Analog Advent
An Invitation to Your Actual Life
Hello, dear ones! Happy Almost-Holidays.
You’ll have to excuse this post - it’s going to be a little chaotic for three reasons:
1) I’m over-caffeinated
2) I’m still figuring out how I feel about all of this. Much of this information is new to me. I’m still wrapping my mind around the scope of the problem. And as I do so, I’m being personally (deeply, terribly) convicted about my own digital consumption by God and posts like this one and because of this….
3) I’m fired up - probably a week away from getting rid of my smart phone altogether, going scorched-earth cage-stage luddite mode.
I know, I know. It’s a dangerous combination. I should not be behind the wheel. But I have a three-month old and about 100 other kids (energetically speaking) and there might not be another time so BUCKLE UP.
This lead-up to Advent is sort of like that film Inception where there are dreams within dreams, except it’s waiting inside of waiting, anticipating the anticipation. These weeks leading up to Advent are time for us to get ready to get ready. And it’s a beautiful time, full of opportunity for intentionality, prayer, and anticipatory joy! As my friend Ashley so beautifully writes here, this preparation happens “not in a busy or performative way, but in that deep, quiet sense of readiness that Advent calls for.”
It can be tempting to throw ourselves into the holly jolly consumerist frenzy - it’s cute! It’s fun! It’s instantly gratifying! But I’m afraid it isn’t doing our souls much good. My friend Julie writes, “There is nothing set apart, nothing sacred, nothing holy, if we’re given to our over-stuffed, consumerist impulses whenever we “feel” Christmasy….Have we forgotten temperance? Ecclesiastes reminds us—to every thing there is season. Even the most wonderful time of the year.”
So, as we hold our proverbial horses, I want to bring our attention to, well, our attention.
Odds are you’re already planning to observe Advent with some measure of intentionality. Odds are you have some ideas and plans around the upcoming traditions and gifts and celebrations. But have you given much thought about what you’re paying attention to as we move closer to Christmas? Namely, how much digital content you are consuming? I ask because of a growing, dreadful knowledge that engaging with online platforms in and around Advent may quietly undermine all of our carefully laid plans for beauty, worship and wonder, no matter how lovely and holy they may be. If we’re actually going to “Keep Christ in Christmas”, we need to be mindful of what’s drawing our attention away from Christ at Christmas time: namely, the constant deluge of consumerist propaganda and targeted, exploitative neuromarketing campaigns.
I mentioned last week that for every 30 minutes spent on Instagram, a person is likely to encounter 30-90 ads. This number will increase during the holiday season because the algorithm (and the people it profits) want us to buy more and know we have a reason to buy. If you habitually spend time online (specifically on ad-based, algorithm-driven social media platforms) your desires, affections, dreams are being tampered with.
Being online is not a spiritually neutral experience. As James Smith describes in You Are What You Love “…Our action—our doing—bubbles up from our loves, which, as we’ve observed, are habits we’ve acquired through the practices we’re immersed in. That means the formation of my loves and desires can be happening “under the hood” of consciousness. I might be learning to love a telos that I’m not even aware of and that nonetheless governs my life in unconscious ways.”
The “telos” Smith describes is our vision of the good life. The algorithms (and, can I be as bold to say, the enemy of God’s kingdom) want us to confuse the good life with the consuming life. They know we have a reason to buy in the coming weeks, and they will leverage this knowledge to prod our minds and hearts to spend more and more and more, getting us to believe that the beautiful, intentional, peaceful, joyous Christmas we long for can be purchased from the companies that hired them to hack our brains. They want us to remain online, numbed and frazzled by the spirit of consumerism instead of allowing God’s Spirit to search, cleanse, heal, and expand our souls during (and leading up to) Advent.
Christmas is the highest grossing consumer holiday in the United States, with estimated spending increasing steadily over time. Sure, there’s inflation to account for. But couldn’t part of the increase in Christmas spending be because instead of occasional billboard advertisements and catalogues in the mailbox, we’re being told 90+ times a day that the good life lies just behind one more purchase?
Now before you hurl your stones, I’m no ascetic scrooge. By all means, Christians should be celebrating Christmas! Going all in! Gift-giving included (so many asterisks here: Buy within your means! Give intentionally! Don’t impulse purchase!) I merely contend that being online during and leading up to the Advent season will not benefit the collective mind and heart of the Church. And it won’t secure the Christmas season you so deeply crave.
I get it, breaking a habit like this is intimidating. Social media does offer some benefits. By deleting the apps, you may miss out on sale announcements and photos of your friends’ kids at the zoo lights.
But what if by going analog this Advent you end up with the better, truer version of what the glowing doom-rectangle offers? What if instead of happening upon a sale online and purchasing a gift for a friend she may or may not appreciate, you took time to prayerfully consider the life of your friend, recalling conversations and delights you’ve shared, and plan (and purchase, or make!) a deeply thoughtful gift? What if instead of double-tapping a photo of your friend’s kids at the zoo lights, you sent her a text asking how it went, in which she responds with a story about her toddler squealing with delight in front of the elephant house? Isn’t this the kind of connection, intentionality, and joy we long for? Isn’t this exactly what we miss out on when we settle for a digitized, consumer holiday instead?
Here’s my invitation: don’t give into the marketing campaigns. Don’t let them determine your desires. Fight back. Not just during Advent, but before - right now. Get off your phone today and see how paying attention to your actual life increases your awareness of and love for God as we move forward to celebrate his glorious, embodied life and its impact on our own.
We still have a couple of weeks. In that time, I’ll share a few (few, I promise) physical, embodied resources that we use and love. But for now, I merely ask that you sit with these questions:
Have you felt a tug to put your phone down?
What anxieties are plaguing your day-to-day life? Might they be aided by your increased mental margin/attention?
What fear do you have around deleting social media apps from your phone? Consider them prayerfully.
Consider your ideal Advent season. What sensory experiences are there? What traditions, events, meals are you most looking forward to? Who do you hope to spend time with? What anxieties do you have around the holidays? What do you hope God does during those weeks? Does your engagement on social media aid of these things? Does it get in the way?
How do you suppose your internal life might benefit from less digital connection?
How do you suppose your external life might benefit from less digital connection? What could you accomplish with the time you currently spend online? What relationships could you better nurture? What books could you read (or write!) What beauty could you cultivate?
Let me know if you plan to join me offline. Grace and peace to you.
I enjoyed this so much! Even though the Christmas season is over, I loved getting a feel for your voice and spirit!
this is the advent encouragement I was looking for. thank you!