It is enough to look around us to notice how technology invades our lives in all aspects: individual, family, social, practical… In fact, we are surrounded by devices of very different types and functions: from those that make household chores more important. Potential or from work to those who have a job that promotes culture or entertainment. John Paul II warned about this issue in No. 28 of his encyclical Social Wishes“Indeed, this super-development, which consists of the excessive availability of all kinds of material goods to certain social groups, easily makes people slaves of 'possession' and direct enjoyment, with no other horizon than the constant multiplication or replacement of the things of man's possession. Others are still more perfect. It is the so-called civilization of “consumption” or consumerism.
But besides the danger of consumerism, another danger can be noted, which is the real benefit of all these elements. The progress made and the benefits it brings are clear, but the distance it produces between people is also clear. It is very natural to see when traveling by public transport how a very high percentage of users are interested in their mobile phones or tablets, or also the isolation in which many young people (and not very young people) live, who are constantly paying attention to social media. networks. They say they have countless friends, but none of them get to have coffee or soda with them. Yes, personal treatment in social and family relationships is cold. This requires research and a more humane approach to technologies, a more humane education about their use, and a conviction in the enriching contribution of interpersonal relationships.
