From influencers to cyborgs, Pope Francis has tech advice for young people
Vatican City, Apr 5, 2019 / 09:40 am (CNA).-
Discussing current digital trends, from “influencers” to cyborgs to
“zapping,” Pope Francis’ recent apostolic letter to young people
contains both buzzwords and moral advice for Millenial and iGen digital
natives.
“The life that Jesus gives us is a love story, a life history that wants
to blend with ours and sink roots in the soil of our own lives. That
life is not a salvation up ‘in the cloud’ and waiting to be downloaded, a
new ‘app’ to be discovered, or a technique of mental self-improvement,”
Pope Francis wrote in his apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit (Christ is Alive) published April 2.
The 50-page letter, addressed to “all Christian young people,” seeks
to address the “highly digitalized culture” that young adults are
immersed in today. This digital environment has “a profound impact on ideas of time and
space, on our self-understanding, our understanding of others and the
world, and our ability to communicate, learn, be informed and enter into
relationship with others,” the document states.
While social media can “provide an extraordinary opportunity for
dialogue, encounter and exchange between persons, as well as access to
information and knowledge,” the pope warned that “it is not healthy to
confuse communication with mere virtual contact.” He insisted that young people today must “find ways to pass from virtual contact to good and healthy communication.”
Otherwise, youth can be left feeling “rootless” living in a “virtual
world,” which can be “a world of loneliness and of self-invention,” Pope
Francis wrote. “The collapse of fundamental certainties, fostered by today’s media
culture, creates a deep sense of orphanhood to which we must respond by
creating an attractive and fraternal environment where others can live
with a sense of purpose,” he advised. Pope Francis cautioned that “online relationships can become inhuman”
because “digital spaces blind us to the vulnerability of another human
being and prevent us from our own self-reflection.” He pointed to the example of pornography, which he said distorts a young person’s perception of human sexuality.
“Technology used in this way creates a delusional parallel reality that ignores human dignity,” Francis continued. “Digital media can expose people to the risk of addiction, isolation and
gradual loss of contact with concrete reality, blocking the development
of authentic interpersonal relationships.” Pope Francis also had advice for the users of online news and social networking sites.
He said that these social media platforms create “a public square” and
can encourage “political engagement and active citizenship,”
facilitating “the circulation of independent information providing
effective protection for the most vulnerable and publicizing violations
of their rights.”However, Francis cautioned that the way that “many platforms work often
ends up favouring encounter between persons who think alike, shielding
them from debate.” “The proliferation of fake news is the expression of a culture that has
lost its sense of truth and bends the facts to suit particular
interests,” he said, which foments “prejudice and hate.” “The reputation of individuals is put in jeopardy through summary trials
conducted online. The Church and her pastors are not exempt from this
phenomenon.” Beyond social media, Pope Francis also addressed other technological developments that influence young people today.
“Advances in the sciences and in biomedical technologies have powerfully
influenced perceptions about the body, leading to the idea that it is
open to unlimited modification,” he said. “The capacity to intervene in DNA, the possibility of inserting
artificial elements into organisms (cyborgs) and the development of the
neurosciences represent a great resource, but at the same time they
raise serious anthropological and ethical questions.” Christus Vivit highlights youth as a time for discernment of
one’s vocation in the world, which requires a certain degree of
prayerful solitude and silence. Immersion in “a culture of zapping” – moving rapidly between multiple
screens or channels – can be a distraction from that essential task, the
document warns.
“We can navigate simultaneously on two or more screens and interact at
the same time with two or three virtual scenarios. Without the wisdom of
discernment, we can easily become prey to every passing trend,” Pope
Francis said. Twenty-five year old Laphidil Oppong Twumasi, one of the 36 “youth
auditors” in the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith, and
vocational discernment last October, said that she was surprised to
discover terms like “influencer” and “zapping” in an official document
of the Church. “It is easy to understand and is not lost in archaisms,” Twumasi said at
a Vatican press conference for the document’s release. “I must say
that there was an effort and a willingness to hear and to really listen
to us,” she said.
While warning of the technology’s potential pitfalls, the pope has also
embraced social media and technology himself. The pope’s Twitter handle,
@Pontifex, has 18 million followers. Pope Francis recently launched a new app, Click to Pray, which connects smartphone users with a global network to share prayer intentions.
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