Lindsey Johnson Social Media and Practicing Spiritual Walking on the AT

In the section titled "Social Media and Practicing Spiritual Walking on the AT" in Chapter 6 of American Camino, Redick discusses the pros and cons of social media and hiking in the wilderness. He thinks that social media can be a distraction and take away from the experience a hiker could be having. If one is on their phone, then they are not taking in their surroundings fully. It prevents flow from happening where the hiker is fully immersed in their surroundings and is taking in everything through their five senses. Redick talks about how throughout the years when he has taken students on trips to the AT he has noticed the increase in Wi-Fi spots and hikers taking advantage of them. He recognizes that phones can be helpful when contacting worried parents and they allow people to communicate with others that are not present in the moment. People are able to share their experiences by documenting them through pictures or making calls to close ones. This allows for people who are unable to first handedly experience the pilgrimage to get an idea of what it would be like. Phones and social media can enhance the experience but they can also take away from it. I think that in order to get the full spiritual experience of being surrounded by nature and hiking, phones should not be involved at all, except in emergency situations. Phones and social media are an integral part of everyone's lives and stepping away from them would allow for a more self reflective process. It is important to take this sort of break because many people let social media consume them. Spending time in nature can be healing and people should take advantage of this more often.

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