The future is here, but we are ill-equipped. It arrived somewhere in between eHarmony and Tinder, in between Fresh Direct and Blue Apron, in between Uber and Lyft, in between TiVo and Netflix, in between Barnes and Noble and Amazon, in between iTunes and Spotify, and in between TV news and mobile apps.

With our facial recognition software, reverse image search, the immediacy of communication, virtual reality, and self-driving cars, we are in the world that we depicted in movies, read about in books, and feared and loved simultaneously. We aimed too high and too fast with the pace at which technology has taken off.

Isn't it remarkable that long-distance couples can set up pages to raise money to visit each other or parents can raise money for their child's surgery, medical bills, and any other needs? (Who's to say which is the better cause?) Or that weddings and events have clever hashtags and geotags?

Or that faking being okay is so easy that it's scary when you can share an undated, unmarked photo of you smiling (meanwhile, you could be eating a cold pizza in bed whilst hitting "post")? Or that continents no longer feel like worlds apart when you can search for images of the food, videos of the culture, music, and history on the Internet?

What is most fantastical to me is that we can now Google Search and crowdsource our aches, pains, worries, and excitements to find answers and receive advice. Instead of turning to religious institutions for hope and solace, we turn to the Internet. Instead of turning the professionals or experts in a certain field, we turn to the Internet.

Instead of turning to friends, family, and colleagues for support, advice, and care, we turn, yet again, to the Internet. Lastly, instead of turning to schools and education for new knowledge, learning, and every curiosity, we turn to the Internet.

I posted that I found out the hard way that I am allergic to Amoxicillin and got 13 reactions and 6+ comments. Many people in solidarity who also had the same experience. Other's checking in to see if I was in the hospital.

I posted on Facebook and SnapChat:

"You know how we often want something to happen (inspired by movies, stories, idealism, fantasies, dreams), but when it does, we don't know what we would/should do?

Well, what would you do if someone you came close to loving, came to you 6 months after you were very much over and said: "You're an incredible person and I feel really bad about how things ended between us. Are you free this Monday? I'd love to take you out for drinks if you weren't too busy." (Sent over Instagram messenger)"

And got plenty of responses with everyone's opinions -- mostly from older people in my life, which made it even better and almost representative of how the world works. I say that because older people are the advisors and confidants to younger people and in this context, even in the digital age, they still are. I simply couldn't believe people took the time to read a full paragraph.

I posted a professional headshot from work and got over 120 likes because everyone seems to appreciate a well done photograph. What I actually look like when I wake up in the morning, is unlikely to surpass 10 likes.

Milestones such as new jobs, getting into college, getting engaged, getting hitched, and having a baby get a tremendous amount of attention. Asking for support before a surgery or a nerve-racking event, also gets plenty of traction.

The words, comments, likes, reactions, and messages fill us up like a balloon, but we can just as easily get deflated from the overwhelming need to keep up with social media or pop with disappointment when our pages aren't getting the attention we want them to.

The notifications and the never-ending ability to scroll through information are addictive. To feel a part of something larger than ourselves is the ultimate goal and the infinite space that is the Internet allows for that.

We now crowdsource good feelings, prayer, suggestions, support systems, encouragement, advice, and "you got this" all through a post or an image caption. Should we use the Internet as our sanctuary, community center, church, synagogue, mosque, religious establishment? Absolutely, why not?

We can always use more was to engage with the world, others, and ourselves. How we use the tools of the Internet and apps that are our disposal will define us, personally and collectively. The Internet is a great way to connect as long as we do not neglect or disregard the world outside of it. Is your Internet use effective?