Who’s training whom? Taming our devices before they tame us!

with ERIC GAUDION

My wife and I love Pomeranian dogs and have had the joy of owning, and being trained by, at least half a dozen of them over the decades, one by one.

I say ‘being trained by’ because with this attractive little fur ball of a lapdog – much admired by Queen Victoria in her day – there is no question as to who is in charge. They may be tiny, but their personalities are huge.

No matter how many training techniques we employed, we usually ended up accepting that either the struggle would go on, or we might as well give in. Mostly we gave in.

Today there is a new struggle going on in our home and, I suspect, in many others. The battle to control the devices that proliferate in our lives, and not to be controlled by them, is very real.

Our time is precious, yet think of how much of it we waste gazing at a screen. How easy it is just to flick over to one more post, one more story, or one more reel. If we are not careful the minutes can run away from us and that precious time for prayer or reading can be lost.

I have found it helpful to keep a special place for my daily devotions and to banish devices from it. It was all too easy to check my messages or peek at social media instead of focusing on the Lord. Online Bibles are great for study and use when travelling or maybe where others are around you, but I recommend that in your place of daily prayer you keep a paper Bible to read.

Recent research showed that TikTok’s clever design makes compulsion feel like choice. Users swipe to control what they see, believing they’re training their algorithm. But the data suggests the opposite: the algorithm, like our little dogs, is training them. Brain imaging research shows personalised TikTok videos activate the same reward systems as money, food, and addictive substances.

The mechanism isn’t just effective for TikTok. It’s foundational to the contemporary digital economy, where platforms profit not by satisfying users but by intensifying craving. Recent investigations confirm how habit formation is designed into the platform itself, triggering brain chemistry that mimics substance addiction. The question now isn’t whether the app creates compulsive behaviour, the data settles that. The question is who oversees our daily thoughts and appetites? Are we training social media or is it training us?

The Bible writers may not have had access to digital devices, but their common-sense warnings and advice apply today as they did in their time. James wrote, “…each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death,” (James 1:14-15).

He links being tempted to enticement, which means the act of leading others into sinful ways by using teasing or flattery. What we see in these verses is a definite progression, with temptation giving way to evil desires, followed ultimately by sin and even death.

Of course, many great benefits are pouring into our lives through digital technology, with the promise of many more yet to come. We cannot live as if these things just do not exist, but like our wonderful little dogs, which brought such joy into our lives, we must not overlook their weaknesses either.

The wise user of digital devices will derive benefit and assistance but know when to draw the line. In Job 31:1 the ancient believer made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman. He chose to sanctify his intake via his sight, so that what he saw did not interfere with his relationship with God. He trained himself so that he would not be trained by his desires.

Today, in our digital world, we must do the same.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.