JORAS - Nigerian Journal of Religion and Society

Only a few decades ago, computers were remote tools found in large corporations and Fortune 500 companies. Today, they are so commonplace that even our handheld devices are now minicomputers, and with the computers came the internet. These two capabilities unleashed a tremendous wave of evolution occurring through the years and revolutionising the world of business, communication, entertainment, education, and to a large extent, our ministry as priests. Cyberspace and the virtual world which were once envisioned as a separate, secular sphere of individual and communal activity are now far more likely to be integrated within the day?to?day lives of the many users of internet and socially networked technologies. The prevalence of digital devices has become so pervasive that it now appears like we can no longer function without them. With the ubiquitous presence of these devices and easy access to internet connectivity, come lots of promise and challenges and priests are not immune to these challenges. Despite the challenges, we cannot afford to exclude ourselves from the opportunities. Against this backdrop, this paper examines the role of priests in modeling digital habits and promoting digital literacy within our ecclesiastical enclaves and perhaps in the larger world and the need for diligence in the use of social media cognizant of its potential drawbacks.

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