Did the concept of “Social Media” originate in the Catholic Church?

For the past two years I have found myself drawn to the Holy Father’s annual messages for World Communications Day.  This is the first of a series of articles called, Letters from Papa, where I will attempt to unpack some of the Catholic Church’s teachings around Social Communications, and how this affects those of us who use new media to spread the good news.

Did the concept of “Social Media” originate in the Catholic Church?

On January 24, the Vatican released Pope Benedict’s message for the 44th World Communications Day, 2010, The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word.  In his letter, the Holy Father encouraged priests to “…  proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.”

The reaction of some of the mainstream media seemed to be surprise and incredulity that the Catholic church would be keeping up with the times and using modern tools of communication and interaction.   I noticed the same kind of reaction by mainstream media to last year’s World Communications Day message directed toward the laity, New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship.  In fact, throughout history the church has always employed the cutting edge communications tools of the age to spread the Good News, whether it was letters, the printing press, radio, or television.

One of my favorite quotes from The Simpsons is when Homer declared, “Oh, they have the Internet on Computers now!”  This quote seems to be very similar to the misplaced surprise that people have that the Church would be using new media.  Our current communications revolution using the Internet, blogs, and social communities such as Facebook and Twitter is commonly referred to as Social Media.   A search on wordspy.com indicates that the earliest known citation for the term “social media” appeared in 1994.

“What attracted librarians to the Internet? For some cybernauts, USENET, IRC, and the other social media of the net are the hooks. —Greg R. Notess, “Telnet explored,” Online, January 1, 1994 “

I think I may have found an earlier use of the concept, if not the exact term.

In 1963, the Vatican II document “Inter Mirifica” - on the Means of Social Communications begins,

Man’s genius has, with God’s help, produced marvellous technical inventions from creation, especially in our times. The Church, our mother, is particularly interested in those which directly touch man’s spirit and which have opened up new avenues of easy communication of all kinds of news, of ideas and orientations. Chief among them are those means of communication which of their nature can reach and influence not merely single individuals but the very masses and even the whole of human society. These are the press, the cinema, radio, television and others of a like nature. These can rightly be called “the means of social communication”.

Inter Mirifica outlines the role of media in the world, and how the church should engage and participate in all forms of Media.   As a result of Inter Mirifica, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications was established and since 1967, each year the Sunday before Pentecost has been designated as World Communications Day.  For the past 43 years, the Holy Father has released an annual message in preparation for World Communications Day on January24, the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers and journalists.  Past themes for World Communications Day have included such topics as Social Communications And The Family(1969 and 1980), Social Communications And The Promotion Of Solidarity And Fraternity Between Peoples And Nations (1988), Religion In The Mass Media. 1989, and Videocassettes And Audiocassettes In The Formation Of Culture And Of Conscience
(1993).

It seems to me that not only has the Church been active in using and exploring modern communications technologies for some time, the concept of “social communications”, outlined in Inter Mirifica in 1963 seem to predict or at least encompass the current usage of the term ’social media’.