By Dan Russo
Editorial
The Iowa State Fair, held Aug. 13-23, set an all-time attendance record this year, with over 1.2 million showing up to take in shows, participate in contests and be part of other attractions. Posting short video clips and other information on social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok has been a big factor in driving turnout. Social media is often good, especially when it inspires people to take part in real-life community building events (like the fair) or connects far-flung friends. It distributes important information. For Catholics in particular, this medium has been useful for evangelization. Father Mike Schmitz, for example, has employed YouTube, Facebook and Instagram to teach millions about Jesus.
Social media can also be bad, particularly for children. Features like infinite scrolling and notifications cause dopamine manipulation in developing brains that can lead to health problems, including anxiety and digital addiction, according to the Center for Behavioral Health at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. A major civil trial happening this week centers around the harmful effects of social media on children. Twenty-nine U.S. states are suing Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook.
“We’ll show a jury that Meta concealed what it knew about the harm its products cause young people because looking away was more profitable,” Kentucky Attorney General (AG) Russell Coleman told the BBC recently. “AGs are in the perfect position to get this done. We did it with the Tobacco Settlement in the 1990s. We did it with the companies behind the opioid crisis. We’ll do it again with Meta.”
If the jury finds Meta guilty, age restrictions and other reforms will almost certainly affect the way we all use social media. The Associated Press has reported that New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has proposed a law banning children younger than 16 from using social media platforms. Other technologies which have also been shown to harm youth have been subject to new regulations from governments. The Iowa legislature passed a law in 2025 (HF 782) that prohibits cell phone use during instructional time in school (with some exceptions).
Age-related bans and restrictions may be useful in protecting children to a degree, but it’s not enough to tell a kid something is illegal, imperfectly enforce a law, and then move on. Young people should be taught, in school, about the behavioral science being used by social media companies and marketing experts in other fields to attract and addict them to all types of things. It should be part of the curriculum even in early childhood.
Young people should also be taught about the habit of digital fasting. When not online, they should be encouraged to engage in life off screen. Some in the Church are blazing new trails in this area.
Beginning in 2023, all men in the United States preparing for the priesthood are required to complete a first year of formation called the “Propaedeutic Year.” The 12-month period focuses on developing a deep prayer life and abstaining temporarily from aspects of the modern world. St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Ohio explains that: “Monday through Friday the students will take on a technology, media, and commerce fast. This means they will not have access to cell phone or internet, nor will they be able to do any shopping.” Saturdays participants are given free time during which they can visit friends and family or use phones and internet. Sundays involve Mass and recreation.
“God still speaks quite profoundly in his silent love language, but it is growing evermore difficult to hear and receive his message in an age of constant distraction and noise,” reads a description of the Propaedeutic Immersion Year (PY) from St. Mary’s. “The PY, therefore, presents an opportunity to step out of the prevailing culture for a time so that seminarians can wisely critique the culture and learn to listen deeply to the voice of God. Then they can reengage with the culture, embracing what is good in it and letting go of what is detrimental, as they undertake the rest of their seminary formation.”
Most of us aren’t psychologists and we won’t be able to complete a Propaedeutic year. Nonetheless, understanding that social media companies have used the same “variable ratio schedules” along with other addiction-provoking techniques employed by casino owners in slot machines and incorporating regular, short digital fasts into our lives is within our grasp. If we do, it may be easier to take advantage of the good side of social media, while avoiding the bad and the ugly.
Editor’s Note: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, agreed on August 26, 2026 to settle a civil lawsuit brought by a majority of U.S. states’ attorneys general. The agreement suspended a trial that had been going on in federal court. As part of the settlement, the company agreed to pay about $17 billion in penalties to the states over 10 years and to make changes to improve child safety, such as time limits and stopping notifications during school hours, among other measures. (Source: State of California Department of Justice/Rob Bonta Attorney General: https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-secures-transformative-17-billion-settlement-meta)
Dan Russo, editor
