Tag Archives: self-discipline

The Blessings—and Curses—of New Inventions

The invention of moveable type opened a world of affordable books to anyone who could read, not just an elite leadership. But lies as well as truth could be printed and spread more widely and cheaply.

Automobiles allowed us to visit places we only dreamed of and expanded our horizons. Used in large numbers, they contributed to pollution and armed conflicts over oil.

Television gave us access to a wider world. It also led to less physical exercise for many of us and less interaction with others.

Cheaper ways of producing and transporting food mean fewer of us go hungry. Some of us also gain unhealthy weight because we eat more readily available junk food.

And because of the internet, we gain information instantly. However, we may neglect to develop deeper truths that might come through reading and studying a subject on our own. We can follow news instantly. We can read about anything that interests us. However, if we don’t exercise self-discipline, we end up using all the time we saved with a computer to reading stuff we don’t need, probably more than the past generation spent in front of the television set.

The many inventions of the digital age still call for that elusive habit known as self-discipline.

Last Bulwark Against the Dark Side

According to reports, buying drugs is easier than ever before because of the Internet. So is prostitution. The same technology that allows you to order a meal from your favorite restaurant allows you to order other things as well. Law enforcement finds it more difficult to track the darker trades because of anonymous software and diverse ways to hide transactions.

At the same time, traditional authority is breaking down. Cartoons used to picture teenagers tying up the family phone for long conversations with friends. Now members of the Zits age engage each other through smart phones and Facebook. Parents find it more difficult to know who their children’s friends are or what meetings they might be arranging or whether their texts deal with bullying, sexual propositions, or simply homework.

Churches and religious institutions have lost credibility. Even in Iran, mosques are losing their power to prohibit. The old authority isn’t in place, in the West or elsewhere.

What’s left? Self-discipline, it would appear, is the only thing that works against the dark side. Parents can teach it to their children in their early years, but only if they themselves practice it.