Two reasons for this discussion: 

 

1) CMCS fosters Catholic men to live out the fundamentals of the faith - in action.

 

2) As Catholic men, we are in the front lines to reach the people that your priest does not have access to. 

 

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Following are notes from this linked article: 

 

https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/promote-christian-values-not-divisions-social-media-vatican-says

 

Promote Christian values, not divisions, on social media, Vatican says

 

Most people around the world spend time each week on at least one social media platform and the Catholic Church is called to be there with them, the Vatican said. But it also urged people to think about what they do and say on those platforms and how those platforms try to direct content to them and make money off them.

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Catholics should make an "examination of conscience" about how they use social media, how they allow it to influence them and about the opportunities it provides them to share the Gospel, build community and care for others.

 

"Unfortunately, the tendency to get carried away in heated and sometimes disrespectful discussions is common with online exchanges," .....

 

When faced with erroneous or divisive content on social media, the document said, "often the best course of action is not to react, or to react with silence so as not to dignify this false dynamic."

 

While the document argued for the need for Catholics to sometimes take a break from social media to pray, reflect and spend time with others in person, it recognized social media as a vehicle for sharing Gospel values and as daily part of life for millions of people around the world, including many people in developing nations whose only digital access is to social media. ...

 

But it also called on Catholics to be fully informed about its pitfalls and recognize that companies claim their platforms were designed "to bring the world closer together, to give everyone the power to create and share ideas, or to give everyone a voice," when, in fact, they are businesses that make money by using an individual's posts to target advertising to them and by selling their profiles and data. ....

 

.... The document quoted an adage that says, "'If you are not paying for it, you are the product.' In other words, it is not free: we are paying with minutes of our attention and bytes of our data."

 

People also must be aware,  that the history of who they follow, what they look at and what they search for feed into algorithms that increasingly narrow the posts, search results and advertising they receive.

 

....  The dicastery called on Catholics to burst those bubbles by purposefully expanding their sources of information and by trying to understand people with whom they have differences.

 

In calling Catholics to make an "examination of conscience" about their use of social media, the document said that self-examination should start with how it impacts "three vital relationships: with God, our neighbor and the environment around us."

 

With the document, the dicastery launched a website -- fullypresent.website -- where people can download the document, find a study guide to it and join a "community of faith communicators" to reflect and share best practices.

 

https://www.fullypresent.website/en.html