Smart Phone Epistemology

Since the invention of the iPhone in 2007, our world has been changing.

It’s not that the iPhone changed the world by itself, but it provided a key ingredient in an experiment which potently combined several technological developments. The internet, which predated the smart phone, gave us a meta-database containing nearly everything that we know, and Google made it possible for us to find anything in that database. These two were limited to desktop computers until smart phones came along. Now I have a computer in my pocket, and I can access the world’s knowledge from anywhere.

This took a few years to crystallize. Even as recently as twelve years ago (2014), it was unusual to have continuous data access on your phone. Or even to have data at all. My first phone was a slider with no internet capabilities. If a phone did have internet, you probably needed to find a WiFi hotspot to be able to use it. And most places didn’t offer free WiFi. You could not pull out your phone — any time, any place — and access the world’s omniscience. Which, to our point here, means that we didn’t have the habit of unconsciously pulling out our phones to look something up.

But we now have supercomputers in our pockets, equipped with powerful search engines and superpowered by continuous internet access. Smart phones, the internet, and effective search engines provide ever-present access to almost everything that mankind knows or has known. Which means that I have more information in my pocket than previous generations had in their local library, and I can access it whenever I want.

Not only do we have continual access to everything, but everything now has continual access to us. Unless tamed, our phones bombard us with texts, chats, voice messages, emails, updates, questions, suggestions, offers, and (in rare cases) actual phone calls.

This has profoundly affected our thinking, our relationships, and our productivity. The latter two are outside the scope of this article, so I won’t talk about them except to point out that we can be interrupted without warning in almost any context. Profitable conversations are instantly snapped by a chirp announcing a text. My full-engagement with the well-thought ideas in the book I’m reading dissipates when I’m interrupted by a phone call. Even while writing this article I’ve stopped several times to answer WhatsApp messages.

But my main concern is not to talk about all the ways phones have changed our world (they are manifold), but specifically to consider how they have changed our thinking. This impact reaches beyond just what we think; it also changes how we think. Let me count the ways.

Atrophies Memory

First, smart phones decrease our ability to retain and recall information. Since everything we need to know is available at our fingertips, we don’t rely on our memory — and it atrophies. We just assume that, if we need to know anything, we can pull it up with a quick search. We don’t keep as much information in our minds because it’s always available on our phones.

There are advantages to having so much information available. In fact, I think they outweigh the disadvantages. But that doesn’t mean it’s all positive, and we need to be aware of the concessions that come with these changes.

I remember my dad poring over an atlas to prepare for any road trip to an unknown area, or sketching a map (by memory) with road names and geographical features. But most of the time, he didn’t need a map at all. In contrast, when I go somewhere unknown, I trust Google Maps to get me where I need to go.

My mom had a veritable phone book in her head; I can barely remember my wife’s phone number.

Discourages Critical Thinking

Second, smart phones discourage critical thinking. Google provides answers to nearly every question we have, saving us the bother of having to think through things ourselves. It puts us in contact with other people who have asked the same questions we have. But when we outsource our thinking, we stunt our own development. This is even more prevalent with the advent of AI.

Note: AI (Artificial Intelligence) is not much different than previous technology. It operates like a Google search, with an extra step which synthesizes the data. It’s not really intelligence, but it imitates intelligence by drawing from countless human interactions to learn what people usually say in response to certain questions. It’s a supercomputer — highly logical, but not very intelligent. Contra modern dystopians, we are a long way from sentient machines taking over the world.

But back to thinking. AI programs like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Claud can compose well-researched, compelling responses to our questions with just a few prompts. They can even be guided to give certain kinds of responses (conservative vs. liberal, simple vs. technical, Christian vs. secular, etc.). The responses are usually accurate and fairly reliable. My concern is not with the content of the responses but with the fact that they allow us to skip that bothersome task of critical thinking.

In broader evangelicalism (and perhaps in our circles) this is beginning to shape our preaching. Pastors can now outsource their sermons to AI, or at least have it develop their points or summarize their notes. This will negatively impact our churches long-term because using AI inadvertently diminishes Scripture’s effect on the preacher himself. Rather than having his mind and soul shaped as he carefully interacts with a text, he passes the hard work off to AI. And he is weaker for it. In the end, his sermon is trite and inauthentic. He expects his hearers to be shaped by Scripture, but he exempts himself.

To be clear, I’m not saying that there’s no appropriate use of AI in Bible study or sermon prep. But please don’t outsource your thinking in the name of efficiency.

Interrupts Critical Thinking

Third, our phones also inhibit our thinking by constant interruption. When we are interrupted, our minds unload the information related to our main task and load information relative to the interruption. For example, a phone call will bring to mind a person’s name and face, my recent interactions with him, and maybe a question of why he is calling — even before I answer the phone. After I’m done, I need to process the conversation, unload that information, then remember what I was working on, where I was at, and what I was trying to accomplish. It’s commonly thought that it takes 20 minutes or more to rebuild momentum after being interrupted.

I think the many micro-distractions which constantly interrupt us make it difficult for us to think carefully about anything at all. We’re so used to interruptions that, even when we do get a few moments of peace, we struggle to stay focused. If we are going to think deeply and think well, we will need to learn to minimize these interruptions.

Detaches Ideas from People

Fourth, our phones detach ideas from people. Christ intends His people to live together in community. This also means that we should think in community. God intends us to study His word together, to speak truth together, to ask questions together and find answers together.

This is not to say that we must all agree on everything. It is to say, however, that two heads are less likely to go wrong in the same direction. All the more when that’s ten, or twenty, or thirty in the local church. When we think in community, we receive pushback and healthy criticism that (usually) keeps us heading in the right direction.

This also means that we are doing our thinking with people whom we know. When we are a part of a committed religious community, we know who our fellow-thinkers are. We know what they’re like at work, or with their spouse or children, or in their free time. We know how they respond to unexpected blessings and to suffering and disappointment. This provides a natural integrity that is absent in online discourse.

This instant access to the all-knowing interweb also allows habitats for new, strange, and false ideas. Conspiracy theories and old heresies are on the rise again because their promoters are able to find a sympathetic hearing in forums and Facebook groups. Ironically, this is another form of isolationism, because it allows every person to relate primarily with those who agree with him. He does not need to interact with dissenters, except to confirm his own conceptions.

Online communities provide an incubator for ideas which wouldn’t have enough representation to remain viable in one community. A young man may be the only one in his church with certain unbiblical views, but his phone gives him access to a like-minded community. The internet provides space — and protection — for every idea under the sun. Silly ideas (like flat-earth theory), dangerous ones (like Andrew Tate’s misogyny), or outright heretical ones (like the denial of a real hell) are reviving largely because they have a strong following online.

Ironically, in bringing everyone together, smart phones have pushed us apart. Though we have access to more knowledge than we ever have, we know the people around us that much less. We have broader horizons, but shallower roots locally.

There is, of course, the danger of becoming ingrown such that we are unable or unwilling to see where we have gone off-track. We should not be cultish, and we should not be afraid of the truth. Sometimes outside voices are a necessary corrective. Yet it seems to me that the smorgasbord of opinions which are able to thrive online protects ideas which in previous centuries would have dissipated without much of a fuss.

In Conclusion

Phones have become as essential as cars, washing machines, and refrigerators. It’s very difficult to imagine life without them, and I don’t think we need to. But we need to be aware of how our phones affect us so we can own them — and not be owned by them. In conclusion, here are a few tips I’ve found helpful in minimizing my phone’s negative effects.

• Keep your phone out of your bedroom. Charge it in the living room. Buy an alarm clock.
• Don’t check it first thing in the morning. Leave your mind clear for Scripture reading and prayer.
• Turn off notifications for anything that isn’t essential. You only need to be notified when someone messages or calls you. Emails are rarely urgent. Amazon deliveries will arrive whether or not you know they’re coming. Google Maps does not need your help. Even many of your messages do not require immediate response.
• Establish low-use times. Use an app to block intrusive apps (email, YouTube, Facebook, etc.) in the early mornings and in the evenings.
• Break bad habits. If you subconsciously check Facebook, or your email, or your planner, move the icon or temporarily uninstall the app.
• Use Do Not Disturb when reading or having a focused conversation. Where you are is more important. Call people back when you’re done.