural psychology to keep you hooked. Games are immersive experiences that provide you with a high amount of dopamine, and overexposure to this level of stimulation can cause structural changes to your brain. Next, our smartphones can cause depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders. Social studies show that the overuse of mobile phones and screens can lead to depression, especially among teenagers.
These young people are often on social media and become obsessed with the number of likes on their personal posts and accounts. But it's not just teens that are impacted. 70% of people spend more time on their phone than with their spouse or partner.
But interacting on the phone isn't the same as a real-life interaction or relationship. Increased screen use reduces daily life interactions and can lead to loneliness, anxiety, obesity, interrupted sleep, attention deficit disorder, and mental illnesses. Then there's distraction. Screens are a huge distraction. We often decide to just check up on our messages or emails and instead find ourselves surfing the internet for hours on end without even realising the time that has passed. Then there's the resulting lack of focus and brain fog.
We sure can be easily distracted by our screens, and as we've seen, there are numerous other serious issues for us to consider in relation to screens. Studies show that as a society, we're spending a lot of our time on our smartphones, tablets, computers, video games, and social media. Research also shows that when we spend too much of our time on our digital technology, our screens, our health declines, our focus fades, and our lives actually become less satisfactory to us. But the reality is screens are here to stay, so we have to learn the best way to live with them, but not be controlled by them. The challenge we face is how to stop screens from taking over our lives, how to get balance into our lives. How do we regain control over technology, our screens, and our time? Well, it takes self-control and willpower, but deciding when to use technology and applying that decision gives us back control, and that's what Tiffany Shlain and her husband Ken Goldberg discovered several years ago.
Screens and technology were taking over their lives. Life had become a blur filled with deadlines, stress, and anxiety. They were desperate to slow things down and get balance back into their lives, so they decided to unplug for one day a week. Every week they set aside a day of rest or cessation from the use of all technology with screens, smartphones, personal computers, tablets, and television.
For one day a week, they took a break from work and avoided digital technology, and it turned their lives around. It reduced their stress and increased their productivity. It brought new purpose and meaning into their lives and renewed their body, mind, and soul. They found rest and peace.
They shared their experience with others and started a movement called Tech Sabbath. Thousands of people have taken a Tech Sabbath or a Digital Sabbath and found rest and peace. The term Sabbath is a beautiful term that means abstinence from work in our digital age. But the concept isn't new. In fact, it's been around for thousands of years.
You see, Sabbath is a biblical term, appearing throughout the Bible and reaching right back to creation. God rested and introduced the Sabbath when He made the world. The Bible says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing, so on the seventh day, He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done." God knew that we need a day off, and He planned for it as far back as the creation of this world.
Rest is part of the divine design. The Sabbath was established by God after He made the world in six days. He was the first one to celebrate it and declared the seventh day of each week a period of rest. The Sabbath is God's plan to ensure we have a healthy, balanced life. It's the perfect solution for our busy digital world.
And to help us remember that, God placed this plan for rest and optimum living right in the very heart of the Ten Commandments, the 10 principles He gave us to live by. Here's what God said: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." I find it fascinating that God placed a command to rest in the heart of the Ten Commandments, along with other important laws such as you shall not kill and you shall not steal. Now, our society is familiar with the prohibitions against killing and stealing, but has oddly forgotten the commandment that tells us to rest, even though it's placed right alongside the others. God is telling us that having a day off each week is just as important as any of those other commandments. And not just any day off, but the Sabbath day, the seventh day of each week.
Now, let me tell you, I can get behind and support a commandment that tells me to have a day off each week. What a great idea. And it's a great idea because it's God's idea and He knows what's best for us. As we've seen, our world is getting increasingly busy. The pace of life has picked up. We're being overwhelmed by digital technology.
Humans need a day of rest every week. Getting that day of rest provides such health benefits as reducing stress and decreasing the chance of obesity and heart disease. Resting increases productivity because it enables people to work at peak efficiency. Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."
It's God's gift to us. A day of rest. From the very beginning, we needed that day of rest. The seventh day of the week is God's sacred Sabbath, created just for you, a 24-hour oasis in time, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, where God asks us to press the pause button of our busy work lives, to take a break, and have a rest. God tells us to rest. He tells us to rest by going to Him. You see, the Sabbath is more than just a day off.
It's a special day to spend with our friend and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who's given us so many gifts. If you'd like to know more about God's remedy for the stresses and challenges of our modern world, then I'd like to recommend the free gift we have for all our "Incredible Journey" viewers today. It's the popular booklet "Experiencing God's Peace."
It provides simple and surprising ways to help you deal with the demands and pressures of life. This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free. I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever.
So make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive the gift we have for you today. - [Announcer] Phone or text 0436 333 555 in Australia, or 020 422 2042 in New Zealand, or 770 800 0266 in the United States. Or visit our website, tij.tv, or simply scan the QR code on your screen, and we'll send you today's free offer, totally free of charge, and with no obligation. You can also write to us at the addresses on your screen, or email us at info@tij.tv. Don't delay. Call or text us now.
- [Gary] Dear Heavenly Father, we all face challenges in life. We live in a busy, stressful world, and we often struggle to find true rest and peace. But Lord, You have a plan to provide the rest and peace we need. You've given us a weekly gift of time, the Sabbath. Father, guide us to this weekly seventh day rest that You've provided, and give us peace and happiness now and forever. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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2024-10-20 04:15
