By Father Joe Thannickal, sdb PhDSalesian Provincial House

52A Radhanath Choudhury RoadKolkata 700015

Cell +91 9432568388 Email jthann123@gmail.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL ISSUES

“PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL” ISSUES & SOCIAL MEDIA

➤Psycho-spiritual = involving, or relating to

the interrelation of the mind and the spirit

➤The person seen as an integral unit,

➤Catholic psychologists subscribe to the

spiritual in all of us

➤Basic Question: What psycho-spiritual

issues arise due to our use of the Social

Media?

3 PARTS to Today’s Presentation

(i) How to explain the weaknesses in the system

surrounding social media?

(ii) Conclusions from a study on pornography about its

effect on spirituality

(iii) Why some people think that Freud’s personality

theory cannot hold up in front of social media.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SOCIAL MEDIA?

➤ Any type of social interaction using technology with some

combination of words, photos, videos, and audio. It helps to

circulate and share contents like video, music and written

strings. Social networking sites actually originated in the

1990s, but only started exploding across the web in recent

years.

➤ Today wikipedia provides a list of 60+ social media networking

sites of which Facebook and Twitter are just 2.

- From J.G. Browning, The Lawyer’s Guide to Social Networking.

New Delhi South Indian Edition. 2012. p.18

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA THRIVES

➤Satisfies the human need for social connectivity and community

➤Social media today is driving changes in society:

Anonymity of agents

Richness and diversity of the data it provides

Omnipresence

Speed

Helps the Move from objectivity to subjectivity

Has the ability to combine different kinds of recorded information

in very flexible ways

Near absence of traditional methods of regulation

SOCIAL MEDIA IS A MIXED BAG

There is good and bad in it

There isn’t sufficient checks against the bad

particularly at the beginning of a Product.

They’d say on TV, 80’s and 90’s, If you don’t like it,

switch it off! But is that possible? Is that enough?

And at what cost?

Who accepts responsibility for the damage already

done before decision to switch off is made?

This is the context in which Social media made its

appearance.

MOTOROLA OPENED THE DOORS

➤ Even before the iPhone there was the historic opening of

the air waves to wireless telephony. Already in 1997 we

were beginning to use wireless phones in India.

➤ FDA finally gave approval for wireless to be mass used,

after years of pending permission. Why? Perhaps due to

intense lobbying.

WHO WAS STEVE JOBS? WHAT DID HE DO?

WHO WAS STEVE JOBS? WHAT DID HE DO?

ZUCKERBERG AND FACEBOOK

➤ Born May 14, 1984 in NY in a Reform Jewish household.

➤ He invented FB when he was 19.

➤ "Great" because it was great achievement at so young an age

➤ Otherwise ‘questionable’, because at that point he could have

been in no position to know in depth the long term impacts of

his creation.

➤ Received Times Awards as among the most influential and

powerful people.

Jan Koum, Brian Acton and Whatsapp

➤ Rags to Riches story of Jan Koum available online

➤ Whatsapp is like from What’s up?!

➤ Jan Koum immigrants from Kiev, Ukrain

➤ Got connected with Yahoo mail, dropped out of school

➤ iPhone was coming and Jan dreamt up his product

➤ Of course now, whatsapp is owned by FB and Jan is on their

board.

➤ ……..

WHATSAPP TODAY

➤ “Applications such as WhatsApp can be used to stoke and

intensify the fear of the stranger in our midst." (Dipesh

Chakrabarty, Telegraph, Kolkata, Aug 30, 2018, p14.)

➤ “A recent study conducted by Souroush Vosoughi et al at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and published in

Science, found fake news to reach more people, penetrate

deeper into social networks, and accelerate faster than truth.”

(Sanya Basu, Telegraph, Aug 30, 2018, p14.)

QUESTIONS, IS THIS OK?

➤ Is it okay that Social media devices are immensely powerful, and reach millions of users in a matter of seconds. Such reach also ensures that the consequences of a single click, whether good or bad, are multiplied enormously both ways.

➤ Is it okay that all these inventors were in their youth when they came up with their products. They could not possibly have anticipated the extent of their influence, nor could they have been conversant with the ethical and moral issues that their products would throw up in course of time.

➤ Is it okay that usually unconditional support to entrepreneurs would win out in most debates, with other issues forgotten?

➤ Is it okay to say, ‘If you don’t like it, switch it off?’ forgetting that you have to first see it, or use it to decide to switch it off or not? Who accounts for the damage during this decision period?

➤ Even in India there were ripples of this pattern of thinking right here, for example, when the Adhaar card was discussed. (explain)

SOME CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

➤ Right at the outset, we are coming up against, moral and

ethical issues.

➤ Today’s decision making is increasingly profit focussed,

and made by those whose moral compasses may be

weak, or even non-existent.

➤ When political systems join hands with, business and the

media, there is bound to be chaos, and we are nearly

there.

➤ This chaos affects both the individual and society, and

because the benefits are so attractive, every one faces the

temptation to overlook the moral and spiritual challenges

that it contains.

Recommended Videos from Youtube

1. If you use social media, you need to know the truth

2. Denzel Washington on Social Media

3. Last Words spoken by Steve Jobs before he died.

Thank you! Happy Ministry

– From Joe Thannickal, SDB PhD