A priest uses his phone to take a video of Pope Francis in Rome’s Basilica of St John Lateran. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. Technology and the Church has been a hot topic since the first iteration of the Internet boom. While many debate the problems that it is causing for people of the Catholic faith to fall back to the different evils that are readily available on the internet, others believe it is now the perfect platform to spread the Word of the Lord and to engage with the young Catholics all around the world. Pope Francis has been sceptical on the rapid growth of technology, by famously saying “technology cannot replace human contact”. What the Pope has said is true, and there is a way us Catholics can combat technology and learn to balance the usage and make most of out of it.
Free rules
This is a growing trend when it comes to balancing digital detox and increasing productivity. What does this mean though? These are personally set rules, where one can decide when to omit technology from certain tasks they do during the day. The two of the most famous ones are: watching something while eating and the second one being scrolling or using social media before sleeping.
These are famous habits that has now been an everyday norm, where people can’t go about their day or night without doing this. Setting rules to just watching a video with a certain time limit or even switching to informational content that has a set time limit is a great starting point. Another way could be watching a video for some time and then reading a book (few pages would be a great start) or even the Bible before sleeping. Artificial light can block the melatonin creation, which is a hormone that helps a person sleep better at night.
Social media is a great tool that has allowed millions of people to connect with people from far ends of the world in an instant”
The biggest excuse everyone has is that each time they scroll, better content appears, and that is exactly what these social media platforms are designed for. However, smartphone companies have a feature that allows you to control screen time on all apps that you use. This is a great feature that allows people to mindfully use their tech, knowing that there is a specific limit to this. That free time could be used to go for walks, meet friends and family, visit the local parish or even take the time to reflect and pray.
Face to face contact is essential for human life. It promotes trust and security, and this allows for a more meaningful conversation. We should always remember, never let screens control you, instead, control the screens!
Social media is a great tool that has allowed millions of people to connect with people from far ends of the world in an instant. Social media has been misused by people to spread harmful content and content that isn’t reality. This is the major flaw when it comes to social media, and all these problems lead to depression, and other mental health problems over the years. This can be eradicated with the help of following content that is catered to positive sources. Following different Catholic pages, different priests who share interesting content on faith. Unfollowing different content will make a big difference when it comes to mental health, and since social media is the main reason why someone pulls out their smartphone.
Options
Taking breaks is very important when it comes to doing anything in general. Using technology doesn’t allow you to take breaks, mainly because of work and on-screen meetings. Certain ways someone can take more regular breaks would be getting reminders from certain apps that allow you to take breaks. Putting your phone on DND (Do not Disturb) mode or even work mode makes a difference when it comes to concentration and productivity. Many people often use two devices when they are at work, this is also a bad habit. An easy solution would be to avoid putting your phone next to you, and even summarise important notifications at a certain time.
The Catholic Church can make most use of technology to teach and share different information such as bible verses or even more recently, having more content tailored to the younger generation. This not only makes the younger generation more engaged, but it also reaches to a vast audience in a matter of seconds. The Church should also, however, teach the importance of human creativity and that humans are a creation of God, and no technology, big or small, can replace what was created by Him. Learning how to balance life and technology will help anyone survive in the modern world.
Rohith Kinattukara is a Catholic student from Griffith College Dublin studying MScin Procurement and Supply Chain Management who loves to write and breathes tech.