I wonder how many people will wake up on Christmas morning to find some new piece of tech in their stocking?
I won’t, and not just because I’m a nun.
I can claim to be an early adopter of all things digital. Back in the 1990s, when “the internet” largely meant Compuserve, accessed via dial-up modems, and to have a personal email address was the height of cool, I was busy typesetting with an Apple Mac and encouraging my then community to launch its own website.
When social media came along, my present community embraced it with enthusiasm, together with videos, podcasts, interactive online discussions and all the razzle-dazzle of Web 2.0. I even made a few good websites and iOS apps along the way – or so I like to think. Then, doubts began to creep in.
Having spent years trying to persuade other members of the Church of the importance of being online, I began to question whether we were going about it the right way. A website or app is not enough; nor is a blog or vlog or an active presence in social media. We need to think and pray about our purpose, but now, even more, I believe we need to think and pray about how we can exercise restraint online.
It is a little like being ecologically aware. Every purely text email we send is responsible for about 4g of CO2 emissions; with a picture attachment, 50g.
A single google search is responsible for between 2g and 7g. Just think of all those newsletters we are subscribed to that we never actually read, or those idle searches we make when bored. We have to be good stewards of our internet usage, just as we are of everything else.
But it is not our carbon footprint that most concerns me. Given that we invest both time and resources in online activity, I believe we need to assess how we deal with online rage and the inequalities that now characterise internet access.
Many people seem to think that they are untraceable online. They are not, but the illusion of anonymity seems to have released in many a storm of anger and aggression that, sadly, extends to everyone and everything in the Church and beyond. Having been trolled myself, I know how unpleasant it can be. Children and vulnerable adults have a particularly tough time, but no matter how often we try to encourage kindness and courtesy online, it seems some people are not going to listen. The slapdown or insult used instead of an argument is too easy. We have become reactive, and because there is very little time lag, the damage is done before we have even thought about it. Some people try to cope with this by going through what they describe as a “digital detox” every so often, avoiding social media and their usual haunts online. Frankly, I have been unimpressed by the results. Better to engage and try to set a good example than withdraw completely.
I use a kind of checklist drawn up in 2011 which gives 10 rules for being online. The full list can be found at https://is.gd/Bx1UIy, but it can be summarised as follows:
Pray Bring Christ into your online activity at the very beginning
Listen Engage with others, don’t preach at them. Know when to be quiet.
Respect Don’t abuse anyone or vent your anger online.
Encourage Give help when you can; affirm, compliment, if appropriate.
Spend time You can’t build good relationships in just a few minutes.
Share Not only what you are doing, but also what others are doing. This particularly applies to Twitter – don’t use it just for self-advertisement.
Be welcoming You need people who disagree with you.
Be grateful Whingers are not very attractive, nor are those who take things for granted.
Be yourself Truthfulness is essential. You online should be the same person as you offline.
Love Like prayer, it’s obvious, but unless you pray, unless you love those with whom you come into contact online, you’re wasting your time as well as theirs.
The inequalities of the internet are also matter for concern. Time was when sharing was commonplace. Now the patchiness of broadband access and the rise of subscription models of access to software and sites is creating a two-tier internet for the haves and have-nots. China is creating an alternative to the Western model which will prove challenging. I’m not sure we have even begun to think that through.
So, no new tech for me at Christmas, but a lot of questions about how to use what we as a community already have.
Sister Catherine Wybourne is prioress of Holy Trinity Monastery in Wormbridge, Herefordshire
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