IT USED to be giving up sweets, but Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy has urged people fasting this Lent to show example to teenagers and younger children by undertaking a “digital detox” instead.
As Lent kicked off this Ash Wednesday (February 18), Bishop Leahy said that the reflection across Lent in the diocese is to be on the third of the three pillars of Lent – prayer, almsgiving, and fasting.
Bishop Leahy said that social media can have a positive influence in enabling us to connect and spread good news, however “we are more aware today of the addictive algorithmic designs in social media”.
“And we all know there are dangerous aspects and the risk of over dependence, so much so that Australia has introduced a world-first social media ban for children under 16, and so many other countries, including our own, have begun considering a similar approach.”
Bishop Leahy said that one of the worst vagaries to emerge from the digital revolution is the easy access to pornography, to an extent that it has become an addiction for many.
“Research in Ireland suggests 64 per cent of 20-year-old men use pornography, which is linked to potential addiction, lower well-being, and poorer mental health,” he said.
“With our children the most vulnerable to social media, why not take this Lent to show them example and have adults down the social media tools, while at the same time raising your voice for a ban on social media for children up to even 17 years.”