Karl Marx considered religion “…das Opium des Volks” (the opium of the people) when he wrote Zur Kritik der Hegelschen Rechtsphilosophie in 1844. From an atheistic perspective, perhaps so. But for the believer this cannot be the case. Marxist theory would “liberate” the people from the oppression of the clergy and organised religion.  But in reality it would simply replace one religion of ancient origins with a modern communist religion of the state.  

What we have today is a new opiate. We have a drug that appeals to all peoples and crosses over cultures and borders as none has ever done before. I thought this originally was the gadget I had in my hand, the same that we see people peering into daily, and usually frequently though the day. 

The smart phones and tablets have come to replace most all other communication devices. I could see this object as an opiate that requires constant attention and frequently costs a great deal of money.  A popular smart phone was recently released costing more that $1000. Could this be anything more than a dependence like a drug when we feel a need to update our smartphones so frequently and at such extreme prices? Have the producers of these phones not created a dependence? Have they not updated everything for a better experience but which means the apps and technology must be updated which therefore requires our purchase in order to keep up?

But then I thought of why we have these objects. It is not simply to have the latest smartphone and app that will do EVERYTHING for us. This is bad enough. No, what I feel is the new opiate of the Masses is the flow of information. We become information dependant. We need to know and have a fear of not being “in the know”. That indeed is the reason for the 24 hour news broadcast. But also has created a new dependence through social media. We become information junkies, news addicts. This is, in fact, oppressive. Our need, becomes now our dependence and occupies a great deal of time and effort either in acquisition or comments. 

In the latest news cycle there is a desire for the background knowledge in detail, the current status of the event or person, the ongoing drama (and perhaps trauma). We become part of this in our social media interactions concerned with the story. How often do we check our social media apps, our news feeds and blog feeds. Yes, everyone has an opinion and everyone has the right and opportunity to comment, but at what cost to each of us.

If we have a healthy connection to the news and information, we balance it with daily tasks and work. We wedge it in between everything else. We are not all media gurus that need to be online 24/7 to ensure we know the latest details. 

I listened to a broadcast on Radio-Canada « Ici Première »  (the French language Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio 1) in which the panel discussion was concerned with a similar topic, a  comparison of the style of readership between print news versus digital. And for instant and updated access it was digital news that won. But also a comment from the guest was that the need to have instant information made this the only suitable format. The guest speaker was no longer able to sit and read longer pieces of journalism. 

Our diet of information is therefore not simply instant but brief. We find it difficult to focus on a piece to read for very long. It is understandable. Screens are not conducive to reading long pieces. And the brevity suits a work of rushed tasks. We can read five short pieces from five sources and seem to have accomplished more from a greater numbers of sources. Perhaps though, failing when it comes to quality.

This is then our new opiate. We are über consumers of information and news clips. We happily soak up endless amounts of information, and the latest snippets of news, like just one more dose of non-prescribed meds, even before sleep or immediately upon waking.

We need moderation. This is key. Great saints did all in moderation. What was said or done was always in relation to God and the Kingdom. What we have today is not an opiate of a substance, but one of a digital world that feeds us freely and has found a way to enslave us as drugs can and do.

My suggestion is to limit the contact, control the content. As I have seen online many times, if we picked up the Bible as often as we look into our smartphones (and tablets) we would be healthier Christians and less dependent on the (new) opiate.

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,,Die Religion ist der Seufzer der bedrängten Kreatur, das Gemüth einer herzlosen Welt, wie sie der Geist geistloser Zustände ist. Sie ist das Opium des Volks.” Karl Marx

(Religion is the sigh of the beleaguered creature, the mind of a heartless world, as it is the mind of mindless states. It is the opium of the people. Karl Marx)