What is Digital Ritual and Ceremony

Intertwined with the digital realm is a parallel sphere of digital material objects. The physicality of these things play an important role as they are embedded with memories as well as personal, social, and cultural meanings and references. The pervasiveness of digitizing information, images, spaces, and objects into digital data creates an expanding virtual presence. Simultaneously, virtual objects are now being transformed into material, tactile forms. Sensors are harvesting physical information and providing important feedback. Using digital devices involves an array of electronic rituals that have evolved. These ritualistic behaviors function in a similar manner to the performance of ritual and ceremony in indigenous cultures. This chapter examines the function of these digital rituals, with the physical residue deposited by these rituals and ceremonies. Material objects created by digital processes are powerful and play an important role socially, culturally, and spiritually.