A Christian Discipline for the Web 2.0 Generation: Unconnecting

Back in American history there was a time of unbridled optimism known as “Westren Expansion.” Everyone packed up their families, and headed West in search of gold and vast acres of unclaimed land. Cities blossomed overnight and folded just as quickly when the prospectors realized that there was no gold in those hills.

It feels like there’s a similar experience going on in Web 2.0. First there was Myspace.com, then facebook. And now, seldom a week goes buy without more invitations to be Link’ed In, to ‘Ning, or a host of other social networks. Blogging gave way to microblogging (twitter).

There are many good reasons to connect– professional networking, friendships, and brand extension are a few that come to mind.

But there are also some less than noble reasons to connect: a fear of being left out, procrastination, peer pressure, and a fear of being alone.

In Christian tradition, there’s been much written about the discipline of silence, of being alone and listening to your soul and talking and listening to God. The Mystics wrote that without silence that we are in danger not having a soul. We become so connected that we lose ourselves.

“Unconnecting” from the myriad of social networking opportunities we have needs to becoming an extension of the discipline of silence. Web 2.0 gives us the opportunity to never be alone– an opportunity that we’d be fools to embrace.

So connect, then disconnect.