WHETHER it is Facebook and Instagram, or Fortnite, constant emails and the reliance on smartphones, digital technology has changed our lives – for better and worse.
Digital is also embedded in our family lives, and the programme for the World Meeting of Families is seeking to help equip people to meet the challenges.
“We are living in an age of digital disturbance and one of the major themes we will be reflecting on at the World Meeting of Families will be the impact of technology on family life,” the programme organisers say, ahead of the global event being hosted in Dublin next month.
The all-pervasive nature of digital technology can leave us feeling overwhelmed and unsure of our bearings; in his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis said: “In our own day, dominated by stress and rapid technological advances, one of the most important tasks of families is to provide an education in hope.”
World Meeting Of Families sessions on technology include:
Wednesday August 22: Dignity and Safety in a Digital Age – facing a new challenge for families.
Thursday August 23: What should we be saying to young people about sex, love and the social media?
Friday August 24: Glued to our Phones: can technology become more family friendly?
Friday August 24: The family that prays together: finding time for prayer in a digital age.
Friday August 24: Teen Fest programme – Families Living in a Digital Age.
n More information on the World Meeting of Families 2018 at www.worldmeeting2018.ie
