{"id":40725,"date":"2025-02-19T09:46:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T17:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=40725"},"modified":"2025-02-19T09:46:59","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T17:46:59","slug":"love-is-a-choice-choose-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/love-is-a-choice-choose-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Love is a Choice. Choose Love."},"content":{"rendered":"

Ding-ding<\/em>. Is that mine? Bzzzz. <\/em>Whose is that? Hardly five minutes go by before someone checks their phone or smartwatch. Even the vibration mode or a screen lighting up can feel as disruptive as a ringtone left on. We live in a day and age where our phones dictate our lives. I am guilty. You probably are, too.<\/p>\n

This technology trap is worldwide, even in developing countries. My neighbors who live in a tent without running water have finagled enough electricity to charge their smartphones. This technology phenomenon is not just an annoyance in my personal life. The constant attachment to phones is causing critical detachment from other things. This is what Dr. Jonathon Haidt addresses in his book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. <\/em><\/p>\n

Haidt addresses the rise in mental health issues among Generation Z since 2010. He correlates this increase with the widespread introduction of smartphones to adolescents at the same time.[1]<\/a> This has been further amplified by protective parenting and the gradual decline of childhood free play<\/em>, creative physical play that uses imagination, interactions with others, and taking risks since the 1980s. The author claims that \u201c<\/em>overprotection in the real world and underprotection in the virtual world\u201d are the main reasons those born after 1995 are the anxious generation.[2]<\/strong><\/a><\/em> Haidt explores the serious effects and harms caused by these factors on the well-being of children. Recommendations are given to help recalibrate free play and smartphones to a healthier balance than what society currently has. \u00a0As a medical provider, I was most intrigued by the psychophysiological effects of phone use on anxiety.<\/p>\n

The Anxious Generation <\/em>highlights four \u201cfoundational harms\u201d of children using phones. Two of these are in the DSM-5 diagnosis for anxiety: sleep deprivation[3]<\/a> and attention fragmentation.[4]<\/a> The other two \u201charms\u201d of phone use, social deprivation[5]<\/a> and addiction[6]<\/a> are indirectly linked to anxiety. Generalized anxiety disorder is defined as \u201cexcessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation), occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, about a number of events or activities (such as work or school performance).\u201d[7]<\/a> According to DSM-5, there need to be at least three of the following symptoms present more often than not over a period of six months:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge<\/li>\n
  2. Being easily fatigued<\/li>\n
  3. Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank<\/li>\n
  4. Irritability<\/li>\n
  5. Muscle tension<\/li>\n
  6. Sleep disturbance (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless unsatisfying sleep)[8]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Since 2010, when smartphones were first introduced, there has been a significant and steady increase in diagnosed anxiety among those under fifty years old. The percentage of the population experiencing anxiety proportionately increases as the age groups get younger.[9]<\/a> Depression, the second leading cause of mental health illness, has also increased since 2010.[10]<\/a> Looking at the DSM-5 definition of generalized anxiety disorders, my own smartphone use has caused all of these symptoms for me, although thankfully not enough for an actual diagnosis. Still, it is easy to see how and why Generation Z is the anxious generation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    However, Dr. John Delony, in\u00a0Building a Non-Anxious Life<\/em>, argues that excessive phone use is just one factor. At the heart of today\u2019s anxiety crisis is something deeper: loneliness.[11]<\/a> Loneliness is related to anxiety because it divides the world into \u201cus and them.\u201d[12]<\/a> \u00a0Both Delony and Haidt contribute excessive phone use as a significant factor causing loneliness and anxiety. We are replacing human connection with technology.[13]<\/a> Haidt suggests how to reduce phone use in society and tools for parents. Delony recommends how individuals can choose connection and love to combat anxiety.<\/p>\n

    Delony delves into the primary deep-heart issue behind anxiety: a need for love. \u201cThe foundation and core of a non-anxious life are based on a single premise: You are fully seen, heard, and known, and you are still loved. And you fully know others and choose to love them too.\u201d[14]<\/a> Haidt attributes this longing for connection as a \u2018God-shaped hole\u2019\u2014a deep human need for love and connection. This longing for connection points to a deeper truth that Scripture has long addressed, \u201cThere is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.\u201d True security and peace come not from constant digital connection, but from real relationships\u2014with others and especially with God.<\/p>\n

    Haidt and Delony both provide practical solutions to our anxious society. At its core, the true path to a non-anxious life is love\u2014real, intentional, self-giving love. Jesus modeled this love, calling us to move beyond fear and into connection. By putting down our phones and choosing to connect with others, we are not just improving mental health; we are living out our God-orchestrated design for love and relationship.<\/p>\n

    \n

    [1]<\/a> Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness<\/em> (New York, NY: Penguin Press, 2024). 3-4.<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> Haidt, 9.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> Haidt, 123.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Haidt, 125.<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> Haidt, 120.<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a> Haidt, 129.<\/p>\n

    [7]<\/a> \u201cDSM-IV to DSM-5 Generalized Anxiety Disorder Comparison,\u201d NIH: National Library of Medicine (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US), 2016), https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK519704\/table\/ch3.t15\/.<\/p>\n

    [8]<\/a>\u201cDSM-IV to DSM-5 Generalized Anxiety Disorder Comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n

    [9]<\/a> Haidt, 27.<\/p>\n

    [10]<\/a> Haidt, 26.<\/p>\n

    [11]<\/a> Dr. John Delony, Building a Non-Anxious Life<\/em> (Franklin, TN: Ramsey Press, 2023), 103.<\/p>\n

    [12]<\/a> Delony, 107.<\/p>\n

    [13]<\/a> Delony, 111; Haidt, 168.<\/p>\n

    [14]<\/a> Delony, 113.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Ding-ding. Is that mine? Bzzzz. Whose is that? Hardly five minutes go by before someone checks their phone or smartwatch. Even the vibration mode or a screen lighting up can feel as disruptive as a ringtone left on. We live in a day and age where our phones dictate our lives. I am guilty. You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":206,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2967,1214],"class_list":["post-40725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp03","tag-haidt","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40726,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40725\/revisions\/40726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}