Last week I posted a link to a Trans/Missions article arguing that Google doesn't make us spiritually stupid if you focus on the external, ritualistic part of religion and not on the internal/meditative aspect. Today another author at Trans/Missions posted a reply to the original article. "Rituals of Distraction: New Media and the Religious Brain" is by Kevin Healey, whose  dissertation is titled "The Spirit of Networks: New Media and the Changing Role of Religion in American Public Life." He concludes,

Heavy Internet users may surreptitiously check their e-mail or chat on Facebook during a service. In fact, some mega-church pastors have been encouraging attendees to Twitter during sermons! Even if congregants turn off their phones, they may be planning ahead to their next status update. The nature of the ritual is transformed not just with the introduction of technology, but with the altered cognitive habits of the attendees, whether they are using these gadgets or not.  While Internet use may not be making us less religious, it is likely making us differently religious....