Vatican challenges youth to use social media to create new Renaissance

From Catholic News Agency 

The Secretary of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council on Social Communications says he wants to challenge young Catholics to “be geniuses and creators of a new Renaissance” using social media.

Monsignor Paul Tighe likened the blossoming of social media to the ancient architectural wonders created during the first Renaissance. “The magnificent churches of Rome were built during the first Renaissance using the new technology, art and engineering of the time. Young people can now do the same today using the wonderful new technologies at their disposal including new media,” he said in an April 15 interview with CNA.

The pontifical council Msgr. Tighe works for was established in 1948 by Pope Pius XII primarily to monitor and critique the film industry. Since then its work has expanded as modern forms of communications have proliferated. Presently the Council is helping to overhaul the Vatican’s presence on the Internet, bringing all the Church’s major news agencies together onto one website. That includes the newspaper “L’Osservatore Romano,” Vatican Radio and Fides news agency.

Msgr. Tighe now wants young Catholics to realize the potential of this digital age.

“The first thing is that for young people ‘new media’ isn’t actually new. It’s just everyday life to them. So I want them to have a sense of how things were before and how exciting this digital age actually is. It has big potential,” he said.

He also noted that the social media can be used to draw people to Christ. “It’s interesting how the new technologies are being used by young people as a way of seeking friendship with others. That’s not just a cultural phenomenon. It’s actually in our nature – made in the image and likeness of God - to seek friendship. I’d hope young people can then open up to that ultimate other, God, through the same means.”

Msgr. Tighe pointed to websites such as “Sacred Space” which, he says, provide online “silence and solitude” for anybody seeking God.

Meanwhile, the project to bring all the Vatican’s media outlets onto one website should be complete by Easter Sunday this year.

Is Social Media A Fad? Not

1) Over 50% of the world is under the age of 30. i.e. What the young people in the Church are doing, how they are communicating, how well we are catechized and how authentic our lives are…matters…a lot.

2) iPod/iPhone applications hit 1 billion downloads in 9 months. How many of them were Catholic apps?  How many were made by Catholics? How many were actually good? Also - I’d love to see some creative and entertaining Catholic apps made by Catholics come out. Not just ones with lists of prayers (those are good, too, though).

3) If Facebook were a country, it would now be the 3rd largest. A few months ago it was only the fourth largest. It’s a mission field like no other.

4) 24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation. What are our Catholic publications learning from them?

5) The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 yr old females. I thought this was one of the most interesting stats. While Facebook and other social media platforms are currently dominated by younger people, that is quickly changing.

6) Britney Spears has more twitter followers than the entire population of Israel, Ireland, Norway or Sweden. How many spiritual leaders or positive role models get this kind of attention? Sad. But also an opportunity.

7) YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. How many Catholic videos are on there?  How many have been viewed more than 18 times? How many are well-done and a good representation of our Catholic faith?

8) People care more about what social networks say about things than how Google ranks them. First, we are terrible in our Google rankings to begin with (which means we are way behind because it is very important also). Second, is your parish/organization/business/diocese/Catholic faith present on social media? Are you involved in a conversation there? This is where people are forming feelings and perceptions about the Catholic faith, about your diocese and about your parish.

9) People (still) trust peer recommendations far more than advertisements. How many people in your community are saying good things about your parish/organization? How many would recommend it? Or invite others to it? It is no longer enough to simply put your parish in the phone book or list your mass times on a website.

10) We no longer search for the news, the news finds us. We will no longer search for services, they will find us…via social media. Is your parish going out and finding people? Is it making itself available and present in the places people are communicating?  Or is it just sitting around waiting for people to show up?

11) Successful companies in social media…listen first, sell second. Is your parish listening to its parishioners? Or just talking (if even that)? Good relationships involve two-way communication.

12) Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate. Decades from now (if not already) we will look back on this time as just that, a fundamental shift in the way information is shared and communities are nurtured. Will the Catholic Church be one of the shining examples of success? Or one of the laggers-behind?