Your Phone is Turning You Into a Ringwraith
Your life-force (and your personality) are slowly fading…
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
Our parents had cigarettes — we have smartphones.
We’re now starting to discover the downside to smart phones and social media.
An we’re seeing how it can dumb down an entire generation (ignore the influencer in the clip, and just focus on Dr. Horvath’s testimony…best video I could find):
When it’s severe enough, tech addiction turns a person into a zombie of sorts: no personality, no original thoughts or opinions…just an amorphous blob.
Chances are, you probably know someone like this. They’re not just from Gen Z, though a disproportionate amount of them are. No, many Boomers and millennials have the same issue. They’re are so plugged into to devices and apps that they have outsourced their personality.
They have no originality. Their opinions are just the sum of their algorithm.
These little dopamine casinos are draining their life-force…many have no drive, no zest for experiencing anything unless it’s filtered through a screen.
Remember when people said how dangerous marijuana was? Adults warned how it would make you stay at home and play video games all day, never connecting to the outside world? Ya, that times 100 is what smartphones are doing to people.
The real tragedy is just how BORING they are. These phone addicts are just…there. Nothing to say beyond what their feed tells them. For many, they’ve forgotten how to live without a phone.
Human Ringwraiths—neither dead nor alive
Instead of swiping, why not read a cautionary tale about what happens when we let our tools control us: grab a copy of Lord of the Rings and read about the Ringwraiths.
Given a gift from a seemingly helpful foreign entity, these humans (“nine mortal men”) took the rings believing they would enhance their lives…but they grew addicted to their power. At some point they stopped living and became empty vessels, tools of their drug’s dealer.
They learned that no gift from the dark lord is a true gift.
Phone or social media addicts are like the Ringwraiths: they accepted this tool for all the cool benefits, but its corrupting power degenerates their being.
At some point, they are neither alive nor dead, but puppets of an evil entity.
Take heed, lest you too waste away your personality with every thoughtless swipe…don’t outsource your life. Don’t give up your lifeforce.
Detox from your phone OR become a Phonewraith
Dear Phone Addicts…
If you are an embodied soul in this world, you’re made to create instead of constantly consuming; but many are so addicted to dopamine they can’t even see anymore. Color in the real world is boring.
But like all addictions, it’s never enough, it never fills that void, so you scroll longer and longer but it still is just…meh…
Please, for yourself and for those who deserve to experience your unique expression…get a life. Put down the phone. Have your OWN opinion. Your OWN experience.
You’re passively going through life…
Life is passing you by with every swipe.
I know, boredom sucks. But boredom is the prerequisite to doing anything worthwhile. It’s so essential that monks cultivate a zone of silence to maintain and protect it. Special things happen in boredom. Namely, you get a glimpse of the divine.
When you run from boredom to your phone, you’re turning into a phonewraith: a being wasting every minute pursuing their unique purpose in this world for dopamine. Your phone is that dangerous. It’s ruining your life. And your personality is the engine light that’s blinking for all of us to see.
You know what’s fun to meet? A person who gives a damn.
Look at this Swiss watchmaker smile. He makes one watch a year and LOVES it. Sure, I couldn’t do that, and I doubt you could either, but he found what lights up his entire world. He’s LIVING (I’ve stopped it at the right spot, just listen for about a minute or so):
What lights up your world? I don’t know what it is, but I surely know what it is not: your phone.
Realize your phone and social media usage are bad for your health.
If not, you’ll become a lifeless tool, feeding a foreign corporation in exhange for your attention span…and your very life.
Friends don’t let friends become Phonewraiths.
