“As such, our online milestones are not yet surrounded with the traditions or rituals that mark significant offline turning points.”
“But there is a reason that ritual is such a pervasive part of human experience that it appears in every culture, and dissected by a wide range of disciplines. As Peter Maclaren points out in “Rethinking Ritual,” rituals are “the symbolic codes for interpreting and negotiating events of everyday existence.””
“In the absence of online rituals, we lack the signposts that can help us navigate difficult online experiences—or mark and appreciate the great ones.”
“As Ronald Grimes argues in “Reinventing Ritual,” ritual is not necessarily “traditional, collective, precritical, and meaningful” but “is also invented.””
“Radha Parker describes rituals as
symbolic rites that help individuals do the work of relating, changing, healing, believing, and celebrating. During rituals, the importance of relationships is illuminated, and each person’s unique contribution to the functioning of the whole group is honored.”
“Writing specifically about rites of passage—rituals that involve “separation, transition, and incorporation”—W.S.F. Pickering describes a consensus among anthropologists that these rites
often emphasize the importance of what is happening to the actor and to other participants. They define social reality. They may encourage the actor to feel that he has in fact changed in some way…. They may give the actor courage to deal with fear or personal crisis.”
“Naming these three steps so that they become recognized and ritualized—this being the internet, I suggest an acronym like CFS (Compensate/Forgive/Share)—will make it easier for us to find a path towards reconciliation when conflicts aise.”
“Those of us who have a hard time bidding adieu to our gadgets might find inspiration in Stanton et al.’s “Garbage of the Gods.” The article describes ancient Mayan practices for the ritual disposal of possessions, including homes, based on an analysis of Mayan ruins. Because “the ancient Mayan believed that their world was animate,” they had “termination rituals” with “the intent to ritually ‘kill’ an object, structure, person, or place.””
“Rethinking Ritual By: Peter L. McLaren
ETC: A Review of General Semantics , Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 1984), pp. 267-277”
“Reinventing Ritual By: Ronald L. Grimes
Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal , Vol. 75, No. 1 (Spring 1992), pp. 21-41”
“Garbage of the Gods? Squatters, Refuse Disposal, and Termination Rituals among the Ancient Maya By: Travis W. Stanton, M. Kathryn Brown and Jonathan B. Pagliaro
Latin American Antiquity , Vol. 19, No. 3 (Sep., 2008), pp. 227-247”