"Are you on WhatsApp”? is an oft-heard query, today. Everyone’s on WhatsApp. I’m a WhatsApper both amazed and alarmed at our technological advances. Today, being “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day”, let’s reflect upon the information, transformation — and, deformation — that Info-Tech brings.
Recently, a topmost Christian leader was deeply shocked and saddened that a WhatsApp message allegedly sent by him — packed with lies and communal poison — was forwarded to thousands of citizens. In a jiffy, his office was flooded with phone calls: “How come you stoop so low? Why did you write such rubbish? Why create communal tension?” Calls came from TV channels: “Please apologise! Are you ready for a TV-interview?” The truth was that he never sent this message. It was sheer “fake news” to discredit him.
When receiving or sending messages on mobiles, let’s ask: Is my message true? Will it make its receivers happy? Will it build up community? If the answer is “Yes” to all three questions, send it. If not, delete it. That message has probably been sent by an idler to poison people and create conflict.
Last Sunday, Christians commemorated the “Ascension” of Jesus — remembering Christ’s return to heaven, after commissioning his disciples to proclaim the Good News of the Parenthood of God and the sisterhood/brotherhood of all peoples, worldwide. Sunday was also celebrated as ‘World Day of Social Communications’ with the theme: “The truth will set you free”—Jesus’ teaching to his disciples. On the occasion, in an Internet message, Pope Francis exhorted those committed to communications and the media to desist from peddling fake news and insist on satyagraha: adherence to truth.
Instead of being freed by truth, our Internet is full of webs that entrap us to buy more and enjoy more in the selfie mode—obsessed with pampering already inflated egos, forgetting that true communication comprises of deep communion with God, with others and with Mother Nature. Worse, our cell-phones sometimes become imprisoning ‘cells’, with wasted hours uselessly chattering or forwarding fear-inducing false messages.
Today, why not switch off your mobile to see what’s happening to you without WhatsApp? Why not review the calls made-received-missed to see whether you can do with less? Why not review the websites visited to gauge whether the information received has helped you to progress, digress, perhaps regress, from your goal?
Pope Francis suggests a prayer for today: “Lord, may my words sow seeds of goodness for the world: where there is shouting, let me practice listening; where there is confusion, let me inspire harmony; where there is exclusion, let me offer solidarity; where there is sensationalism, let me use sobriety; where there is prejudice, let me awaken trust; where there is falsehood, let me bring truth.”
Amen.
