It’s hardly controversial to say that we as a society have become addicted to smartphones. Walk down the street of any major metropolitan city and you’ll inevitably see swarms of zombie-like people walking around with their eyes glued to the warm glow of their smartphone of choice, completely oblivious to the world around them.
Even in private, many people tend spend an inordinate amount of time checking Facebook, refreshing their email, and literally wasting countless hours hopping around from app to app.
Well, the Pope has taken a look at our smartphone dependence and has boldly declared that enough is enough.
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During a lecture this past Sunday at St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said that teenagers would be well advised to put their phones away and enjoy life the old-fashioned way.
“Your happiness has no price,” Francis explained. “It cannot be bought. It is not an app that you can download on your phones, nor will the latest update bring you freedom and grandeur in love.”
Not a bad point, but I think I’ll wait until iOS 10 drops before I form a full opinion on the matter.
Kidding aside, it’s worth noting that Pope Francis is actually rather tech-savvy as far as worldwide religious figures are concerned. As Gizmodo points out, “he recently launched his own Instagram account, and he’s a big fan of the selfie.”
Notably, though, this isn’t the first time Francis has warned about the inherent danger of technology taking over our lives. This past November, Pope Francis said: “A family that rarely eats together, or a family where no one speaks, opting instead to watch television or look at smartphones, is not much of a family.”
