AmericanPapist Comments
I didn't give up tech stuff (sort of hard to since I work in the IT industry), but 4 of our youth group teens gave up facebook for lent... It makes it a bit more difficult for us to contact them, but I'm glad they are making the sacrafice...
I gave up Facebook for Lent. It's probably one of the best sacrifices I've ever made. I used to be on Facebook all the time, but I think that even after Lent is over I'll be more in control of my internet consumption. It's really good for me spiritually too, because if you spend too much time on the internet, you tend to get really isolated--basically trying to live Christianity on your own strength etc. And I've been spending a lot more time with fellow christians, that I would have been spending by my self. So it's been really helpful for me. It's good to get rid of things like facebook that can just be major distractions in the life of a student.
Since Ash Wednesday, I've been checking in to Facebook only briefly on Sundays. Facebook is fun, but it can be a huge time sink--unlike, say, reading blogs! ;-)
Well, I may not fit into your 14-30 age group, but I do use the Internet a lot (well, obviously, 'cause here I am!) to supplement my teaching in RCIA. I like to give my catechumens and candidates a sense of the worldwide Church and their place in it.
However, this Lent I've been cutting down on the number of websites I visit and the reading time I extend on those sites. By now, I can tell whether I've read the same article elsewhere.
I've also devoted more time to Morning Prayer, coming at 6:30am before the 7:00am Mass, to pray with our Deacons and Capuchin Fathers. I've loved reconnecting with the Psalms beginning my day right with the Lord in Eucharist.
I've thought about it, but decided not to. It's mainly because I get so much help in my spiritual life from different sites and blogs, and that's definitely something I don't want to give up. It's also because the internet is probably the most common way I stay connected with my friends.
Well, I've never visited Facebook, I've never sent a text message (nor had any desire to do so), and I use a cell phone probably no more than 20 minutes per month. So for me the answer is no, I haven't given up any of that for Lent, though I guess those would be easy things for me to give up. :-)
I do use the internet a lot though (way too much really), and it wouldn't hurt for me to dial back on that. I have stopped posting at a particular message board that was taking up way too much of my time, though I stopped that before Lent began.
Oh, and anyone who has given up the internet entirely for Lent probably won't be commenting here to let us know. ;-)
I've never understood how people can spend so much time on Facebook. I have friends who spend hours at a time on it. What is there to do?? I just use it to look and see if chicks I'm into are single. I haven't changed my profile picture once, and I've barely bothered to change my profile information. What am I missing on that site that everyone else is enjoying??
As for texts, I send and receive, on average, five a day, if that. So again, it's not something worth giving up.
I do live on the internet, but I need something to help me pass the time. Instead of giving up technology, I gave up my once-a-week practice of eating the best pizza in the world after I get out of church on Sundays. I've been craving it for a few weeks now. Now THAT is sacrifice. :)
I haven't given up technology or even cut back on it this Lent, but I did give up cookies (crackers are fine. I don't think I'm quite ready to give up Ritz Bits yet). I feel like I need a Nestle Toll House White Chocolate Macadamia Nut sometimes, but most of the time it's been rather too easy.
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