군시온 Eliyahu Ezra - Official Website

A.I generateed picture

There was a time, not long ago, when people instinctively rushed to help someone in trouble. Accidents, fights, or emergencies were moments that brought out the best in people. We didn’t need smartphones, nor did we have internet, yet our humanity was stronger. But today, after just 15 or 20 years, something fundamental has changed. Now, we are more likely to reach for our phones to record tragedy rather than act to prevent it. This shift is not just a matter of habit, it’s a signal of a civilization slowly losing touch with what it means to be truly human. Our ancestors would be ashamed of how quickly we’ve traded compassion for clicks, connection for convenience, and community for virtual escapism.

Technology has dulled our natural sense of empathy. When someone gets hurt or robbed in public, the first reaction from many bystanders is not to intervene but to film. Viral videos of tragedies flood social media while victims suffer unattended. The bystander effect has grown worse with smartphones in hand, turning real-life pain into entertainment. In contrast, past generations, though poorer and without tech, were rich in action and unity. They didn’t wait; they acted. Today, even the most shocking events get “likes” but little real help. We’ve traded the moral instinct to protect others for the passive reflex of doom-scrolling.

It’s not just our reactions to crises that have changed our children are growing up in a completely different world. Once upon a time, play meant running, falling, learning, and growing. We learned survival skills from playing outside, socializing, solving real problems, and making do with little. Now, even toddlers are handed iPads. Many children cannot focus for more than a few seconds without needing some fast-moving video stimulation. Parents no longer teach practical skills like cooking, building, or fixing things. Instead, screens babysit entire generations. Childhood has become digital slavery, and the consequences are already showing an entire generation struggling with attention, discipline, and identity.

Worse still, our communities are disintegrating. Neighbors don’t greet each other. Families rarely talk around the table. Everyone is too glued to their devices. Even in family gatherings, the hum of scrolling drowns out laughter and story-telling. Online “friends” number in the thousands, yet we’ve never been lonelier. The human heart wasn’t made to thrive in isolation or through filtered images, it needs touch, time, conversation, and care. But technology has trained us to substitute real bonding with digital substitutes, and we’re all poorer for it.

In the end, we must admit a painful truth: we are becoming less human. Compassion is fading. Wisdom is being forgotten. Children are being raised by devices, not by parents or mentors. Our ancestors who endured war, poverty, and hardship together would be horrified to see how quickly we gave up what they fought to preserve. But it’s not too late. We can still return. We can put the phone down and lend a hand. We can choose time with family over time on screens. We can teach our kids to live, not just to scroll. If we don’t act soon, we risk becoming spectators of our own downfall.

Lord, have mercy on us.

References

American Psychological Association. (2019). Bystander effect: What the bystander effect looks like in the age of smartphones. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2019/05/bystander-effect

Christakis, D. A. (2019). Interactive media use at younger than the age of 2 years: Time to rethink the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline? JAMA Pediatrics, 173(6), 543–544. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.0161

Twenge, J. M. (2017). iGen: Why today’s super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy—and completely unprepared for adulthood. Atria Books.

Livingstone, S., & Helsper, E. J. (2008). Parental mediation of children’s internet use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(4), 581–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838150802437396

Pew Research Center. (2021). Americans’ views of the impact of technology on society. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/10/07/americans-views-of-technology-on-society/

Murthy, V. H. (2023). Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/loneliness/index.html