An elder once said to me, “When I was growing up, it was -40 and cold inside the house. But life was simpler, and we were happy.”
We call new technologies and systems progress—things like online orders, high-speed internet, regular flight routes, and paved roads. But is it really progress?
Is life really simpler when we can order anything we want online, scroll all day on social media, or fly to another city in a few hours?
I’ve counselled many people in the North who have struggled with thoughts of death and suicide. And again and again, I’ve heard the same question come up:
“What is my purpose?”
The world is full of voices trying to tell us what we need to be fulfilled. Social media lies to us, saying we need to look a certain way, act a certain way, believe a certain way. But that’s not the truth.
When life was simpler, so was our purpose.
Our purpose was to be.
To love.
To care for one another.
To be present.
When I was pastoring the church in Baker Lake, I was asked to give a talk during Mental Health Week on suicide prevention. And what the Spirit guided me to remind the people was this:
Many struggles begin when we are not present.
When we put our phones down, turn off the TV, and sit with each other—really present with each other—that’s where healing begins.
It’s no wonder that on-the-land programs work so well in the North. When you’re on the land, there’s no TV, no cell service, no social media to distract you. The land calls us to be present.
If we truly care about solving this crisis, we need to rethink what we call progress. Progress isn’t faster internet. Progress is deeper connection.
Studies show that teens who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.
Excessive screen time has been linked to loneliness, poor sleep, and increased suicidal thoughts.
And in remote communities like ours, where isolation is already a struggle, social media can sometimes make it worse instead of better.
So I ask you: what is real progress?
Maybe it’s not faster downloads and more online orders.
Maybe it’s learning to sit with each other again.
To be still.
To be present.
