Resilience in an age of screens. The challenge of online presence

Abstract

Since 2009, the World Communications Day Messages of Popes Benedict XVI and Francis have been stressing that the new evangelisation must include online evangelisation understood as Christian “witness” in the “digital Areopagus.” Such an emphasis on “witness” implies, in Pope Francis’ words, “an authentic culture of encounter” (WCD Message, 2014) where online we not only exchange information, but become “neighbours,” indeed, in the spirit of this gathering, even “brothers and sisters in the Lord.” This emphasis on personal “encounter,” and indeed a Christian “witness” of “communion” in the “digital continent,” raises a sharp paradox: can one really be “present” to another when, in fact, they are miles apart? More to the point, can we have truly human encounters and develop relationships through interaction through screens? Or is it the case, as popular opinion seems to lament, that relationships are in crisis and we need to develop a new resilience against the onslaught of screen time?