Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’

Native American tribes sue social media giants over youth suicides

Monday, April 15th, 2024
Social media

In a bid to address the alarming rates of suicide among Native American youth, two tribal nations have taken legal action against major social media companies. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles county court, targets Meta Platforms (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram), Snap Inc. (owner of Snapchat), ByteDance (parent company of TikTok), and Read more

Adult Catholic converts cite spiritual restlessness

Thursday, April 11th, 2024
spiritual restlessness

“Spiritual restlessness” is driving adults to join the Catholic Church – according to new research findings. The Diocese of East Anglia’s New Evangelisation Commission study “Why Adults Become Catholics” found the spiritual restlessness focus was tightly targeted. Study participants report a specifically spiritual restlessness, rather than a sense of “general unease with their lives”. The Read more

Most popular priest on social media reacts to viral TikToks about God

Thursday, February 22nd, 2024

Though he all but gave up social media for Lent – or, at least, made a valiant effort to limit his usage by deleting the app on his phone – social media sensation Father Mike Schmitz wants people to know he sees tremendous value in it. “How incredible is it that we live in an Read more

Sri Lanka moots jail terms for social media misuse

Thursday, October 5th, 2023

Sri Lankan rights groups warned Monday that proposed jail terms for spreading misinformation on social media amounted to a wholesale effort to stifle criticism of the island nation’s beleaguered government. An “online safety bill” that mandates five-year prison sentences for any social media post government regulators consider to be “false” or causing offence is set Read more

Young Australian priest goes viral on social media

Thursday, August 10th, 2023
young Australian pries

A young Australian priest has made a remarkable turnaround in the digital world, from ditching his social media accounts to attracting more than a million viewers monthly with viral videos about priesthood and the Catholic faith. Fr Sam French (pictured), 30, from the Diocese of Broken Bay, NSW embarked on this journey of online ministry Read more

Bishop Steve Lowe – social media faked

Monday, July 17th, 2023
Stephen Lowe

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) warns that two social media accounts of Bishop Steve Lowe on Facebook have been faked. Lowe serves both as the Catholic Bishop of Auckland and President of the New Zealand Bishops’ Conference. The fake social media accounts impersonating Lowe have surfaced on Meta’s Facebook and Messenger platforms and, Read more

Towards a full neo-liberal presence

Thursday, June 15th, 2023

The Dicastery for Communication at the Vatican recently released Towards Full Presence, a pastoral reflection on engagement with social media. Although a Catholic can only appreciate the pastoral value of this document, its numerous insights, and biblical inputs, it is hard not to see its neo-liberal approach and question its partial way of addressing challenges raised Read more

God lover Kyle: edgy internet Catholicism

Monday, June 12th, 2023

A person named Hugo Byrnes, who goes by the online name God-lover Kyle, has become a notable advocate for Christianity in the digital world. He is the co-creator of the Instagram meme account called “I Need God In Every Moment Of My Life.” Byrnes has observed that there is growing curiosity about Catholicism and Christianity. Read more

First Social Media babies are growing up and they’re horrified

Monday, May 29th, 2023
First Social-Media Babies Are Growing Up

My baby pictures and videos are the standard compendium of embarrassment. I was photographed waddling in nothing but a diaper, filmed smearing food all over my face instead of eating it. But I’m old enough that the kompromat is safe in the confines of physical photo albums and VHS tapes in my parents’ attic. Even Read more

Nun uses Instagram to debunk myths about religious life

Thursday, May 11th, 2023

Sister Elizabete, a member of the Daughters of Mercy and residing in Fortaleza, Brazil, uses her convent’s Instagram account to dispel misconceptions about religious life. Now 26, Elizabete joined the convent at the age of 17. Her social media presence has garnered over 163,000 followers since she started posting. Her posts balance profound content with Read more