Britain’s Chief Rabbi has warned that the UK is in danger of falling prey to an addiction to social media at the expense of real human relationships. Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the ancient Jewish principle of observing the Sabbath or a day of rest is an “antidote” to such an addiction. The orthodox Jewish interpretation Read more
Couples who delete each other on Facebook are more likely to stay together, according to relationship expert Ian Kerner. The New York-based therapist claims that unfriending your significant other on social media can put the spark back into a relationship. Even better, he says, people should delete their Facebook accounts entirely to free up more Read more
Back in 2009, conservative theologian John Piper seemed to be criticising people for wasting time on social media when they should have been praying instead. It is ironic that he decided to use social media to say this. Sadly, Piper’s approach is echoed by most Christian commentary on the subject. Almost every Christian book I Read more
The priest believed to be the second most followed Catholic leader on social media has been appointed as an auxiliary bishop. Pope Francis has appointed Fr Robert Barron as one of three new auxiliary bishops of Los Angeles. Bishop-elect Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, host of the award-winning “Catholicism” film Read more
I was browsing my Facebook feed, enjoying pictures of my friends’ kids, dogs, and vacations. And that’s when I saw it: a close-up picture of a child’s portable potty. The pint-size throne was bright red, plastic, and – how to put this delicately? – filled with tangible results. “First time in the potty!” crowed the Read more
The reaction to a chance photo of a Filipino boy studying on the street by the light of a McDonald’s restaurant has shown the power of social media. Daniel Cabrera, 9, was photographed doing his homework outside a McDonald’s outlet in Mandaue City, Cebu, by medical technology student Joyce Torrefran. There is no lamp in Read more
I saw it all in my newsfeed this week: a former roommate gave birth (to twins!), a friend raised money to rebuild his home after a fire, a grad school professor started chemotherapy for lymphoma and his digital support group, “#downwithlumpy,” went viral. I liked, donated, tweeted, commented and prayed over those updates. I witnessed Read more
My mum had superhuman powers when I was a kid. When I was about eight, a friend and I would play spies on our council estate. We’d use the poorly designed walkways as our lookout posts, and the labyrinth of corridors were the motorways for our high-speed chases. The fun we were having was obviously Read more
An Irish priest has taken a selfie in the pulpit and is using the image to spread the Gospel through social media. Fr Gabriel Egan took the selfie standing in the pulpit at the Redemptorist church at Mount St Alphonsus in Ireland during a solemn Novena. It has been seen by more than 200,000 people, Read more