My 15-year-old recently came to me, looking concerned, and said, “Mom, I can’t tell which side is good and which one is bad. Everyone is saying that Republicans are racist.”
This past summer, my husband and I decided to let our son have social media for the first time. This was a decision we did not take lightly and one that came with lots of conversations between us and him about our reasons for withholding it for as long as we did.
This is not a story about the appropriate age for kids to have phones or social media, and it is certainly not about my opinion on that topic, either. It’s also not about my political views.
I remember being my son’s age when I started to ask questions about religious beliefs and political views.
At the ripe age of fifteen, the norms, beliefs, and values with which we raise our children are present but not fully formed. This is the age when peers' and society's opinions begin to come into view. This is where the tough questions start to emerge.
Before social media, these questions may have come up at school or in the locker room. But now our kids are exposed to every opinion and emotion under the sun daily through social media.
Growing up, my outlook on life and the world was rooted in my Catholic faith and values, and still is. My parents helped form my opinions through how they raised me, how we spent our time, and the conversations we had around the dinner table.
Today, as my husband and I raise our family, it looks a lot like my own upbringing.
Except for one thing: social media. What’s new is the rapid rate at which information is shared – both true and false.
It’s like the game of telephone. You remember the popular party game where you whisper a phrase from person to person, and the last person to get the message says it aloud. The humor is that the original phrase is altered by the time it reaches the last person due to misinterpretations along the way.
It’s similar to how news is shared via social media today. Except it’s not a game.
Add in emotional language from social media users, and you’ve got a real-life version of the game of telephone.
The danger in the real-life version is that certain groups and individuals are often wrongly vilified. Even more dangerous is that this type of information sharing is how many people form their opinions.
This happens on both sides of the political spectrum.
Scripture tells us to seek the truth always. The Lord instructs us to speak the truth in love (1 Corinthians 13).
As Catholics, we know that God is the ultimate source of Truth. So, we turn to His Word to instruct us in all truth.
The Church lays out an entire section in the Catechism dedicated to instructing the faithful in how to use the media (CCC 2493-2496).
“The information provided by the media is at the service of the common good. Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice, and solidarity:
The proper exercise of this right demands that the content of the communication be true and–within the limits set by justice and charity–complete. Further, it should be communicated honestly and properly. This means that in the gathering and in the publication of the news, the moral law and the legitimate rights and dignity of man should be upheld” (CCC 2494).
But how can we discern what we see online as either true or false?
The fact is, to do this, we must turn down the emotional temperature in the proverbial room. We must seek out the full context of quotes, news stories, public policy, and current events.
Our future depends on it. Our peace depends on it.
My response to my son was simple: don’t get overwhelmed by the fighting and name-calling that you see online. It’s nothing new. Instead, study your faith, study history, and come to us with your questions.
But above all else, love your neighbor and always seek the truth.
Your faith will shape your values, and your values will form your political opinions, and both should be God-honoring.
