The Hermitage Online.

Once, while visiting a Camaldolese hermitage, a venerable old father spoke to me about the vocation of a hermit.  He told me about a novice who ran to the window of his cell each time someone passed by, likewise, whenever he heard a vehicle drive up, the monk looked out to see who was coming.  "He was greatly interested in what was going on in the world."  The young monk was eventually sent away. 

I was just thinking about that story last night as it relates to 'living online':  Always checking emails, tweets, comments, blog posts, reading news sites, counting stats and donations, and so on.  How does it affect prayer and recollection?  If a hermit or contemplative, and more especially - a novice, is frequently online, isn't that similar to the  Camaldolese novice's experience?  Is the online hermit really a hermit or just a virtual hermit?  Did he really leave the world?

I don't know.