October 8, 2021: Our love/hate relationship with the 'gram
It's a digital world and we're just living in it
Have you ever given up social media for Lent? We've heard it's one of the most common things for people to fast from each year.
Lent came early this year
On Monday, you probably noticed Instagram and Facebook were OOO.
We couldn’t help but cringe every time we opened the app throughout the day, only to realize our favorite little dopamine hit wasn’t available. It was a good exercise in self-awareness, though! And a reminder of why people use Lent to curb their social media habits and focus more on real life.
Even though it’s “just an app” there was still a sense of something missing and with Facebook and Instagram, many users flocked to Twitter and TikTok to fill their social media cup instead.
Maybe we would be better off without Facebook
Frances Haugen, a former data scientist at Facebook, was described as the company's "worst nightmare" as she brought some of the company's controversies to light on Capitol Hill this week.
She confirmed what a lot of us feared about the tech giant: that they are aware of the harmful side of social media — especially for young women on Instagram — and they still go after young users to get them hooked on the platform.
But it's not all bad
It's important to remember that social media is a tool that serves us. We’re called to be a force for good in the world — and that includes the digital world, too.
Pope Benedict XVI wrote how the popularity of social media is a response to the "fundamental desire of people to communicate and to relate to each other. This desire for communication and friendship is rooted in our very nature as human beings and cannot be adequately understood as a response to technical innovations." And he expressed that the "digital continent" brings both new gifts and new responsibilities.
We definitely feel that, as we've been so lucky to use FemCatholic’s digital channels to build a community of thousands of incredible Catholic women!
Here are a few other top picks for the week...
READ: Teen surfer rescues 3 men caught in a rip current at Jersey Shore
We were super inspired by the story of Kayla Smith,16-year-old heroine of the week!
WATCH: Cultivating Leisure During Quarantine
In this talk, Simone Rizkallah discusses the difference between leisure and relaxation, and practical tips for creating more space for leisure in your life.
FOLLOW: @Real_Plus_True
Speaking of using digital media for good, this project is on a mission to share the Catechism in the modern world with captivating and relevant video content.