Vatican calls for a renewal of attention in the age of clickbait
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication has unveiled the theme for the 61st World Day of Social Communications: “A New Gaze: Paying Attention in the Age of Clickbait.”
With this theme, the Vatican will invite people “to reflect on Christ’s compassionate gaze as a way of overcoming the superficiality of relationships,” Vatican News reported.
In a statement released Tuesday, Sept. 29, the Vatican warned that the so-called “attention economy,” in its struggle “for a few moments of interest amid the rapid and endless flow of content,” is transforming “not only our cognitive abilities but also the depth of our interpersonal communication.”
The reflection comes at a particularly significant moment for communicators, as social media and digital platforms reward speed, immediate emotion, and controversy while listening and thoughtful analysis are often pushed aside. Faced with this reality, the Vatican proposes an authentic “conversion of our gaze.”
“We are called to a conversion of our gaze: to look again, with attention and with love. Only in this way will we be able to see the world, others, and even ourselves, as Christ sees us: called by name and loved,” the message states.
The Vatican’s proposal maintains that “our communication changes when our gaze chooses to encounter others rather than judge them.”
The message also identifies some of the cultural consequences of hyperconnectivity. “The lack of genuine attention, fueled by digital culture, has accustomed us to a routine of rapid reactions, to superficial relationships, and to the ease with which we label and reject others,” the document warns.
As a response, the Vatican proposes recovering the deeper meaning of attention, understood not as a communication technique but as an attitude of openness toward others and toward the truth. “Yet attention is a precious form of generosity: the word ‘attention’ comes from ‘ad-tendere’ — to reach out toward the other and toward the truth.”
For Christian communicators, this attitude finds its model in Christ. The text recalls that “Christian communication can rediscover attention as both a gift and a way of seeing — the gaze of Jesus, who saw and allowed himself to be touched.”
In this way, the message challenges a widely accepted logic within today’s digital ecosystem: the idea that attention is a commodity. The Vatican offers a different perspective. “Communicating is not about capturing attention, nor about selling it, but about safeguarding it as a precious resource for relationships,” the statement says.
Therefore, in an environment marked by clickbait and an overabundance of content, the Vatican encourages the development of a genuine “hygiene of attention,” capable of protecting the human capacity to perceive reality in depth.
“To communicate in the age of ‘clickbait,’ we are called to ‘pay attention’ and to rediscover a genuinely healthy attention (cf. Magnifica Humanitas 146),” the text states.
Finally, the message recalls that authentic communication engages the whole person. It is not limited to words or platforms; it requires an interior disposition to encounter others genuinely.
“Communication is not just about words, it involves the entire person and asks us to look, hear and feel again in order to answer Christ’s call,” the statement concludes.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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