In the age of the Internet, we consider it quite fashionable to talk about how much we want to do away with the ever-present distraction of our smartphones. And yet for many of us – myself included – we don’t often get past the talking stage when discussing getting rid of our phones. Some people switch to “dumb” phones, but oftentimes we have to just learn to live with this distraction as a cost of living in a modern world. That begs the question, why do these devices which we hoped would connect us make us feel more distant than ever? You can probably already guess the answer: because the body matters!
While the Internet may have its merits, it simply can’t replace a real community. We often hear people talk about joining online “communities,” in which they interface via their phones or computers. These “communities” usually amount to little more than interest groups in which people chat about a hobby or piece of media. A real community shares an identity which each individual member can reasonably claim as his or her own. When I meet with a friend in person, we share a deeper common experience and grow in friendship because I see their expressions, follow up with empathy expressed in facial responses, give hugs, dry tears. These shared, bodily experiences serve as a foundation for our relationship. If we have similar shared experiences with others, we have truly built a community, and then if we move away, the foundation remains sturdy.
Not Keller’s, but I do enjoy In-N-Out. and they used to have a similar cultural impact in California.
Oftentimes communities have a geographical limit because we identify less with people we don’t know or haven’t met. Simply put, I more often have shared experiences and a shared sense of identity with people nearer to me than with people farther from me. As someone from Dallas, I can share the experience of eating at our local chain, Keller’s Burgers, with someone else in the same city, but I can’t share that experience with someone from Boise or Pittsburg. I can, however, share with people of those cities the common myth of George Washington and the Cherry Tree that we learned as kids. This shared experience exemplifies our shared American identity.
Spend time with your friends, in person!
But what about Catholics? What shared experience do I have with a Catholic living in France, or India, or the Philippines? We share the Body of Christ! Anywhere I go in the world, I will experience the same Mass that I would in my own hometown. I hear the same readings, participate in the same liturgy, and receive the same Jesus.
All of this comes back around to why the devices we built to connect us make us feel more distant. The deepest, most bonding shared things occur when we experience them with our bodies. Sure, we can enjoy a good discussion about a movie or book we like, and I can explain why I like a restaurant, but we won’t share the experience of biting into a burger at Keller’s for the first time unless both of us go there ourselves. Likewise, I can read a million articles about Jesus, but unless I get to know Him through prayer and the sacraments, I cannot belong to or properly share in the body of Christ.
Let’s all remember to make time for our real community, and even more importantly, to make time for God. And put away our phones for those real, bodily connections.
Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.
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