The recipient of messages also serves as the creator and sender. This interdependence creates a communication process between individuals that generates further and additional messages. The communication techniques used become the driving force behind the development of small communities and civilization as a whole. Never before in the history of the world has communication proceeded so rapidly. It is worth venturing the comparison that communication in many cases has been deprived of time and space.
The communication revolution in individual mini-communities, larger societies, and around the world is apparently accelerating. 'We Are Social' reports confirm that the Internet and social media have become an important part of life on every continent. The Internet is already used by more than 5 billion people and the number of social media users is 4.74 billion (nearly 60 percent of the world's human population). The Church participates in this process and supports societies in becoming increasingly aware of the importance of communication between individuals. Direct (immediate) communication, but also so-called mediated communication, constitute the perception mechanism of entire companies, governments, churches, and organizations.
Similarly, the Salesian Family is striving for increasingly constructive internal and external communication. The mindset of improving the quality of communication in specific areas and using the simplest tools - sometimes interesting, intriguing, and even unconventional - is growing stronger every year. Adequate and correct communication distinguishes the Salesian Family and takes forms that become a hallmark of the Salesian charism.
To meet expectations, a series of articles related to communication in the Salesian Family will be presented this year. The texts will be published monthly on the ANS portal, starting in February 2023. The author of the publication aims to elicit a greater awareness of communication and media in the reader. Due to the wide range of topics in the field of communication and the small volume of the following work, only a few topics have been selected that seem to be important and current in today's media and communication reality.
The topics addressed in the proposed articles will be as follows:
1. Internal and external communication in the Salesian Family;
2. Communication with journalists as an aid to information management;
3. Building the future of Salesian media with migrants and refugees;
4. Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, Gen C - communication in Salesian circles;
5. Young people as protagonists in Salesian social media (Christus vivit);
6. How to communicate ecology (Laudato sì)?
7. Church communication in a changing era;
8. The metaverse as the future of evangelization?
9. Manipulation and disinformation: fake news and deep fakes;
10. Internet and social media - Don't be afraid of new technologies!
The use of complex tools and technological transformations do not change the approach to communication processes: in each case, it is a human-to-human encounter. Regardless of communication trends, personal dignity as the foundation of communication should be at the center, and the human being himself should remain an end and not a means. In this way, a personalist view of communication emphasizes freedom and truth and calls attention to responsibility.
I invite everyone to read on.
Maciej Makula, SDB
