Pope Francis has warned young people about the consequences of their social media use. Speaking via a video message for World Youth Day on April 9th, the pontiff urged young people to reject "false" depictions of reality. 

“Many people say that young people are distracted and superficial,” he said. “They are wrong! Still, we should acknowledge our need to reflect on our lives and direct them towards the future. In the social media, we see faces of young people appearing in any number of pictures recounting more or less real events, but we don't know how much of all this is really 'history', an experience that can be communicated and endowed with purpose and meaning.”

This is not the first time the Pope has spoken out against technology. Last year he warned against reality TV and most recently criticised excessive smartphone usage. 

Speaking earlier this year at Roma Tre University, the pontiff said, “When there’s no dialogue at home, when we’re at the table and instead of talking everyone is on their phone…it’s the start of war, because there is no dialogue.”