From the danger of pornographyaccessible online from a very young age, to the need to know how the platforms on which social media run work; from the awareness of what we really do when we share content on social media to the “infamous” algorithmsset by programmers employed by the billion-dollar multinationals who manage the traffic and regulate its contents to make us, with their profilinga product, a commodity to be sold to those who specifically convey online advertising. And then again, the need to understand the rules for having an audience and the awareness that everyone, from young people who are on social media to information professionals, must learn to always be communicative, in real and virtual life, using words that open up others and defusing hostile words, those that kill more than blows, as Carolina Picchio wrote, this depends on our communication style before putting an end to it.
These are some of the themes that emerged in the round table entitled From competition to collaboration. New media as vectors of hope for young people in a conflicted world organized in the beautiful setting of the Regina degli Apostoli sanctuary in Rome, at the foot of the tomb of Blessed Giacomo Alberione, by Paolini and Paoline on the afternoon of Saturday 25 January as part of the Jubilee of Communicators, which took place in Rome from 24 to 26 January . Taking inspiration from Pope’s message for the 59th Day of Social Communications, the meeting, which had the patronage of the Dicastery for Communication of the Vatican, after the greeting of the Superior General, Don Domenico Soliman, saw the protagonists of the children of Carolina Foundation, Rondine – Citadel of peace And of the University of Rome 3who with their questions stimulated the responses of the speakers: Orsola Vetri (journalist from Christian family), Sister Bruna Fregni (General Councilor of the Daughters of Saint Paul), Ivano Zoppi (General Secretary of the Carolina Foundation), Rosario Carello (journalist for TGR Lazio), Andrea Casavecchia (associate professor of sociology in Rome 3) e Franco Vaccari (founder and president of Rondine – Cittadella della Pace).
During the meeting Ivano Zoppi has increased the dose on pornography, the contents of which are accessed by ever younger children and opening a real educational emergency in the coming years. «It’s important to know that kids are connected to social media many hours a day, but then they have little connection with themselves and others. But the first ones who have to set an example in terms of use are us adults”, he added.
Speaking of hope, the theme of the Pope’s message, Orsola Vetri he recalled the duty of a journalist to highlight the positive stories of those who have encountered difficulties or hardships, always offering solutions and reasons for hope.
Franco Vaccarigathering the experience of many years, explained that young people who arrive from war zones, after a 2-year process of purification from the internal waste they have accumulated, discover that the “enemy” is just a mental prison. «But after October 7th we experienced how social media poisoned the climate. As long as there is a low-voltage war, everything can be managed, but when war breaks out, as happened in the Middle East, the communication of pain through those means has played the role of accentuating conflicts.”
Rosario Carelloregarding the question about the role of intellectuals in generating hope or hatred, he invoked real arenas of comparison among them, while we experience every day that, with exceptions, they have preconceived positions, which respond to the polarizing logic of social media. And his social networks added: «They are based on the logic of opposition, which is why they are an arena that respond to one divisive logic. The latest data says that fewer and fewer people write on social media for this very reason.” Given that debate, even heated, is always desirable, he invoked real places of comparison. «You need to get together», he said, addressing the young people present, «it is important that you get together for a common goal, to make a complaint, to make a movement on issues that are dear to you».
Andrea Casavecchia highlighted a characteristic of the algorithm that seems to go against the trend of the conflict, but no less dangerous for this reason: «Social media makes me meet people who think like me, that’s why I can’t argue. Logic works in groups, by niches. To move towards peace, we need schools of dialogue, places where we can talk about how the conflict can be resolved.”
Sister Bruna Fregnifinally, he underlined the importance of becoming good storytellers on social media to spread hope, remedy against misinformation and therapeutic medicines for example for people who have had their privacy violated, as many testimonies from those who have done it say.
