When We Talk to People, Are We Talking to a Screen?

Shane overstates the case, and I think he could have used more considerate words. At the same time, I know exactly what he means.

Some people spend their waking life (12–16 hrs per day) on screens, which means they spend most of their waking life mediating life / reality through digital media.

This changes how the brain works biologically and also how the soul grows (or doesn't). So we can have conversations with people whose body and soul have been formed by the media they consume.

This presents a real problem. How can we disciple, for example, someone whose attention span centres on 90 second reels or quick news segments?

Our digital media has created expectations, appetites, and habits in us that change our constitutions.

While I don't think "books" are THE answer—why must everyone be a reader, for example? I do think the book medium and other media that lead to slower thinking, slower acting, and greater reflection will help us.

I am more and more convinced that readers will become a minority of the population. While everyone will be able to "read" letters, fewer of us will be able to read arguments. This is the nature of the new media and consumption.

And I think that's not the end of the world. But it's worth observing and noting.