Influencers and authenticity
In our digital age, 'authenticity' is a valuable commodity. And that presents real opportunities and real dangers for evangelization.
Earlier this week, Pope Leo welcomed pilgrims to Rome for the “Jubilee of Catholic Digital Missionaries and Influencers.” From afar, it appears to have been a wonderful and edifying occasion. Proclaiming the Gospel in our digital age presents innumerable challenges, and the people (often young people) who take to the pixels and airwaves to share the Good News need support and guidance from the Church.
Pope St. Paul VI famously insisted that, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
Fifty years ago, in 1975, he reiterated and extended the point in his apostolic exhortation on evangelization, Evangelii nuntiandi:
“It is therefore primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world, in other words, by her living witness of fidelity to the Lord Jesus–the witness of poverty and detachment, of freedom in the face of the powers of this world, in short, the witness of sanctity.”
“Be a saint,” is surely the best advice for any would-be evangelist (and for everyone else). Admittedly, as a practical plan of life, it lacks a certain amount of detail and specificity. But it applies to every age. Even in an age such as ours, in which so much of our life is mediated through screens and it is increasingly difficult to establish genuine, authentic, human relationships.
Pope Leo made just this point in his remarks to the Influencers gathered in Rome for the Jubilee: “Science and technology influence the way we live in the world, even affecting how we understand ourselves and how we relate to God, how we relate to one another.”
Screens are a marvel, but there is simply no substitute for face-to-face, in-person interactions. It has become increasingly difficult to give an authentic witness of sanctity.
The way we use technology profoundly shapes us and changes the way we see both ourselves and the world around us. It shapes almost every aspect of our lives. “Today we are in a culture where the technological dimension is present in almost everything, “ Pope Leo said, making particular mention of artificial intelligence.
He continued: “This is a challenge that we must face: reflecting on the authenticity of our witness, on our ability to listen and speak, and on our capacity to understand and to be understood.”
In our digital age, “authenticity” has become a particularly valuable commodity. And that presents real opportunities and real dangers for evangelization.
I use the word commodity advisedly. In the digital world, certain personal qualities – or at least the ability to project certain personal qualities – take on exaggerated importance.
Attractive physical appearance has always been an important social marker; its importance becomes exaggerated online. Humor has always been an important social marker; its importance becomes exaggerated online. And so on and so forth.