Techno-Resistance

The Techno-Resistance

There is a growing trend of techno-resistance among Millennials and Gen Z. Analog is making a comeback, and low-tech living is being branded as the real self-care. From Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation to Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism and Mary Harrington’s Feminism Against Progress, a chorus of voices is warning against our unthinking embrace of new technologies without reckoning with their costs.

Brass Tacks:

Anyone paying attention has noticed the serious tradeoffs we’ve made as we’ve woven digital technology into nearly every corner of life. Yes, it has made things more convenient. But we should be honest about how those conveniences have shaped us. Life has gotten easier—but have we gotten better?

The data suggests otherwise. Suicide rates are up, anxiety and depression are climbing,

marriage and childbearing are delayed, literacy rates are plummeting, attention spans are

shrinking—and even IQ scores have begun to decline since the digital revolution (see the end of this essay for numbers and sources for these points). We are killing ourselves with convenience and eviscerating ourselves with entertainment.

What Should We Do?

The answer is not to eschew technology. To create and innovate is human—we bear the image of the God who, Himself, creates. It is good to develop tools that increase productivity and enrich our enjoyment of God’s world. But technology can be and is used perversely. The Bible makes this point in a strange but memorable way: “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk” (Ex. 23:19). What does that mean? The principle is simple: don’t take what God has given for life (milk) and twist it into something that brings death (boiling the kid). In other words, don’t take good gifts and put them to destructive use. Sadly, that’s exactly what our unscrupulous integration of digital technology has done—we’ve boiled the kid in its mother’s milk in the name of progress, innovation, and in some cases, dominion. But in truth, most of our usage of these technologies is not our exercise of dominion over creation, but our being dominated by algorithms designed to arrest your attention and domesticate your drive through a

constant flow of dopamine for which you did not have to work.

Practices of Resistance

Here are a few counter-practices that can help us push back against the misuse of

technology—use it, don’t be used by it.

1. Dock your devices. When you’re home, keep everyone’s phone in a family

docking station. Your phone is a tool, not a companion.

2. Silence the noise. Set your phone so that only calls come through when you’re

home. If it’s urgent, they’ll call. You don’t need real-time updates on every group chat. Make

your usage intentional, not reactive.

3. Guard the next generation. Don’t give children social media accounts. And if

you’re prone to scrolling, consider deleting yours too. These platforms are engineered to

capture your attention and addict your brain to dopamine and distraction.

Christians should be at the forefront of the techno-resistance—not because we despise

technology, but because we are committed to its proper use. Don’t let the tools become the

master. And don’t give your kids away to the companies who created the tools. The question is simple: will we let our devices shape us into distracted, diminished people, or will we use them to shape the world in obedience to Christ?

Data Notes

• Anxiety & Depression: Rates among U.S. teens nearly doubled between 2010 and

2019, with corresponding spikes across other English-speaking nations (Time).

• Youth Suicide Rates: Between 2010 and 2019, suicide rates among U.S. adolescents

rose 48% overall; for girls aged 10–14, rates increased 131%, and for boys the same age, 91% (The Guardian).

• Emergency Room Visits for Self-Harm: Among teen girls, ER visits rose 188% between

2010 and 2015; among boys, 48% (The Guardian).

• Peer-Reviewed Study (2010–2018): Adolescent anxiety increased 134%, depression

increased 106% overall; Gen Z saw the steepest jump, with anxiety up 139% (PMC).

• Reverse Flynn Effect (U.S.): Study of nearly 400,000 adults (2006–2018) found declines

in three of four domains (verbal, matrix, mathematical reasoning), suggesting a possible

reversal of IQ gains (Northwestern University; Popular Mechanics).

• Reverse Flynn Effect (Norway): IQ scores rose until the mid-1970s, then began to

decline among men born afterward; researchers point to environmental and cultural factors

(Time).

• Reverse Flynn Effect (U.K.): Average IQ among 14-year-olds dropped by more than 2

points between 1980 and 2008 (The Guardian).