Papa says that young people are on social media, but they are not sociable

He ended his visit to Greece today. Before, he was in Cyprus

Published on 06/12/2021 - 11:23 By RTP - Atenas

Pope Francis warned today (6) that many young people "are on social media, but are not very sociable", living "prisoners of their cell phones". During a meeting in Athens, Greece, Francisco asked them to meet and not close themselves off. He ended his visit to the country, where he arrived last Saturday from Cyprus, on his 35th trip.

"We run the risk of forgetting who we are, obsessed with thousands of appearances, with overwhelming messages that make life depend on the clothes we wear, the car we drive, the way others look at us," warned the pope at the sports pavilion. International School of St. Dionysius of the Ursuline Nuns of Athens, in front of young people, teachers and religious, seated at a distance due to measures to combat the new coronavirus.

Francis advised young people to recognize their own worth, for what they are and not for what they have. "You have no value for the brand of clothes or shoes you wear, but because you are unique, you are unique," he said.

He cited as an example a passage from Homer's Odyssey, especially when the character Ulysses encounters the mermaids during his journey, and they lure sailors with their songs to make them crash against the reefs.

Today's mermaids "want to hypnotize them with seductive and insistent messages" and "aimed at easy profit, the false needs of consumerism, the cult of physical well-being, fun at any cost," he said.

"Do you want to do something new in life? Do you want to rejuvenate?" Francisco asked. "Don't be content with publishing a post or a tweet. Don't be content with virtual meetings, look for the real ones, especially with those who need you; don't look for visibility, but for the invisible. That's original, that's revolutionary," he said .

For the pope, currently many young people "are on social networks, but they are not very sociable, closed in on themselves, prisoners of the cell phone they have in their hands". "The other one is missing from the screen [screen], his eyes, his breathing, his hands," he insisted.

"The screen easily becomes a mirror, where you think you are in front of the world, but in reality you are alone in a virtual world full of appearances, of photos altered to always be beautiful and in shape", he said.

The pope asked young people to move "out of their comfort zones" because, while "it's easier to sit on the sofa in front of the television", it is "something old".

"To be young is to react, to open up when you feel lonely, to look for others when the temptation to close yourself comes," he added.

He gave one last piece of advice: "Dream big! And dream together! Even if there is always someone who says to you: 'Let it be, don't take chances, it's useless'". The pope considered the latter "as dream-breakers, hope-killers, incurable nostalgics for the past."

The trip to Cyprus and Greece was mainly marked by the denunciation of the indifference of European countries to the problem of migration.

Text translated using artificial intelligence.

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