A Conversation with Ed Cyzewski, Author of RECONNECT

Ed Cyzewski

Ed Cyzewski is a Christian author and editor who has a Master of Divinity, practices contemplative prayer, and co-leads the Renew and Refine Retreat. When he's not writing books, he works as a freelance writer and editor in Kentucky, just north of Nashville, TN. His newest book is RECONNECT: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction, He has also authored: FLEE, BE SILENT, PRAY: An Anxious Evangelical Finds Peace with God through Contemplative Prayer, and A CHRISTIAN SURVIVAL GUIDE: A Lifeline to Faith and Growth.

Ed regularly writes about Christian living and prayer on his website site and Patheos. In the past he has written for The High Calling, Christian Today, Leadership Journal (print), and Christianity Today (online). I’m especially interested in writing about practicing contemplative prayer as an alternative to effort-based religion and digital distraction.

In RECONNECT, you make the point that "[o]ur digital devices and social media apps are limiting our ability to concentrate, to have conversations, to eat dinner with our families or friends, and to practice spirituality because they distract us, eat up valuable time, and train us to crave stimulation, affirmation, and passive amusement.”  What do you see as the long-term consequences of this?


Ed: While a lot of outcomes listed in your question have been proven by a variety of studies, the person who has studied these outcomes the longest and perhaps most thoroughly is MIT professor and author Sherry Turkle. Turkle makes the case that we need to reclaim conversation because our relationships and mental health will suffer if we are trained to expect new and exciting stimulation constantly.

This is especially important for our relationships at a time when we are quarantined and need to find ways to make intentional, personal connections with specific people rather than the scattershot approach of a social media feed.

As far as spiritual consequences, even though we can use our smartphones for prayer apps, which I have done at many points in my life, our phones train us to crave quick, immediate, and often unsatisfying rewards. One technology addiction expert likens social media to relationship candy, while I would argue that the deeper spiritual practices of Christianity, and other faiths for that matter, are a slower and longer-lasting meal that can sustain us.


You point to the combination of increasingly sophisticated smartphones, and apps that tie-in to a constant stream of social media as leading to “[d]isembodied technology [that] can devastate incarnate spirituality. How can we experience ‘God with us’ if we aren’t even aware of ourselves in the present moment?” How does the inability 'to be in the present moment' damage our spiritual foundation?

Ed: When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he said, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Jesus was also called “God with us.” When we look at the history of Christian spirituality, there is a grounding in the present moment that comes through practices such as silent prayer or centering prayer where we let go of our thoughts and seek to become more aware and present for God in the moment. When Jesus told us to stop worrying about tomorrow, he was inviting us to experience God in the present moment.

So many of our worries and anxieties are linked to what we fear in the future. My therapist told me that people with anxiety struggles can especially struggle when trying to meet a difficult and important deadline. What we find on social media is a lot of anger and fear about the future. We are plugged in to the bad or enraging news, and our phones and other digital devices provide a ready escape pod that ensures we don’t have to remain in the moment where our dread of the future lurks.

Our spiritual practices help us remain in the moment, facing our fears and the injustices of our world. We don’t want to live in ignorance of the world, but we don’t want to spend so much time disconnected from ourselves or dreading the future that we miss the opportunity to be present for God today. There is a lot we can do today to be present for God and for our neighbors. Perhaps we can’t personally resolve the things we see on social media, but we can become more present for God and others today.


Further along in RECONNECT, you state that “[s]ocial media isn’t designed to promote the most accurate or the most carefully assembled information. On social media, a study that offers a careful, measured assessment of its findings will always lose out to the emotionally charged spin-off article from a partisan site that twists the study’s findings to confirm the suspicions and bias of readers—thus ensuring that the average person is more likely to miss the original study.”  To what extent do you see this misuse of social media as contributing to our lack of critical thinking skills?

Ed: Propaganda, biased reporting, or emotionally charged news stories are nothing new. People have been tricked in the past plenty of times. Confirmation bias, where we look for news that confirms our preconceived notions, has been with us long before social media.

What’s different today is that social media rewards whatever gets the strongest reaction. For a mundane example, restaurants found that they could go viral by serving absurd portions of food that prompted people to post pictures online. In a similar way, someone with virtually no expertise on a topic can post a controversial take and win on social media by virtue of starting a big enough fight.

What makes social media so challenging for critical thinking today is that it by-passes our best intentions and best evaluations by tapping into our emotions. We also see how others have reacted to a story or a controversy, and that only tosses gasoline onto a raging fire.

I still mess up here, but I often try to avoid sharing a news story on social media until after I’ve had time to read and process it a little bit. Saving news stories to a service like Pocket helps me reassess my reactions before sharing anything controversial.

I really appreciated your thoughts as to what a spiritually-infused version of social media would like! You suggest that “perhaps our souls and the souls of others would be most encouraged if we prioritized gratefully sharing how God has shown up in our lives each day or the things that make us come alive. Living in greater awareness of the beauty and truth we’ve experienced will make us more prepared to pray simply because we’ll be aware of what God has given us.” Why is fostering gratitude and thankfulness so important in our culture and society?

Ed: There are a bunch of studies that suggest gratitude is extremely good for our mental health. Dr. Bradley Wright of UConn has studied this for years and is a big fan of a gratitude journal or a daily gratitude practice. Why not bring that into our social media use?

It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by the bad news in our world, and we shouldn’t live in ignorance of what’s going on. But too often we can get sucked into a spiral of despair that ONLY sees that’s terrible.

Even in the most desperate and critical situations, there are people working to help and to bring relief. There are things to be thankful for. And so, the average social media user needs to be aware of when they’re sliding toward a spiral of despair that will prevent them from being present for others, let alone for God.


As this interview is being given the world is experiencing COVID-19. Do you have any thoughts about how renewed and deepened spirituality could help address our isolation? 


Ed: I have a lot of thoughts here! I’ll limit them to two:

      Consider what your personal baseline is right now. Are you especially stressed and anxious on a more regular basis? Do you have unhealthy habits in quarantine that are contributing to this strained mental state? Are there fears that are leaving you emotionally exhausted? Face where you’re at and the healthy or unhealthy ways you are coping with your circumstances. 

  Second, find a way to cope in the moment, such as deep breathing, a run, some art, or a walk outside. A daily Examen practice can help you notice what you’re grateful for, what worries you, and what you can trust to God tomorrow. Whether journaling or sitting in silence, work on facing your thoughts, offering them to God, and seeing them for what they are.

Any thoughts as to what lessons we could learn from the COVID-19 pandemic? 


Ed: Perhaps this is because I live in Kentucky where we recently elected a new governor (Andy Beshear), but I keep thinking about how important it is for our leaders, especially government leaders in a crisis, to use our communication tools, like social media, well. Kentucky’s previous governor had an anti-science/research track record, was the least popular governor in America, and was narrowly defeated by Andy, who is a moderate Democrat. Andy has worked across party lines and networked with the Republican governor of Ohio (among others) to pass clear, helpful information to keep us safe. 

Kentucky was shut down before New York City! And Andy uses Facebook live to broadcast his press conferences (known as “Andy at 5”) to inform and reassure the people. Folks look forward to his press conferences that stress working together and caring for each other. I have personally found him reassuring and beneficial for my mental health and my family’s physical safety. He has used social media really well during a crisis, and the way he has worked with governors and state representatives from the other political party is a model for us during this crisis.