Have you ever added up the time in one day that you spend on the internet for non-work purposes? I'll admit that I haven't, either. But my guess is that if I did, it wouldn't always be information I'd like to see written up in public. We live in a culture where popping in and out of the World Wide Web all day long (or even being tied to it all day long) is the norm. When your phone sends you automatic email, Facebook and Twitter updates, and you have non-stop access to Youtube and your favourite websites and blogs (including this one, of course!), it's easy to be in constant communication with the internet. Even if you're a bit of a relic like me and don't have a cell phone with a data package (or even a cell phone), the internet calls you all day long. "Pssst... I'm your inbox. Why don't you give me a quick check in case something new is in?" "Hey there, you haven't checked Facebook in at least 30 minutes... What if some friend has posted some incredible news and you're not in the loop yet?!" "You've worked hard at that job for a good hour. A nice Youtube break will help you rejuvenate!"
Yes, we live in the internet age, and surfing is a way of life.
But is it helping us?
I'm not here to say that the internet is evil, that Facebook is a total waste of time, that Pinterest is completely useless. I am thankful that we have quick access to information and the ability to communicate easily with people who live very far away from us. I am often encouraged, convicted and spurred on to greater faith by blog posts that I read, and I praise God for using the writings of people I would not otherwise have contact with to point me to Him. Being able to answer one of those impossible "why" questions of a 7-year-old is a lot easier with a quick search on Google. But I need to be careful how I use these things, or the drawbacks will quickly outweigh the blessings.
Over the last several months, I've spent a fair bit of time examining and cleaning up my internet usage (though I still have plenty of room for growth!), and was about to blog some of my thoughts on it, but before I had a chance, Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Whitacre started a series of posts on GirlTalk about examining your internet consumption, so I'd suggest you go read what they have to say in the way of really helpful questions to ask yourself (start at the bottom of the page for the first post and then scroll up to read them in order), and then I'd like to just take a couple posts to mention some practical things I've done or am doing to help steward my web use. And if you have some of your own, I'd love to hear them, too!
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