My experience of the internet as a monk I started using the Internet in 1999. I was fifty years old and was a little hesitant to start. However, it did not take long for me to understand that the computer was quite easy to navigate. Being curious about other belief systems I started joining some discussion forums that had beliefs that were very different from mine. So, I got a Yahoo address and started joining some of the ‘groups’. I joined two groups using a different name. I was shy about saying I was a monk because of the stereotypes, both good and bad about my life’s choice. It was an eye-opening experience for me. I joined two so-called “free thinkers” forums and dived in. The first benefit I got from joining was that those who were involved, seeing how I was struggling to be coherent in my writing, gave me good instruction on how to just write about one topic. So, over the course of a year, my ability to express myself improved. Those who helped me the most were the ones who reacted to my opinion in very strong terms. It took a while to get used to that. It helped me to still state my point of view, without worrying about changing anyone's mind, which is impossible anyway. Also, the internet allowed me to navigate to sites that allowed me to study subjects that would have been difficult without the internet. The problem that I encountered over the years is the discovery that many people just stuck with their own ‘tribe’, and that made it more difficult to have any kind of a discussion, apart from them stating the party line without anything personal added. That went for all groups. Free thinkers do it, believers do it. This is true over the political spectrum as well. So, the paradox is that we have all this information out there, which could allow us to grow in understanding of those different from us. However, more often than not, the only knowledge that was let in was that they agreed with beforehand. It is called ‘confirmation bias’. Yes, I am guilty of it as well, it is very difficult to break out of the intellectual prison. In our monasteries worldwide the issue of internet use is a strong focal point. Overall, we do well, but we understand that we are at the beginning of this information revolution and will only get more intrusive. We know that we have to use the internet for its many benefits, but because of our human nature, it could be used as an escape from living out our vocation. Enclosure used to be straightforward, now on the web I can travel the world, have friends in many different countries, and find many sites, good in themselves, that could slow down the monastic journey. The proper monastic use of the web takes discipline. I do think that the rising technology has taken on a life of its own, and it has us, we do not have it. I believe that we are still an immature species, and knowledge while good, and needed, can be used in ways that are based on either the will-to-power, or greed. Both are shortsighted and dangerous. AI over time could dumb us down, because it will do all the work for us. It is here to stay, and it worries me, but still there is hope. The way things are going it looks dim, but hope springs eternal as the saying goes.-Br.MD
