iPhones and Asceticism: Why Did You Give Up Facebook for Lent?

If you didn’t already know, one of the exciting things going on here at ACU is our mobile computing initiative. The overarching thrust of the initiative has been the exploration of the impact of mobile computing technology upon the 21st Century classroom. As a part of that exploration all ACU students have iPhones. ACU has also done a lot of research on Web 2.0 computing (e.g., blogging) in the support of the classroom. You can read a lot more about ACU’s initiative and the associated research at the Connected site at ACU.

Anyway, while I applaud all the exciting work and research being done at ACU about mobile computing (e.g., iPhones) and Web 2.0 (social computing: blogs, Twitter, Facebook) one of the things I wish we would spend more time investigating is the relationship between Christian spirituality and mobile connectivity. There are a lot of universities, companies, and publishers who are looking at the relationship between mobile computing and learning. And I’m excited that ACU is a part of that conversation. But I’d also like us, given our Christian commitments, to be a leader in thinking about the relationship between iPhones and Christian spirituality.

For example, I think my essay How Facebook Killed the Church has been the most cited piece about these issues that has been written by an ACU faculty member. And yet, while that essay has sparked a great deal of conversation online, in church newsletters (translated into multiple languages), on the radio, and in magazines, the questions I raised in that essay haven’t really gained any notice or traction on the ACU campus.

Still, I think these issues about iPhones and spirituality are really, really important. So I’d like to announce, today, the launch of the iPhone and Spirituality Research Project (iSRP). iSRP has only two members—me and my dog Bandit—and our research budget is zero. So we won’t be getting into anything exotic. No big clinical trials or longitudinal studies. Just me, the blog, this laptop and…you.

After consulting with Bandit, we’ve decided that our first project here at iSRP will be titled the “iPhone and Asceticism Project.” (You’ll have noticed that I like to add the word “Project” to make things sound more official and think tank-ish. Try it out yourself at your place of work. Other words to experiment with are “Center,” “Institute” and “Research Group”). Anyway, we here at iSRP would like to invite you to participate in our inaugural study.

Here’s the research issue:

I’ve seen and heard of a lot of people who have given up some part of Web 2.0 for Lent. On Ash Wednesday Christians all over the world signed off on Twitter, or blogging, or Facebook for the Lenten season. “Goodbye! See you after Easter.” And in a related way we are also seeing the rise of the "Facebook fast" in Christian circles.

We here at iSRP are curious about this. Why did you give up Web 2.0 for Lent (or for a fast)? What were your motivations? Your concerns? Your hopes?

And how has it gone?

And even if you haven't give up Web 2.0 for Lent or gone on a Facebook fast feel free to weigh in. Do you wish you would have given up Web 2.0 for Lent? Do you feel the need for a Facebook fast? Why or why not? How has Web 2.0 affected your spirituality? For good or ill?

Finally, if you simply know of someone who has given up Web 2.0 for Lent or who has gone on a Facebook fast please send them this link to see if they might share their insights and experiences about these novel ascetic practices.

And in all seriousness, I really do want to do some research on this topic. Any comments here will be valuable in helping me "ballpark" the phenomenon and guide me as I think about constructing surveys or formulating preliminary hypotheses.