A burgeoning literary genre in our times is the critique, at once empirical and philosophical, of the modern Westerner’s dependency on ever-multiplying digital technology, with all the destructive or at least problematic habits it engenders. Older writers tended to focus on technology in general and its effects on culture and humane ways of life — Marshall McLuhan, John Senior, Wendell Berry, and Neil Postman come to mind. These are now joined by many eloquent voices calling attention to the corrosive power of social media, smartphones, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.
I feel the tension of the overabundance of modern technology. And yet, many of these authors and publications use technology to publish their ideas. I often feel that reading things via the internet is the most realistic option of keeping abreast of the latest commentary in the Catholic world, and yet my aching eyes protest at any more screen time. If only we could bring back newspapers and magazines on a larger scale.
Yes, and I do feel sometimes that it's better not to be overfed the calamities of Francis, and tune away from that channel. There's much to be said for a simple reliance on the mass, the Bible, and a few solid books.
The good thing about newspapers like The Wanderer was that you had a week
to digest both the good and the bad news before another issue arrived. The same
applied to monthly magazines and organizational newsletters, which usually arrived
seasonally.
I blame the constant unrelenting bombardment of crisis for the anxiety most of us, to some degree or other, experience today.
May I recommend a substack on un-Machining that I have found inspiring- The School of the Unconformed? It is very family-oriented and has a nice balance of theory and praxis.
What a plethora of interesting topics to get lost in. Some I have found myself continually grappling with, like technology. Others, like Ecclesia Dei, I have made up my mind long ago.
The latter, I'm convinced was the ultimate modernist own goal. In an attempt to destroy tradition via the obvious target in the SSPX, the hierarchy offered a tethered alternative which not only broke loose to take on a life of its own, but has alongside the SSPX has become the new genie they can't put back in the bottle. Despite Pope Francis' jiggery-pokery, he will end his life with the sure knowledge that tradition is flourishing.
On pervasive digital technology. I see it as a toxic cloud. Unless cloistered, it is almost impossible to live the secular life without accessing it for paying bills, banking, healthcare, everything. Then, that is just a drop in the ocean, when you consider the real damage. The slavery, the addiction, to the notification. The interruption or complete abandonment of leisurely study. Despite reading and rereading Sertillanges, I find the conditions necessary for uninterrupted study, almost impossible to create and stick to, but perhaps that is a failing of my own.
But hope remains as I sit here smoking a bowl and reading Smith of Wooton Major, both in physical and original form: briar and leaf, paper and ink. So different from paper and phone. Perhaps this juxtaposition is not so far removed from the Mass compared to Bugnini gathering.
So much to reply to in your comments, but I will simply say, regarding the last sentence: I often feel that the old Mass is thoroughly pre-technological (a pontifical Mass still uses a candle-bearer!) while the Novus Ordo was born in an age of audio and visual technology. The latter can only exist where there are microphones and speakers. It is a child of modernity and confined to modernity.
I feel the tension of the overabundance of modern technology. And yet, many of these authors and publications use technology to publish their ideas. I often feel that reading things via the internet is the most realistic option of keeping abreast of the latest commentary in the Catholic world, and yet my aching eyes protest at any more screen time. If only we could bring back newspapers and magazines on a larger scale.
Yes, and I do feel sometimes that it's better not to be overfed the calamities of Francis, and tune away from that channel. There's much to be said for a simple reliance on the mass, the Bible, and a few solid books.
The good thing about newspapers like The Wanderer was that you had a week
to digest both the good and the bad news before another issue arrived. The same
applied to monthly magazines and organizational newsletters, which usually arrived
seasonally.
I blame the constant unrelenting bombardment of crisis for the anxiety most of us, to some degree or other, experience today.
May I recommend a substack on un-Machining that I have found inspiring- The School of the Unconformed? It is very family-oriented and has a nice balance of theory and praxis.
Thank you for this recommendation!
What a plethora of interesting topics to get lost in. Some I have found myself continually grappling with, like technology. Others, like Ecclesia Dei, I have made up my mind long ago.
The latter, I'm convinced was the ultimate modernist own goal. In an attempt to destroy tradition via the obvious target in the SSPX, the hierarchy offered a tethered alternative which not only broke loose to take on a life of its own, but has alongside the SSPX has become the new genie they can't put back in the bottle. Despite Pope Francis' jiggery-pokery, he will end his life with the sure knowledge that tradition is flourishing.
On pervasive digital technology. I see it as a toxic cloud. Unless cloistered, it is almost impossible to live the secular life without accessing it for paying bills, banking, healthcare, everything. Then, that is just a drop in the ocean, when you consider the real damage. The slavery, the addiction, to the notification. The interruption or complete abandonment of leisurely study. Despite reading and rereading Sertillanges, I find the conditions necessary for uninterrupted study, almost impossible to create and stick to, but perhaps that is a failing of my own.
But hope remains as I sit here smoking a bowl and reading Smith of Wooton Major, both in physical and original form: briar and leaf, paper and ink. So different from paper and phone. Perhaps this juxtaposition is not so far removed from the Mass compared to Bugnini gathering.
So much to reply to in your comments, but I will simply say, regarding the last sentence: I often feel that the old Mass is thoroughly pre-technological (a pontifical Mass still uses a candle-bearer!) while the Novus Ordo was born in an age of audio and visual technology. The latter can only exist where there are microphones and speakers. It is a child of modernity and confined to modernity.
*...the interruption or complete abandonment...