The Old Testament tells the story of the Tower of Babel. When humans tried to rise higher than God by building a very tall Tower of Babel, God was displeased with the arrogance of the creatures and interfered with the construction. God made mankind, who previously used one language, use different languages. When languages changed and collaboration became impossible, humans dispersed.
If you think about it carefully, there is something a little strange about it. Modern people, including atheists and even believers, know that God does not live in heaven. Heaven does not refer to the physical sky, but rather a noble place that is far from the world. Even if you go up to the sky on a rocket, there is no God. There is no way the Creator did not know what humans know, so the explanation that he was unable to build the tower because he ‘feel arrogant in his desire to become higher’ is awkward.
It may have been the relief of loneliness that God was wary of. When humans who used to live widely scattered horizontally live compressed in vertical space, the time it takes to meet each other is shortened. People who used to walk for an hour to see their friends or loved ones can now get rid of their loneliness by moving just a few floors. Being liberated from loneliness is something that God would not be happy about. This is because solitude is a necessary condition for reaching God. This is why many religions prohibit priests from getting married or require them to go to a quiet place to pray.
If a corner of your inner self is not empty and lonely, you cannot be filled with the voice of God. The same applies to areas other than religion; meditation and yoga, which are popular these days, also place importance on the process of blocking out external sounds. Without solitude, you cannot hear the voice of your heart.
If the God who brought down the Tower of Babel still intervenes directly in the human world, what would he want to destroy first? It would definitely be a smartphone. If the residents of the Tower of Babel go through the trouble of going up and down the stairs to relieve their loneliness, smartphone users don’t have to go through the trouble of going up and down the stairs. With just a few movements of your finger, you can communicate with the person you want to see. It is connected 24 hours a day. You are always connected to the world and receive all news updates in real time. When my smartphone is turned off, I feel disconnected from the world and feel anxious because I feel like I am falling behind in the news.
However, not many people will believe that this is truly overcoming loneliness. The way he always wants to be connected and is anxious to find an outlet only proves that he is a lonely person by the second. Even when I’m meeting friends offline, I keep looking at my smartphone because I want to connect with someone online. Smartphones do not make loneliness disappear, but only temporarily cover it up as if it had disappeared.
Of course, humans instinctively feel that smartphones are harmful to their souls. He knows that if he does not learn to be with solitude, he will never be able to look within himself. Perhaps that’s why it is said that the number of customers visiting cafes that confiscate smartphones has recently increased. It is to sever the connection with the world, even if it is by force. The number of people who use old cell phones without Internet access or who meditate for just 30 minutes is also increasing. It is an attempt to bring down the Tower of Babel on your own. In order to control the thirst of the soul, you may first need to recover solitude.
[박창영 컨슈머마켓부 기자]
