{"id":2593,"date":"2026-04-14T10:29:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualitycrackingup\/?p=2593"},"modified":"2026-04-14T12:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:12:16","slug":"doom-scrolling-keeping-up-with-the-a-i-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualitycrackingup\/2026\/04\/doom-scrolling-keeping-up-with-the-a-i-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Doom Scrolling & Keeping Up with the A.I.-s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Part I: Blessed are the logged off<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Let me confess something that feels borderline un-American in 2026:<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t always know what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

No breaking news\u2026breaking news all the time.
No hot takes\u2026one hot take after another.
No \u201cwait, did you see this?!\u201d\u2026\u201dI didn\u2019t see shit!\u201d<\/p>\n

Other times I know too much\u2026<\/p>\n

It is fucking exhausting! That is why I hop off as much as I can just to enjoy\u2026 silence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And instead of panic, I feel peace.<\/p>\n

Which felt suspicious. Like I accidentally stepped into the Way of Christ (gasp!).<\/p>\n

\n

We Baptized Anxiety and Called It Awareness<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Somewhere along the way, we turned this into virtue:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cI just want to stay informed.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cIt\u2019s important to be aware.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cI need to know what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Translation:
    I am consuming anxiety at scale and calling it responsibility.<\/em><\/p>\n

    We scroll wars, disasters, outrage, think pieces, counter-think pieces, and then reactions to the reactions.<\/p>\n

    By noon, we\u2019ve lived 12 emotional lives\u2014and done nothing in the actual one.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Meanwhile, Jesus: \u201cConsider the Lilies\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

    Jesus shows up like:<\/p>\n

    \n

    \u201cLook at a flower.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    That\u2019s it. That\u2019s the tweet.<\/p>\n

    No thread.
    No breakdown.
    No \u201chere\u2019s what this means for the future of Rome.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Just\u2026 notice something real.<\/em><\/p>\n

    If Jesus said that today, we\u2019d assume he had bad Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Doom Scrolling Feels Like Control<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

    Let\u2019s be honest\u2014we\u2019re not just curious.<\/p>\n

    We\u2019re afraid.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Afraid of missing something<\/li>\n
    • Afraid of being behind<\/li>\n
    • Afraid that if we don\u2019t know everything, we\u2019ll lose control<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      So we scroll like knowledge will save us.<\/p>\n

      But it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

      It just makes us tired before anything even happens.<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n

      Jesus Was Not Stressed About Staying Updated<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

      Jesus wasn\u2019t running around trying to stay current.<\/p>\n

      He was:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Talking to people in front of him<\/li>\n
      • Healing one person at a time<\/li>\n
      • Taking naps during storms (wild behavior)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        He wasn\u2019t ignorant.<\/p>\n

        He was anchored.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Awareness vs. Attention<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

        Here\u2019s the shift:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Awareness<\/strong> = everything, everywhere, all at once<\/li>\n
        • Attention<\/strong> = this moment, fully<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Jesus didn\u2019t call people into hyper-awareness.<\/p>\n

          He called them into attention.<\/em><\/p>\n

          \u201cGive us this day our daily bread.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Not:
          \n\u201cGive us this day a full global briefing with emotional commentary.\u201d<\/p>\n

          \n

          You Will Never Be Caught Up<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

          Let\u2019s just free you right now:<\/p>\n

          You will never be caught up.<\/p>\n

          There is always:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • More news<\/li>\n
          • More outrage<\/li>\n
          • More things to feel bad about<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            You can scroll forever and still feel behind.<\/p>\n

            Because the system is designed that way.<\/p>\n

            \n

            The Uncomfortable Question<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

            What if staying informed is not the same thing as staying faithful?<\/p>\n

            What if your constant consumption is dulling your compassion?<\/p>\n

            Because it\u2019s easy to:<\/p>\n

              \n
            • Care about everything in theory<\/li>\n
            • Care about nothing in reality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
              \n

              The Invitation<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

              Jesus keeps it simple:<\/p>\n

              Love God.
              Love people.
              Right here.<\/p>\n

              Not after one more scroll.
              Not after you \u201ccatch up.\u201d<\/p>\n

              Not because ignorance is holy.<\/p>\n

              But because presence is.<\/p>\n

              And presence might be the most rebellious thing you can practice in a world addicted to knowing everything and experiencing nothing.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Part I: Blessed are the logged off Let me confess something that feels borderline un-American in 2026: I don\u2019t always know what\u2019s going on. No breaking news\u2026breaking news all the time.No hot takes\u2026one hot take after another.No \u201cwait, did you see this?!\u201d\u2026\u201dI didn\u2019t see shit!\u201d Other times I know too much\u2026 It is fucking exhausting! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4644,"featured_media":2599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDoom Scrolling & Keeping Up with the A.I.-s<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Part I: Blessed are the logged off Let me confess something that feels borderline un-American in 2026: I don\u2019t always know what\u2019s going on. No breaking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/spiritualitycrackingup\/2026\/04\/doom-scrolling-keeping-up-with-the-a-i-s\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Doom Scrolling & Keeping Up with the A.I.-s\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part I: Blessed are the logged off Let me confess something that feels borderline un-American in 2026: I don\u2019t always know what\u2019s going on. 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