Photo by Johan Larsson

By Young Lee Hertig

One of the highlights in 2012 for me was my trip to Korea in May and subsequently yielding to the world of the smartphone. From the smartphone world, my previous red LG phone feels like a Blockbuster video in the age of Netflix. Why was I so reluctant to own a smartphone? Smartphone users tend to spend more time looking down even when they have face-to-face meetings. The small palm-held gadget is changing human behavior like nothing else. Another reason for my resistance has to do with the my college students’ addiction to the smartphone in the classroom. The faster the gadget becomes, the stronger its control over human beings. I do not allow them to be connected during class. Some manifest withdrawal and others stay connected in secret, using their bags are barricades between their phones and my sight.

In my mind, resisting the smartphone was one of the ways to prevent the digital takeover.  Then why did I convert to owning a smartphone? My visit to the land of the most wired countries in the world—Seoul Korea—did me in. It was there I learned about an app called kakao that could keep me in touch with all my family and friends. Yes, I have become what I have resisted—including the pinging sounds, facetime, and international texting—that intrudes into the living room and working hours constantly. My husband’s response?  Well, let me put it this way: I am doing a good job keeping him from joining the world of the smartphone forever.

This tiny object is like the ring in The Lord of the Rings with its allure and power! I realized this when I left the phone charging in a hotel ballroom in Chicago after the ISAAC session during AAR/SBL in November. To easily remind myself of the phone charging, I chose a visible shelf against the wall in the ballroom. After the event, I ended up going to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant with friends. As soon as I sat down, I was looking for my phone and realized I left it in the ballroom. My total dependence on the phone, with all my contact information, calendar, GPS, memos, four different email accounts, etc. left me almost traumatized and partially paralyzed. To my chagrin, I returned to the ballroom, and my phone was gone forever. So I managed to rush to the office of my provider and upgrade to an iPhone 4S, using my husband’s unused upgrade. I stopped charging it in public places. When the battery is low, I just turn it off. Maybe this is one way to help me overcome my new addiction.

What did I learn from my traumatic experience in Chicago? You might think that my lesson should have been that I should regularly sync my phone to the computer and keep the iCloud app on. Yes, yes. More importantly, I am learning that fasting from all digital gadgets regularly has to be a spiritual discipline for me if I were to continue to be a smartphone user. That small magical object that allows us to hold the whole world in our hands has changed humanity forever. I still romanticize the days when people interacted with people sitting next to them at the airport, rather than looking down to their phones. I still remember when we used to use quarters and wait in line behind the person in the phone booth to finish their conversation. There may be a part II to this blog. What else might I get hooked on when I visit Korea next January?

Rev. Dr. Young Lee Hertig is executive director and a founding member of ISAAC (Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity) and AAWOL (Asian American Women On Leadership). She teaches in the Global Studies and Sociology Department at Azusa Pacific University and is an ordained Presbyterian clergy as well as a commissioner of the Presbyterian Church USA to the National Council of Churches Faith and Order.