SOCIAL MEDIA AND NETWORKING: ITS BENEFITS AND RISKS TO THE FILIPINO

FAMILY

INTRODUCTION

The world today sees the emergence and widening influence of social media in the life of many
people, in the way people think, behave, communicate and relate with one another. Social media
is linked to a barrage of information on wide range of topics, accessible and advanced means of
communication and information dissemination. It has far-reaching influence in the field of
education, institutions, government and politics, morality, religion, business, etc. Studies show
the increase in the number of users of this modern communication in recent years:

During the past twenty years, the Internet has generated many changes in modern
communication (Lehavot, Barnett, & Powers, 2010). In 2012, over 34.3% of the world’s
population utilized the Internet (Internet World Statistics, 2012) and a growing
proportion accesses social networking sites (SNS). In the past few years, Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Kik, have become some of the most popular
SNSs. The Internet World Statistics (2012) stated that 12.1% of the world’s population
used Facebook in 2012, which exceeded 835 million people worldwide. These sites have
created a greater access to personal information that was previously more private and
difficult to obtain (DiLillo & Gale, 2011).1

The presence of this new form of communication however has its pros and cons, particularly in
terms of building and nurturing authentic relationship and in the moral, psychological and
spiritual well-being of people. Since marriage and family is built on and characterized by
relationship, social media and networking particularly rouses concern and questions to the very
institution of marriage and family such as the following: Are the social media and networking
means of encounter and growth or means of alienation and moral degradation? Does it contribute
to man’s growth in relationship? Since man is created a social being, he seeks to communicate
and relate with others. Social media and networking offer faster and easier way but does it really
promote encounter and authentic relationship? Social media and networking provide the easier
means to promote values and teachings of the Gospel, but does it really help families be formed
in human and Christian values?

1
Kelsi Kellen, et al. Ethical Decision-Making While Using Social Networking Sites: Potential Ethical and
Clinical Implications for Marriage and Family Therapists, The American Journal of Family Theraphy, 2015, p. 67
1
The Instrumentum Laboris of the Synod of Bishops on the Pastoral Challenges of the Family in
the Context of Evangelization (nos. 68 and 69) cites media and social network as critical
situations affecting the family and as factors that contribute to the problems in relationships
within the family. It cites television, smart phones and computers as possible real impediments to
dialogue among family members, leading to a breakdown and alienation in relationships within a
family, where communication depends more and more on technology. The new means of
communication and access to the Internet can replace real family relationships with virtual ones,
leading even to disunity and breakdown of the family, and sometimes convey and offer opposing
models to the image of the family as it transmit mistaken and misleading values.

Recognizing the relevance of this issue to the family, this paper aims to discuss the risks and
benefits of media and social networking to the Filipino families today. The paper begins with a
short introduction followed by a brief presentation of social media and networking and its
contextual reality of the Philippines in relation to social media. To discover and understand how
these new media affect the individuals and the family, the scientific findings on media effects in
general and on new technology or social media in particular will be presented. To analyze this
phenomenon and its effects in the light of our faith, the Catholic Church’s view on social media
or communications, its risks and benefits will then be discussed. The pastoral implications of this
new phenomenon will serve as the conclusion.

I. Social Media and Social Networking

A. Social Media

Social Media refers to media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable
publishing techniques on the web such as feeds from blogs, status updates, wikis, discussion
2
boards and others. Social media comprises everything that has to do with the internet. It has a
large scale audience and reach and is available to users at a reasonable rate. It has a quick
interface, which updates itself within seconds and is accessed very easily as long as there is
connection. The various social media and networking sites are Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest,
Flicker, Vimeo, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Youtube, Myspace, etc. There exist several forms of

2
Jamal Cromity. The Impact of Social Media in Review, New Review of Information and Networking, pp.26-33
2
social media that are interactive, informative, educational or promotional. These are the
following:

1. Blogging – this allows users to create their own blog domains to put up self-made
information. Blogs are enhanced with capabilities like video/ photo uploads, widgets,
podcasts, streaming live radio, advertisements on products/services and so on.

2. Event Updates – this gives people an interface to buy tickets online, or travel to places to
be a part of the event. It acts as an online calendar of events for those who actively browse
the Internet to attend events.

3. Social networking – this gives people worldwide a place to put up pictures, videos and
interact with friends/ family at any time and place. This allows the users to add friends, join
groups, attend events, buy tickets, and play games, search for old school / college friends,
chat and more.

4. Email – allows users to write, store and receive messages electronically and can include
attachments of word documents, pictures, audio, and other multi-media files. It is an instant
way of keeping in touch with those who are out-of-town, and can be used to be a part of
business interactions or other communication based reasons.

5. News Updates – allows users to view latest news and stories worldwide.

6. Photo/ Video Sharing – social media offers users the venue for sharing photographs taken
from digital cameras or cellphones and upload them on websites.

7. Music and Radio – social media offers users the latest online music and provides access to
genre compiled music collection that can also be downloaded/
3
8. Gaming – social media also provides free access to latest games.

B. Social Networks

Social Networks are social communities of the web, connected via electronic mail, websites, web
blogs and networking applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Lotus Quickr or LinkedIn. 4 It has
been referred to as a web-based service that allows individuals to build a public or semi-public
profile within a larger website; users are able to share their profile which includes a presentation
of their personal information (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). SNS are utilized by individuals of all ages.

3
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-forms-of-social-media.html
4
Bahire Efe Ozad and Gulen Uygarer, Attachment Needs and Social Networking Sites, Social Behavior and
Personality, 2014 42 (Suppl.) S43-S52, pp. 43-52
3
SNS allow individuals to stay connected to friends, families and colleagues. It is also a venue for
self-disclosure, of sharing personal information by posting and tweeting. 5

Below are some of the social networks:

Blogs (a sampling of popular blog services includes www.typepad.com, www.wordpress.com,

www.blogger.com, and www.livejournal.com) are a form of online journal. A blog can have a
single author or several. Most blogs allow readers to post comments in response to an article or
post, but some do not.

Bloglines (www.bloglines.com) is an RSS reader, or a service that collects updates from your
favorite blogs so you can read them in one place.

Facebook (www.facebook.com) is a social networking site where users can set up a profile,
create formal connections to people they know, communicate, and share preferences and
interests. Facebook’s fastest-growing demographic is users over 25.

Flickr (www.flickr.com) is an online photo site. Users upload photos; public photos may be
viewed and commented on by others.

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) is a social networking site where users can set up a profile, create
formal connections to people they know, communicate, and share preferences and interests.

MySpace (www.myspace.com) is a social networking site where users can set up a profile, create
formal connections to people they know, communicate, and share preferences and interests.

Skype (www.skype.com) is an Internet calling service that enables two-party audio and video
chat and multi-party audioconferencing. Skype can make computer-to-computer calls as well as
computer-to-phone calls (land- or mobile phones).

Twitter (www.twitter.com) is a cross between instant messaging and blogging that allows a user
to send a short (140-character) update. Users can also follow the updates of selected friends.

World of Warcraft (www.worldofwarcraft.com) is a massively multiplayer online game created

by Blizzard Entertainment. The game takes place in a 3-D virtual world; players interact with
hundreds of other players in both cooperative and combative situations.

Yahoo! Voice (voice.yahoo.com) is an Internet calling service offered by Yahoo! Features

includes the ability to assign a phone number to your computer so that it can be called from land-
and mobile lines; computer-to-computer calls from within Yahoo! Messenger; and computer-to-
phone calls.

5
Kelsi Kellen, et al. Ethical Decision-Making While Using Social Networking Sites: Potential Ethical and
Clinical Implications for Marriage and Family Therapists, The American Journal of Family Theraphy, 2015, p. 67-83
4
YouTube (www.youtube.com) is an online video site owned by Google, Inc. Videos are uploaded
by users and can be viewed free. Users can leave comments on video pages.

(Source: Social Networking, the “Third Place,” and the Evolution of Communication, 2007, The
New Media Consortium)

II. The Filipinos and Social Networking

Social media has made unprecedented advances even in developing countries like the
Philippines. Nowadays, even children and young people own a cellular phone or gadgets that
make communication and access to a wide range of information faster and easier. The
Philippines is experiencing along with other countries, the so-called “social-media explosion”. A
study conducted by Demographic Research and Development Foundation (DRDF) and the
University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) in 2014 with respondents from the
Philippines shows the following results with regards to the exposure of young people (15-24
years old) in the Philippines to media and social network:

Average number of hours spent in the internet 6 hours

Youth who use the internet 58.9 %

Youth who have social networking account 53.2 %

Youth who own cellular phone 78.3

Youth who watched TV regularly 91.3 %

Youth who have e-mail account 51.9 %

Youth who have personal blog 1.9 %

The Philippines has also been named as the social networking capital in the world. The number
of Filipinos who uses social media is increasing every year. As of 2011, 29.2 % of the total
Philippine population are internet users. Filipinos are active in the online world through various
social media platforms such as facebook, twitter, youtube, blogs and web searches. 6

“Social network penetration is incredibly high in the Philippines, reaching 95%.

Facebook is the country’s most popular website, more so than Google, and has a
6
http://techbullets.blogspot.com/2012/04/infographic-social-media-usage-in_27.html
5
 penetration rate of 93.9%. The Philippines is also the eighth most popular country for
Twitter use on a global scale, with a penetration rate of 16.1%. The popularity of photo
sharing has increased by 46% in the country in one year, largely due to Facebook. Social
networking is so popular among Filipinos, the country has been nicknamed “The Social
Networking Capital of the World.”7

III. SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS ON THE EFFECTS OF MEDIA

In examining the media effects, the research made use of self-report data from subjects in the
United States. Although the context is different, the elements discussed remains to be relevant
and applicable because the Philippines is also experiencing the same revolution/phenomenon in
the means of communication and in social media.

It is claimed that the time spent with mass media has consequences not only to the health of an
individual but also to relationships. A study made by Kaiser Family foundation notes that young
people nowadays spend considerable time with media such as computer and television. The time
spent with media displaces time that could have been spent for more worthwhile activities
especially to activities that require social interaction. According to a psychologist named David
Myers, the decline in close (interpersonal) connections between people causes a number of
disturbing social trends such as decline in marriage, reduction of social networks, the increase in
individualism, a decline in civility and etc.

In the area of human sexuality, researches provided evidence that media messages about sex
were an important source of information for the children. Sexual material or content has the
capacity to induce elevated levels of physiological and sexual arousal. A study made by Rebecca
Collins and her colleagues found a correlation between exposure to sexual content in media and
sexual activities. The respondents who had reported the highest viewing levels of sexual content
were also the ones who were most likely to report that they had initiated an instance of sexual
intercourse.

Media’s persuasive effect is also worth considering since it has repercussions on the formation of
values and culture of the people. This persuasive effect of media has three dimensions: change of

7
http://asiancorrespondent.com/54475/philippines-named-the-social-networking-capital-of-the-world-indonesia-
malaysia-amongst-top-10/
6
attitude, of behaviour and of persistent behaviour. George Gerbner speaks of this effect of media
in cultivating or changing attitude in this way:

The repetitive “lessons” we learn from television, beginning with infancy, are likely to
become the basis for a broader world view, making television a significant source of
general values, ideologies, and perspectives as well as specific assumptions, beliefs,
images...

L.J Shrum, a scholar, tried to find out how cultivation of attitudes works and his quest led him to
the accessibility principle. This principle states that people tend to rely on the most accessible
information. This most accessible information comes from media. Another scholar, Bradley
Greenberg proposed the drench hypothesis. According to him, critical images which are the ones
that stand out, deviant, intense overwhelm the stereotypical one. Whatever is the theory behind
this, what is relevant in this study is the recognition that exposure to media can shape our values
and attitudes due to some factors such as the influence of the source, imitation of the celebrities
and powerful figures shown and repetition.

IV. SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS ON THE EFFECTS OF NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES

The new media technologies that emerge today have pervasive effect in the way we behave in
many areas. Many mundane tasks and activities can now be accomplished online such as
shopping, entrepreneurship, reading and updating news, initiating friendship, communicating,
playing, etc. Because of the tremendous growth and the rapid pace of development in this area,
studies have already been made on its effects. One of these studies is the Carnegie Mellon Study,
led by Robert Kraut of the Human Computer Interaction Institute. The researchers found that
although the people used the internet to engage in communication with others, they also found
evidence that its use is associated with a general decline in communication with family members
who lived in the household. Moreover, those who used the internet more frequently tended to
report that the number of people in their social circle declined over the years of the study.
Internet users also tended to report greater level of depression and feelings of loneliness. The
possible reasons given were the activity displacement effect and the other is that the Internet
displaces strong social ties. Activity displacement effect pertains to the effect of being hooked up
to the internet, thus reducing the time spent for sharing and communication and increasing the
time spent in isolation from others. Another possible could be that when people go online, they
7
often end up talking to people in the chat rooms and even occasionally make new friends but
overall, the kinds of relationship formed online tend to be more superficial and are characterized
by weaker ties that the relationship that people tend to have with family members and significant
others who appears in one’s life on a face-to-face basis. The use of Internet in building
relationship could deprive the people of the richness of the deeper, strong ties with family and
friends in favour of relationships that are not as deep or involving. The study also proposes that
online relationships don’t tend to encourage the kind of mutual help and service that characterize
most close friendships. 8

V. RISKS AND BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO THE FAMILY

In this age of social media explosion; social networking brings in both benefits and risks to the
family. Social media makes communication easier and faster between family members, thus
facilitating greater connection.

“Research supports the theoretical notion that family media use is associated with family
connectedness. Families who are well connected feel close to one another, rely on one
another and see each other as friendly and approachable. Accordingly in this study,
connectedness is defined as a close, warm, loving, positive relationship between parents
and children. Media use can potentially foster family connectedness through promoting
communication and togetherness.”

Social media also offers the possibility for connectivity and enhancing relationships. Social
media promotes connectivity between family members as they share new experiences with the
other members who are away or separated from them. It can also enhance relationship when used
properly. Some research has indicated that social media can add intensity and immediacy to face-
to-face relationships. Social media will help the family grow in intimacy when it is used to
maintain a connection among them. This nurtures the bond of relationship between them as
he/she keeps her loved one posted on his/her activities and whereabouts. Social connection with
friends can also contribute in safeguarding the fidelity of spouses to their marriage vows. It can
also help in knowing and linking the couples to other couples to whom they share common
interest and so form fellowship groups, organize events that can strengthen their sense of unity

8
Sparks, Glenn G. Media Effects Research, A Basic Overview, 2013
8
with others. With tons of information offered in the internet on any topic or areas, social media
also facilitates learning and grants learning opportunities. In the area of relationship, this helps
them connect with their peers and relatives and even to their parents if they live in another area.

“The report found that social media encourage kids to connect with each other and to
express their creativity. They also provide an opportunity for learning, and are a way for
teens to access health information. And, kids that have chronic illnesses can find others
with their condition and get support they might not otherwise have access to.”9

On the other hand, when social media and networking is abused or not properly used, it poses
threat and risk to their relationship. In building up authentic relationship within the family, in
fostering communion among its members, the role of communication and sharing is of utmost
importance. Only these can help couples know and love each other more deeply and intimately.
“Communication for intimacy requires more than just being together for such togetherness does
not necessarily spell communication...”

However, social media can hinder such communication especially when members are actively
engaged in their virtual world or are so taken up by the diversions and entertainment offered by
social media and the exciting relationship and events that they bring. Family members may lose
that precious time of strengthening a personal and authentic encounter and relationship with each
other.

“An intense four-year video study of thirty dual-earner families with children provides a
glimpse of the role of technology in modern family life. When the working spouse,
usually the father, came through the door at the end of the day, the other spouse and
children were often so absorbed in what they were doing that they greeted him only about
one-third of the time, usually with a perfunctory “hi.” About half the time, children
ignored him and continued multitasking and monitoring their various electronic gadgets.
Parents had a hard time penetrating their children’s world and often retreated. Electronic
multitasking has become pervasive, sometimes at the expense of face-to-face family
interaction, among siblings as well as with parents.”10

Through social media, one can create a virtual reality that can alienate him or her from the
family. The so-called virtual reality is “another world or reality” that does not really exist but in

9
Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD et al, Children, Adolescent and the Media
10
Kaveri Subrahmanyam; Patricia Greenfield, Online Communication and Adult Relationships, The Future of
Children, Spring 2008, Vol. 18, No. 1, p. 17
9
it, the person slips into a different psychological zone. The person behaves in a different way in
this virtual reality such as becoming persons with less inhibition, living in a fantasy world,
disregarding manners and appropriate boundaries and changing standards of privacy. This
situation poses a danger to familial relationship which is supposed to be one of mutual love,
unity and intimacy.11

Although social media and networking enables parents (SNS users) to maintain connection with
their children, it can also endanger or create a gap in parent-child relationship particularly when
SNSs is abused.

“Social networking site use further complicates parent–child relationships during

adolescence (Mesch 2003, 2006; Subrahmanyam and Greenfield 2008; Punamaki et al.
2009). As adolescents’ preoccupation with SNSs potentially takes priority over and
interferes with everyday family activities, SNS use among adolescents has been linked
with greater parent–youth conflict (Subrahmanyam and Greenfield 2008; Mesch 2006)
and less time with parents (Lee 2009). Although some parents are unaware of what their
teens are posting online, other parents utilize SNSs to maintain greater contact with their
teens, requiring them to be connected to them through their SNS of choice (Kanter et
al.2012). It is worth noting that changes in the parent–child relationship associated with
SNSs are likely to influence peer relations and vice versa.”12

Other hazards include pornography, cyber-bullying, setxing, facebook depression and internet
addiction, all of which are threat to the well-being of the children but to their relationship with
their family as well. Internet is easily accessible to the young who are technologically adept
than their parents. Videos and images of sexually-explicit content can easily be accessed by
unsupervised children and young people. Cyber-bullying is deliberately using digital media to
communicate false, embarrassing or hostile information about another person. Internet
addiction takes away the time that is supposedly spent in learning and in nurturing real and
personal relationship with one’s peers and his or her family. Sexting is defined as the sending,
receiving or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or images via cellphone,
computer or other digital devices. Facebook depression is defined as depression that develops
when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook,
and then begin to exhibit classic symptom of depression. Those who suffer from this are at risk
11
Focus on the Family, Marriage and Social Media: Risks, Benefits and Best Practices, USA
12
Lauren A. Spies Shapiro, Gayla Margolin, Growing Up Wired: Social Networking Sites and Adolescent
Psychosocial Development, Clinical Child Family Psychology Review (2014) 17:1–18
10
for social isolation and sometimes turn to risky internet sites and blogs for help that may
promote substance abuse, unsafe sexual practices, or aggressive or self-destructive
behaviours.13

Aside from its risks to relationship, recent studies also show the impact of the abuse or misuse
of social media and networking to young people who are in the early stages of sexual
awakening. In the Philippines, the following results of a research conducted by DRDF and
UPPI showed the role of social media in forming the consciousness of the young people with
regards to sexuality: Youth who visited websites with sexually explicit content – 15.5 %, Youth
who have sent or received sex-videos through cellphones or internet – 22.2 %. The internet is
the source of information about sex of 42.6 % of young people in the Philippines.
Based on the findings of the research they have conducted, they concluded that there is a
heightened, bolder, and wider range of sexual behaviors among the youth including those that
use new forms of information and communication technology (ICT) and that these new
technologies have given rise to new forms of sexual activity and new means of meeting sexual
partners that could increase the risk of adverse consequences, especially under a context of low
prevalence in the use of protection
Other researches also show that social media play an important role in the formation of young
people nowadays and when they are left alone to explore them, their growth and maturity as
persons and Christians may be adversely affected.

“Research also suggests that anonymous online contexts provide a forum for sexual
exploration...Studies have found that inadvertent exposure to social media in childhood
and adolescence often has negative emotional effects, such as shock, disgust or
embarrassment, and that these effects can be enduring. Online forums may also provide
sexual minority adolescents with a safe haven for sexual exploration without the prejudice
and harassment that gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents sometimes face at the hands of
peers and adults. Online contact with strangers also put adolescents at risk for sexual
solicitation and sexual exploitation by predators...”14

IV. CATHOLIC TEACHING ON MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

13
Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD et al, Children, Adolescent and the Media
14
Kaveri Subrahmanyam; Patricia Greenfield, Online Communication and Adult Relationships, The Future of
Children, Spring 2008, Vol. 18, No. 1
11
In creating man and woman, God instituted the human family and endowed it with its
fundamental constitution (CCC 2203). The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and
realization of ecclesial communion, and for this reason, it can and should be called a domestic
Church (FC 21). It is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father
and the Son in the Holy Spirit (CCC 2205). Familiaris Consortio # 17-18 states that in God’s
plan, family has been established as an “intimate community of life and love.” The family, which
is founded and given life by love, is a community of persons: of husband and wife, of parents
and children, of relatives. Its first task is to live with fidelity the reality of communion in a
constant effort to develop an authentic community of persons. The family is called to build
communion among its members and in the society.

For the family to be an intimate community of life and love, it must be a place of intimate
relationship nurtured by personal communication and interaction. In this age, this task of the
family is threatened by the emergence of different forms of media as what had been discussed
above. Reading the signs of the times, the Church recognizes the transforming power of media
and its impact in the family. St. John Paul II cites the marvellous opportunities it offers: “As a
result, they enjoy virtually unlimited opportunities for information, education, cultural
expansion, and even spiritual growth - opportunities that far exceed those available to most
families in earlier times” (Mass Media in the Family, 2). Alongside the opportunities or possible
benefits mass media can bring, the Church also sees its grave dangers for the families. Again, St.
John Paul II warned against the media, stating that they have the capacity to do grave harm to
families. Mass media tends to absorb the interest of the users and to create psychological
dependence, stealing away the time from other important activities, interpersonal relationships,
work and prayer. The too frequent contacts through media messages create superficial relations
with others, sometimes deceptive, and can hide fears and solitude. The estrangement of reality
reach many users to the experience of the so-called second life, a virtual life in a virtual ambient,
15
where one enters with a fictitious identity. The family is the first school of humanity where the
parents are the first and foremost educators of the child (GS # 52). It is also a place where the
young are formed to become truly human and authentically Christian. The human and Christian

15
See Pontifical Council for the Family, The Mass Media: a Gift and a Responsibility for all, a Commitment for the
Families
12
values, which are necessary in building a better world and in becoming authentic Christians and
members of the Church, are passed on by parents to their children within the family.

The married couples have the responsibility for ensuring that their children properly receive
human and Christian instruction or formation. Since parents have conferred life on their children,
parents have the original, primary and inalienable right to educate them; hence they... have the
right to educate their children in conformity with their moral and religious convictions, taking
into account the cultural traditions of the family which favour the good and the dignity of the
child...”16 With unbridled access to information and communication in the social media, the
education of the children are either jeopardized by contradictory values which social media
sometimes promote or propagate. Again, the Pontifical Council for the Family, in discussing
Mass Media, mentioned some of the grave dangers for families. Religious and Ethical themes are
treated through debates among many opinions in contrast with each other and that follow each
other in rapid succession, or through opinion surveys, soliciting some opinions that are
sometimes superficial or incompetent. In media, success, power, wealth, health, power, physical
beauty, pleasure, transgression, violence are exalted and this has serious repercussions on the
moral degradation of society. The values of the secularized consumer oriented society replace
traditional values. St. John Paul II observed that: “Infidelity, sexual activity outside of marriage,
and the absence of a moral and spiritual vision of the marriage covenant are depicted uncritically,
while positive support is at times given to divorce, contraception, abortion and homosexuality.
Such portrayals by promoting causes inimical to marriage and the family, are detrimental to the
common good of the society.”

Another important field of the education and formation of children is that of sex education. Since
children can have access even to sites with sexually explicit content, parents must not neglect
their task of educating their children in sexuality and chastity. “Sex education, which is a basic
right and duty of parents, must always be carried out under their attentive guidance, whether at
hose or in educational centres chosen and controlled by them...Faced with a culture that largely
reduces human sexuality to the level of something commonplace, since it interprets and lives it in
a reductive and impoverished way by linking it solely with the body and with selfish pleasure,
the educational service of parents must aim firmly at a training in the area of sex that is truly and

16
Charter of the Rights of the Family
13
fully personal: for sexuality is an enrichment of the whole person - body, emotions and souls -
and it manifests its inmost meaning in leading the person to the gift of self in love. 17

V. PASTORAL IMPLICATIONS

To deal with the dangers and threats posed by social media to the families, all members of the
Church must take their part in safeguarding the value and dignity of marriage and family.
Parents, first of all, have the mission of educating themselves and their children in the correct use
of mass media. St. John Paul II said: “Parents also need to regulate the use of media in the home.
This would include planning and scheduling media use, strictly limiting the time children devote
to media, making entertainment a family experience, putting some media entirely off limits and
periodically excluding all of them for the sake of other family activities.” The Pontifical Council
for the Family, in 2008, listed some indication and recommendations for the use of mass media:

“...a. Establish a sober use of TV and Internet and propose alternative activities, taking into
consideration that children normally prefer playing and working; b. Limit the time of the
use of cellular phone through economic control, or rather, normally not give cellular
phones to children until they reach approximately ten years; c. Install the TV and computer
only in common rooms that are frequented; d. Evaluate and select ahead television
programs and use a program filter for Internet, motivating and presenting the advantages; e.
Encourage the attention and the access to Catholic inspired media; f. Re-elaborate in family
dialogue the programs viewed, confronting them with the ideals of the family.... Ecclesial
communities can intervene and help families in different ways either directly or indirectly:
a. They can organize family meetings to enjoy together and discuss some media programs
for the purpose of formation; b. They can insert education to the use of communications
media in the marriage preparation courses; c. They can encourage and stimulate the
adhesion of families to family associations; d. They can spread the use of Catholic inspired
media; e. They can contribute in preparing for the media new professionals, orientating
towards them some youth particularly suited with human qualities and seriousness of
Christian life; f. They can provide themselves with a specific ministerial figure, the
promoter of social communications.” 18

CONCLUSION:

17
The Pontifical Council for the Family, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality
18
Ibid
14
The growth of the family is a responsibility not only of its members and of the society but of the
Church as well. Since, social media permeates the life of many Filipino families, the Church
must find the way in order that these may not be means of alienation and moral and spiritual
degradation but rather be means of growth in relationship, in encountering and being in solidarity
with people, in the growth in Christian values and sense of mission. In adherence to what the
Second Plenary Council of the Philippines proposes concerning the effects of mass media, we
must altogether work for a systematic campaign to Christianize media in order to protect family
from broken relationship and to protect our children, the future of the Church and the society,
from the brainwashing effect of media, programming and advertising.19

19
See Delos Reyes, Antonio Bayan. Family, the Heart of Church’s Renewal
15