Navigating the digital highways

How should I think about social media as a Christian?

Developing a distinctive style

How we say something is just as important as what we say. All creativity is to make sure that the how corresponds to the what. In other words: we cannot communicate the truth and the goodness without the beauty, otherwise they remain fruitless. As Christian communicators we are called to bear witness to a style of communication that is not just an individual engagement, but a way of community building and belonging.

“Social media can become an opportunity to share stories and experiences of beauty or suffering that are physically distant from us, in order to pray together and together seek out the good to rediscover what unites us.”

Being a witness

“In all that we do, by words and deeds, there should always be the signature of witness. We are not present in social media to “sell a product”; we are not advertising, but communicating life, life that was given to us in Christ. Therefore, a constant discernment of every Christian is not to proselytize, but to be a witness.”

“Telling to others the reason of our hope, and doing it with gentleness and respect, is a reflection of gratitude. It is the response of one who by gratitude is made docile to the Spirit and is therefore free. As was Mary, who without wanting or trying to, became the most influential woman in history. It is the response of one who by the grace of humility doesn’t put himself in foreground and thus facilitates the encounter with Christ who said: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart””

The “tangles” of the digital highway

Today, in an increasingly onlife reality, it is necessary to overcome an “aut-aut” logic, which thinks of human relationships in a dichotomous logic (digital vs. real-physical-in person), and assume an “et-et” logic, based on the complementarity and wholeness of human and social life.

The digital world can be an environment rich in humanity; a network not of wires but of people,” if we remember that on the other side of the screen there are no “numbers” or mere “aggregates of individuals”, but people who have stories, gazes, expectations, sufferings. A name and a face.

We are paying with minutes of our attention and bytes of our data

By trying to attribute labels and categories to people, social media platforms risk preventing them from really meeting the “other” who is different. The algorithms tend to bring those who are “sames” together, to group them, attract their attention and keep them onlined.

One significant cognitive challenge of digital culture is the loss of our ability to think deeply and purposefully because of these realities. We scan the surface and abide in the shallows, rather than thinking deeply.

How can I listen with the ear of the heart?

“Committing to a listening disposition on social media is thus a fundamental starting point for arriving at the shape of a network that is indeed not of wires but of people. In this way we move from rapid reactions, misleading assumptions, and impulsive comments to creating spaces for conversation, raising questions to learn more, extending care and compassion, and dignifying the other persons we encounter.

“Listening intentionally in the digital context calls for a listening that is with the ear of the heart. To listen with the “ear of the heart” is beyond the physical ability to receive sounds. Instead, it is a call to commit to an open disposition to the other with the whole of one’s being; an openness of the heart that makes closeness possible.”

If we still ask “who is our neighbor” it is because we still haven’t experienced that we are loved and that our life is connected to every life.

Communications as building community/ the vocation to build community

“To become a community means a free and mutual sense of participation, to become a deliberate association that gathers members based on proximity and shared identity, values, beliefs, and interests. Freedom and mutuality do not emerge automatically; in order to form community, the work of healing and reconciliation is often the first condition along the way."

“As Christian communicators we are called to bear witness to a style of communication that is not just an individual engagement, but a way of community building and belonging.”

“It is urgent to learn to act together not as separated individuals, but as community. Not so much as “individual influencers,” but as “weavers of communion”: pooling our talents and skills, sharing knowledge and contributions.”

The importance of a communicator

“Even on social media, “we have to decide whether to be Good Samaritans or indifferent bystanders.”

“​​We need to rebuild the digital spaces as well so that they will become more human and healthier environments.”

“To communicate is to receive from God’s Being and to have the same attitude; to communicate oneself. A true communicator gives everything, gives all of him or herself. We communicate with the soul and with the body; with the mind, with the heart, with the hands, with everything.”

My name is Paul. I work for the church and am frustrated frequently by the lack of support at work. I know what could be really great communications but I lack the institutional support and understanding to make it happen. I am constantly fighting a mixture of fear, lack of knowledge and lack of resources. I want to be able to communicate more effectively with leadership and I need to build a foundation for a clear argument about what communications means and what it can be. I was invited to a coffee chat about this document from the Vatican by a friend and saw it advertised in my parish, and thought the document was so helpful. I wrote down a few key points that I use in discussions with leadership and have shared the document with them. Shorter articles like that define communications and explain its good have been helpful to share and discuss with leadership.

As a catholic communications professional working for the church, I want to share the importance of communication with leadership, so that I can build more institutional support and attract more resources for creative communications. I want my professional communications to build community. 

Communications as encounter. The digital world is as “real” as the physical world.

Communication begins with connection and aims toward relationships, community, and communion. There is no communication without the truth of an encounter. To communicate is to establish relationships, it is to “be with”. It is urgent to learn to act together not as separated individuals, but as community. Not so much as “individual influencers,” but as “weavers of communion”: pooling our talents and skills, sharing knowledge and contributions.

Why we are called to communicate?

We can and should be the ones who move from understanding digital media as an individual experience to one built-on mutual encounter that fosters community building. We are called to be communicators who are intentional toward encounter. In this way, we can discover that, by seeking an encounter that is meaningful and lasting, not broad and ephemeral, by orienting digital connections toward encountering persons, forming relationships, and building community, we are actually nourishing our relationship with God. In light of the emergent challenges of digital culture and beyond, there is an urgent need to learn to act not as individuals, but as communities.

How to talk about thoughtful communications grounded in faith?

Being present on social media platforms invites discernment. Communicating well in these contexts is an exercise in prudence, and calls for prayerful consideration of how to engage with others. Approaching this question through the lens of neighborliness invites discernment around God’s presence in and through the way we relate with one another on social media platforms. Recognizing the digital neighbor is about recognizing that every person’s life concerns you, even when his or her presence (or absence) is mediated by digital means. To be neighborly on social media means being present to the stories of others, especially those who are suffering. Social media can become an opportunity to share stories and experiences of beauty or suffering that are physically distant from us, in order to pray together and together seek out the good to rediscover what unites us.

In all that we do, by words and deeds, there should always be the signature of witness. We are not present in social media to “sell a product”; we are not advertising, but communicating life, life that was given to us in Christ. Therefore, a constant discernment of every Christian is not to proselytize, but to be a witness.