I recently learned that 1
billion hours of videos are viewed each day on YouTube, and 400 hours of
new content are uploaded each minute of every day. Most people find it easy to
get caught up in a loop of watching video after video, which is known as a “timesuck”
(an activity that sucks up your time).
Someone observing the Benedictine way of life would likely identify
liturgy of the hours, lectio divina (praying with scripture), work, and sharing
the common table as timesucks. What is the difference between watching videos and
these activities? Through the centuries, those seeking God have identified prayer,
work, and communal life as avenues for transformation, for putting on the mind
of Christ. To be sure, some content on YouTube is educational, inspirational, and
even transformative, but in general people watch videos for entertainment. It’s
usually a solitary activity that does not lead to communion with God and others.
St. Benedict valued moderation and balance. If he were
living today, I imagine he would allow his monks to watch videos that lead deeper
into the heart of God. However, I believe he would also counsel us to monitor
our activities to ensure that we are sucked into God’s way of passing time—by
creating, being in relationship with others, and just being—instead of getting
sucked into the distraction offered by the
vast world of media available to us today.
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