The following comes from an October 19 On Religion blog post:
A storm has been building in the pews for more than a decade, according to new work by the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel. A survey found that 92 percent of adults own cellphones and 90 percent carry them most of the time. Nearly half say they rarely turn off these devices and nearly a third said they never turn them off – period.
“Everyone used to know the worship rules and now we don’t.” said Lee Rainie, director of Internet, science and technology research at the Pew Research Center. He is also the co-author of the book “Networked: The New Social Operating System.”
Pew researchers found clear agreement on digital etiquette in two settings – with 5 percent of Americans approving the “use” of cell phones in movie theaters and a mere 4 percent endorsing their use in worship services.
But would that include using a smartphone to discreetly take pictures during baptism rites or choir performances? What if the pastor asked parishioners to tweet questions during a sermon? What if a denomination produced an app to help children understand symbolism in Holy Week rites?
At that point, the rules seem to change. The Pew research, for example, found that 45 percent of those polled said they use their phones to post pictures from public gatherings, while 41 percent share quotes or anecdotes and 38 percent believe it’s acceptable to go online to “get information” related to group activities.
“If the pastor is actually encouraging something, then that seems to make it OK for most people, but maybe not all,” said Rainie, in a telephone interview. “Clearly that is not the same thing as sitting in church checking out your Facebook page.”
I ran into an interesting use of a smartphone a couple of weeks ago. A priest took out his smartphone at the beginning of his homily (at a weekday Mass) and read his remarks from it.
There must be a way to project the homily onto smart phones as texts for hearing impared people.
One local Protestant parish uses a low power FM transceiver to broadcast the homily. Those who have difficulty hearing have tiny radios with a pair of ear buds. They can turn up the volume as high as they like.
Too bad that Catholic parishes can’t make such an effort.
When I attended Mass at a different hour than normal I was seated at such an angle that I could see a man a few pews ahead of me and across the aisle looking at his smartphone. During the consecration. There is a slim chance that he was following the Mass on a phone app–but that did not seem to be the case from my vantage point. When the man arose to approach the altar with the other Extraordianry Ministers of Holy Communion I saw a flash of the phone screen as he shoved it in his pocket and it looked more like a game grid than the Order of the Mass.
There is a time and place for everything as it is said…..
And Mass is NOT a place for cell phones, smart phones, etc……
Amen! But I’m old and prefer dumbphones. I like books!
Jesus said “Many” will not be saved; “Few” will be saved.
Mt 7:13-14; Lk 13: 23-28.
There will be no excuse for the literate not to have a well informed conscience as required, by reading both a Catholic Bible and the CCC.
God gave everyone a free will. Many will not put God’s will first, but their own wills first.
My parish has a reminder before EVERY Mass to turn off cellphones and other devices. Violators get a polite talking to after Mass. The repeat offender rate is close to zero.
Polite, firm, yet effective.
My missal and breviary are on the smartphone. There is no rational objection to using it during mass.
Gramps, can you recommend an app for that? I used to have a breviary app but it was hard to use and needed internet access.
Other than that it might ring, not to mention offend others, and that it certainly detracts from the sense of holiness of the Mass for those who have come to worship God Almighty.
Would you agree that this has actually been one of the better discussions here on CCD? I think we are all agreed that where it distracts the user or those around them, technology should be limited. Certainly no beeps, buzzes, or trivial texts. But there might be times and situations where it benefits the faithful in their worship or in their witness to the Gospel, and I am happy that there is an oppenness to those situations.
When the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is considered a meal, and God’s holy house is ta gathering place for friends, why is anyone shocked that this is happening. People are texting and talking on their phones while driving, while walking, which is most dangerous, and they are also doing the same tasks in church, which is sacrilegious.
When I complained about this a priest told me it was very likely most of these people were reading along w/the mass. OK, but I still prefer seeing someone’s head bowed down in prayer rather than looking at a screen. I have an old flip phone. All I do is talk and text. Life is exciting & and joyful when Jesus and Mary are in your heart! Like anything else technology can be used well or poorly.
The statistics quoted in the article shocked me. I suddenly feel older than 63!
We have to be very careful not to let technology inappropriately intrude into sacred time and space.
That being said, I use Magnificat on my cell phone for mass when traveling, especially for daily mass. Since it could be cause for scandal if it is used improperly, I hold it out like a book and do not touch the screen except to “turn the page.” Other than that it is muted and put away. I have seen older people use it on an iPad as they can make the letters very large.
I am older, and can’t stand this era, of Silicon Valley’s TOO EXPENSIVE and very hard-to-use, fancy electronic gadgets! Wish it never existed, except to look up things, at the library! Caring, face-to-face social relating, is very important, for the good of a society, and for everyone’s heath and wellness! Complex, hard-to-use electronic gadgets, are also too hard to use, and too expensive, for the vision-impaired, hard-of-hearing and elderly, with these kind of problems. Catholics all should be taught, to have good manners in church, and that Christ is present, in the Blessed Sacrament!! Leave all the electronic “junk” RESPECTFULY at home!! At Mass, my dear, widowed, elderly mother, just prayerfully watches the priest and altar…
I will finish my above post. At Mass, my dear, elderly, widowed mother, loves to simply watch and follow the priest and altar boys, prayerfully. She knows so well, and loves the beautiful old Latin Tridentine Mass! She does not need a complicated, hard-to-read missal, either. She also loves to hear me sing in the Choir, on Sundays and Feast Days! At the daily Tridentine Latin Mass, we can sit together. She cannot hear well, much of the readings, or the priest’s homily, but I tell her something about that, after Mass. After Mass, she loves to socialize, at the coffee and refreshments hour. And everyone just loves her!
I find this distraction to Others at Mass like ‘End Cappers’ taking the end of the pew, forcing others to climb over them. Some have legitimate need for quick exits, but most just seem to like the ease of it.
As for Tablets etc. In general I am against their use and certainly ring tones in Church, when it can be silenced or on vibrate.
However – Painful as it is to mention, Many people tune out when the Priest delivers a Homily in heavily accented or broken english.
For the Homily to be useful it must be understood – and when posting on line allows those with marginal english (Priest or Parishioner) to follow along – then for this part of the Mass – Only, perhaps ok.
At Mass we have our prayer books or our missaletts, We do not need computer gizmos to aid us in our worship of God while we ate at Mass.
Please, please don’t be so judgemental. Laudate is an app that has
daily readings from Mass. With ringer off, I follow along on my cell phone.
The readers often mumble or speak with accents. My hearing is not so good
and my parish has long since stopped providing missalettes in the pew. While there may be some abusers don’t assume all are.