A Prayer for Internet Wisdom
Each week, after I write the main post, a few days later, I send an accompanying prayer related to the topic. I am doing in this in part for me: I always am on the hunt for more written prayers. I use written prayers often in my work to pray for larger groups, but I also love written prayers for my personal piety. Sometimes it is nice when I do not have the words to use someone else’s.
The below prayer is in response to my post on figuring out how to show up online.
God, Generator of All Connections,
You created us to be connected to each other. The Internet makes it possible for us to know strangers and people from far away, to stay close with loved ones who are not nearby, to learn about the world. And yet the Internet can also make us feel immensely lonely.
We grow accustomed to screens rather than real touch.
We tax the environment with all of the servers required to hold an insane amount of data.
We forget how to think for ourselves or live with a bit of mystery because answers to nearly everything are a quick Google search away.
Like most things in this world, the Internet is not all good or all bad.
Give us the wisdom to use it conscientiously and well, so that it takes up the right amount of space in our lives. May we employ it to help, not harm. Amen.
Showing up online: How real are we?
Like many millennials, I have shared my life online for almost two decades. I remember when Facebook came out in high school by invitation only. I dabbled in Facebook my senior year of high school and developed a mild obsession my first year of college before quickly realizing the dark sides of social media. I saw every event that I was not invited to or was not a part of. Instead of a tool for connection, it became an effective exactor of hurt feelings. I would so much rather not know what I missed, but Facebook thrust it right in my face.