By Father Peter Choy Wai-man
At the end of last month, we joined the annual meeting organised by the Office of Social Communications of the Federation of Asian Bishop’s Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, which was attended by 16 delegates from Asian countries and territories for three days of reflection on the challenges and opportunities that the development of social media has brought to the pastoral work of the Church.
The rapid development of social media has undoubtedly created opportunities for evangelisation, but it has also brought challenges. As we travel along this “digital highway,” we can enjoy the convenience of human connection and discover many creative ways of building and sustaining community, which many churches have deeply experienced and understood, especially in the midst of the ravages of the epidemic.
However, the Church also recognises that the rapid development of social media has brought about many potential dangers. For example, on social media platforms, a person is regarded as a user, a consumer or a commodity, ignoring real encounters and exchanges between people; the establishment of groups is in fact a “stratosphere” of like-minded people or a space that encourages extreme individualism, and so on. As a result, many people are marginalised or become a victim on this digital platform. For Christians, how can we make the digital ecosystem a place of sharing, collaboration and belonging based on mutual trust?
As social media has become an increasingly important part of people’s lives, the Church should endeavour to respond by promoting a culture of “neighbourliness”. Like the Good Samaritan in the gospel, we need to recognise that the people we meet on social media are real people, our neighbours. Even in a virtual space, careful listening and patient openness can help us have a real encounter with others, instead of a mere perception of them. Our awareness of these neighbours in the digital world can begin with the realisation that their pain affects us too. Our goal is not to build connections, but to build real relationships and encounters.
Christians can bring a unique style to social media, a style of sharing that comes from Christ. He loves us and gives himself to us in word and deed. This creative style will have an impact on the Internet in a responsible way, allowing Christians to become “weavers of communion”; It is reflective, not reactive, and will actively promote human dignity; it will also help us to open our hearts and welcome our brothers and sisters.
Therefore, Christians are not present on social media to sell products or preach, but to be witnesses. They are there to witness, in their words and in their lives, to the fact that God has united us in Christ through creation. Whether Christians find themselves on social media as the victimised or as the Good Samaritan, they can meet their neighbours, their brothers and sisters. Their lives are intertwined with each other, and therefore, with the Lord. In this way, social media can also be a “sacred ground” of encounter rooted in the communion of the Trinity.
