The fifth instalment in the Toy Story series, in theatres now, is an animated comedy starring a much-loved group that comes to life when no humans are present.

At the end of Toy Story 4, Woody decided to leave Bonnie’s room and live as a lost toy so he and Bo Peep can help abandoned toys find owners. The rest of the toys are living with a now eight-year-old Bonnie, and Jessie has become their leader, with Buzz Lightyear serving as her second-in-command. The toys are enjoying life in Bonnie’s room. She has a wonderful imagination, and they love their playtime with her.

Until one day when a package arrives that contains a frog-like computer tablet named Lilypad.

Lilypad quickly becomes Bonnie’s favourite plaything—to the exclusion of the other toys. Things get so bad that Jessie begs Woody to return to Bonnie’s room to help them figure out what to do.

Can Woody, Jessie and the others help Bonnie remember how much fun they had together? Or is their playtime over forever?

Technology is a tool and it helps make life easier in so many ways. But it can also become a huge distraction. DIANE STARK

Addicted to Distraction

Many of us can relate to Bonnie’s obsession with her new tablet. Some people anxiously await the release of a new phone model, even pre-ordering it so they can be among the first to own the latest tech. Many of us can’t imagine life without a smartphone, and we panic when we misplace it. For many, our phone is one of our most important possessions. We use it every day, and it’s never far from our reach.

Smartphones can do so many things. They help us stay connected to others. We can order groceries, schedule medical appointments and find information on any topic we choose. It’s easy to see why we spend so much time staring at our phones. Technology is a tool and it helps make life easier in so many ways. But it can also become a huge distraction. It can take our attention away from more important things. Our families. Our jobs. Even—or maybe especially—our faith.

Studies show that more than half of adults admit to being addicted to their phones. A Statistics Canada study showed that two thirds of Canadians are showing signs of phone addiction, including using their phones at least once every hour. In 2022, the Canadian Internet Use Survey interviewed 50,000 phone users, and their responses showed that the more often a person checks their phone, the less satisfied they feel with their personal relationships. And in 2012, an American ad agency even invented a new word: phubbing. It’s a combination of the words “phone” and “snubbing” and it refers to the act of ignoring a person to engage with one’s phone.

That word might hit a little too close to home for some. Hopefully, if we are guilty of phubbing, our loved ones will kindly point it out so we can properly re-order our priorities. But what happens when the One we are neglecting is God?

Losing Focus

God gives each of us free will. We are free to choose Him—or not. We can spend time praying and reading His Word—or not.

God wants a relationship with us, but He never forces us. He allows us to make our own decisions, even if that decision is to ignore Him.

Christians can sometimes be guilty of ignoring God. Even though we trust Him with our lives, we can still daily neglect our relationship with Him. We often don’t give God the time He deserves, and our attention can be so scattered.

This world is loud, and there are so many distractions. Losing focus and neglecting our most important priorities can happen quickly. And often, if we look closely, we’ll see that excessive phone use plays a role in that neglect.

Strengthening Our Faith

So what do we do in a world where technology is seemingly everywhere? The most important thing is to remember that God is everywhere, too. He’s with us every moment, and we can talk to Him whenever we want throughout the day. Just as we might send a quick text to a loved one, we can say a brief prayer to thank God for something or ask for His help. He’s always ready to listen and connect with us.

We can also make a rule that we will open our Bibles—or the Bible app on our phones—before we open any other apps. We can prioritize our relationship with God by giving Him the first few minutes of our day. The YouVersion Bible app is free to download, comes in many translations and includes hundreds of Bible reading plans. It’s a great way to use technology to strengthen our faith.

Enjoying quiet, tech-free time in God’s creation helps many people feel closer to God. Others use their phones to play worship music or listen to faith-based podcasts. Many churches broadcast their weekly sermons online, allowing us to listen even when we can’t be physically present.

Life is about choices. These days, owning a smartphone might seem like a necessity, but we can still decide how we use it. Tech is sneaky, though. We must decide to control it, or it will control us. We can allow it to distract us from our family and our faith, or we can harness the technology for a higher purpose and set it aside when we need to.

In Toy Story 5, Bonnie becomes obsessed with her new tablet. The same can happen to us. After all, a lot of tech was designed to be addictive. But the Creator of the universe designed us and, with His help, we can beat phone addiction and prioritize our relationships with Him—and with one another.

Illustrations: Courtesy of Disney/Pixar