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Doom Scrolling & Keeping Up with the A.I.-s

Doom Scrolling & Keeping Up with the A.I.-s

Last updated on: July 31, 2026 at 12:44 pm by Jordan Hathcock

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Doom Scrolling & Keeping Up with the A.I.-s 2026-07-31T12:44:33-07:00 Jordan Hathcock

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Part I: Blessed are the logged off

Let me confess something that feels borderline un-American in 2026:

I don’t always know what’s going on. Sue me.

BUT, other times I know too much…

No breaking news…breaking news all the time.
No hot takes…one hot take after another.
No “wait, did you see this?!”…”I didn’t see shit!”

It is fucking exhausting! That is why I hop off as much as I can just to enjoy… silence.

And instead of panic, I feel peace.

Which felt suspicious. Like I accidentally stepped into the Way of Christ (gasp!).

We Baptized Anxiety and Called It Awareness

Somewhere along the way, we turned this into virtue:

“I just want to stay informed.”
“It’s important to be aware.”
“I need to know what’s going on.”

Translation:
I am consuming anxiety at scale and calling it responsibility.

We scroll wars, disasters, outrage, think pieces, counter-think pieces, and then reactions to the reactions.

By noon, we’ve lived 12 emotional lives—and done nothing in the actual one.

Meanwhile, Jesus: “Consider the Lilies”

Jesus shows up like:

“Look at a flower.”

That’s it. That’s the tweet.

No thread.
No breakdown.
No “here’s what this means for the future of Rome.”

Just… notice something real.

If Jesus said that today, we’d assume he had bad Wi-Fi.

Doom Scrolling Feels Like Control

Let’s be honest—we’re not just curious.

We’re afraid.

Afraid of missing something
Afraid of being behind
Afraid that if we don’t know everything, we’ll lose control

So we scroll like knowledge will save us.

But it doesn’t.

It just makes us tired before anything even happens.

Jesus Was Not Stressed About Staying Updated

Jesus wasn’t running around trying to stay current.

He was:

Talking to people in front of him
Healing one person at a time
Taking naps during storms (wild behavior)

He wasn’t ignorant.

He was anchored.

Awareness vs. Attention

Here’s the shift:

Awareness = everything, everywhere, all at once
Attention = this moment, fully

Jesus didn’t call people into hyper-awareness.

He called them into attention.

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

Not:
“Give us this day a full global briefing with emotional commentary.”

You Will Never Be Caught Up

Let’s just free you right now:

You will never be caught up.

There is always:

More news
More outrage
More things to feel bad about

You can scroll forever and still feel behind.

Because the system is designed that way.

The Uncomfortable Question

What if staying informed is not the same thing as staying faithful?

What if your constant consumption is dulling your compassion?

Because it’s easy to:

Care about everything in theory
Care about nothing in reality

The Invitation

Jesus keeps it simple:

Love God.
Love people.
Right here.

Not after one more scroll.
Not after you “catch up.”

Not because ignorance is holy.

But because presence is.

And presence might be the most rebellious thing you can practice in a world addicted to knowing everything and experiencing nothing.

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March 25, 2026

Mormon Rap and Living in the Now

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April 22, 2026 Keeping Up with the A.I.-s

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Shiloh Bethlehem Nazareth Bethel

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