Just this week I was talking to a friend about the secretary at his work place. She has an online relationship with a guy that lives miles away from her. Although she calls him her boyfriend, their relationship is far from being a “regular” relationship. Online interactions with other people could seem to fulfil our own needs, but it is likely that they are just deceiving us. These relationships lack the fidelity of relationships developed in real life, with personal interaction. We must be careful that the time we spend online, or on video games, and the things we do there don’t inhibit us from receiving the blessings from spending our time on something more productive. While these activities are not inherently bad, it is when we put them as our first priority and stop doing the things that matter most that we are in trouble. As Elder David A. Bednar suggested, we have to make sure that the use of the various technologies and media invite rather than impede the companionship of the Holy Ghost and that the time we spend with them don’t restrict our capacity to live, love and serve in meaningful ways.
