Depression, Religion, and the Technological Age

All of us are part of a technological experiment on a global scale unlike any the world has conducted in the past. Sure, the printing press changed communication. Of course, the automobile and the airplane revolutionized travel, but the technological advancements in the past twenty years have continually redefined human interaction and social behaviors reaching every corner of day-to-day life, and more significantly, day to day thought.

The generation most undeniably affected by this cultural shift is the twixter generation, those between 22 and 30. At 25, I’m smack in the midst of the phenomenon and have the luxury of experiencing the chaos from prime front row seats. Lucky me.

So what’s the view like from here? It’s dark, out-of-focus, and doesn’t make much sense but gee, it sure is flashy! Everyone is trying to hold down a job they hate (if they’re lucky), while representing to the fullest whatever subculture with which they identify, or from which they try their best to stand apart. But this connectivity or anti-connectivity to any one group is largely superficial, based primarily on aesthetics and generalizations that no one can really pin point; fashion styles in the guise of cultural movements.

The media and is manufacturing subcultures and identities, unfoundedly promising satisfaction, and we believe them. We follow them blindly. Media obsession is the new religion of this generation where technology reigns supreme as the god of the new millennium.

According to the ARIS report (American Religious Identification Survey), there has been a jump in the percentage of the American population that identified themselves with no religious affiliation whatsoever. In 1990, it was only 8.2%, and in 2008 it almost doubled to 15%. This could be attributed to education, but from where are we getting the majority of our education? School? Television? Google?

Since the beginning of documented history, religion has played a leading role in the constructs of society and cultural life within a community. Why? Perhaps to explain weather patterns or star patterns not scientifically understood by early man; perhaps to create social conducts and constructs that are expected and accepted within a culture; perhaps to give meaning and hope to a species of animal capable of analytical thought.

Or, perhaps the most likely explanation is best described by Michael E. Nielsen, PhD. Nielsen is an internationally recognized psychologist and professor at Georgia Southern University who has been focusing his expertise on the very subject of religion.

In his article titled Religion and Happiness, he explains some of the main explanations for the connectivity between religion and happiness. “Religious involvement is a way of gaining social support. People in general are happier when they are around others who are supportive. Religious groups tend to offer this.”

He goes on to discuss the religious implication of life purpose. “Happiness and life satisfaction increase when we have a sense of where we are going and what is important in life.”

So to recap: religion has been utilized within societies to create a network of support for every individual within that society, to carry each other as each one strives toward a common goal, creating and bestowing within all a sense of definite purpose. It is this system of social support in combination with some specific idea of purpose and destiny that mix together in the cauldron of ideals to create the sensation of happiness.

Is this true? Does religion really make people happier? Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D., a Professor of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University, found that “high levels of personal devotion were associated with less of a response to depressogenic effects of stressful life events.”

All of this research infers that without religion, we are more likely to become depressed. So what then, does this mean for our twixter generation of computer savvy, digital daydreamers?

It means we’ve found our new religion and for the first time in human history, are nevertheless being starved of human support systems, a sense of purpose, or an idea of a common good. Ironically enough, we are spending nearly every moment actually carrying out the rituals associated with the devotion to technology; cell phones are never off or out of reach, emails checked multiple times a day, facebook facilitating a doctrine of proper etiquette for social interaction.

Perhaps this proves that religion, or belief in God, or feeling of destined purpose, have nothing to do with happiness or the achievement of it. There is a chance that contentment and happiness are the real myths of our time; myths that we all strive to believe in, and that this is just another step in the evolutionary process of human discontentment and want. It all comes back to the most basic of paradoxes; want and dissatisfaction encourage evolution and advancement, which then in turn heighten awareness of dissatisfaction and wanting.

From early man desiring cooked meat, to the Buddhist idea of suffering to modern tit jobs, wanting and dissatisfaction is a common thread found throughout history; what makes us human. How do we achieve happiness? I guess the better question would be, “Why is humanity determined to be dissatisfied?”