God in the digital era

My family is not the typical religious family, but my parents taught me how to pray. Attend Mass? Sometimes if our time and schedule align, but I didn’t care much about religion growing up, not until I attended a private Catholic school during high school. There, I had to take six courses in Filipino Christian Living (FCL) throughout my junior and senior years. I learned to pray the rosary, memorize prayers, and participate in rosary month activities. Even after high school, I had to take four theology courses during my first and second years in college.

Earlier in my new media class, I was faced with a unique challenge. How could I view this Facebook page of “God” through the lens of media dynamics without disrespecting the divine? I decided to approach it with my own perspective, embracing the YOLO (you only live once) philosophy. I delved into the page, exploring its timeline, reading comments, and watching its latest YouTube uploads. This experience reminded me of my brother, who used to share witty and satirical videos with me, adding a personal touch to my analysis.

However, in the digital landscape of social media, understanding the concept of God resembles navigating a labyrinth. One intriguing corner is that the “God” Facebook page has 3.7 million likes and followers, and 38,800 YouTube subscribers.

According to the third chapter (“Understanding media dynamics”) of the book “Contesting religion: The media dynamics of cultural conflicts in Scandinavia,” there are three different media dynamics: amplification of communication, representation and framing, and co-structuring of communication.

First, the amplification of communication. This is how different tactics are used to promote and impact the content, which leads to a broader audience. I noticed that their posts are usually memes and satirical comments on the content they share on the page. Sometimes they ask the most random things, for example, in a post on April 25: “Dear Atheists of Facebook, what is one thing you admire about religion?” It had 2,300 comments, and most were good comments regarding the religion itself from those atheists, which surprised me as they do not believe in the existence of God or any God at all yet still commented on what they admired about the religion. The administrators know how to connect with people, especially those who are just bystanders or “tambay” on social media, by asking nonsense questions and being satirical about their shared content online.

Second, the representation and framing. It is how the content is represented and portrayed in media and how it shapes our understanding through its framing and techniques. God is being presented on the Facebook page in different frames and representations. He is portrayed as a playful and witty figure, especially in the YouTube videos. The page also comments on issues in the world in a comedic way, shaping the narrative surrounding the divine image of the real God as he engages in humorous posts. That is why I think even the atheists who don’t believe in Him interact with the page because “God” is portrayed to be unserious, just like what these atheists believe in.

Lastly, the co-structuring of communication. This is how the media environment engages and establishes interactions with online spaces. Like on the Facebook page, its followers actively participate in discussions, share their thoughts, and contribute to creating a space for a humorous exploration of religious themes. The post is not really about religion. It is full of random things you see online, basically the most nonsense things to discuss, but people find it funny because of its commentary.

These dynamics illustrate how media shapes social interactions and perceptions. “God” and His engaging content and humor capture user attention, fostering brand loyalty and engagement, which results in the Facebook page of “God,” their page, and the real God being monetized through marketing strategies.

As I end this reflection, despite encountering “God’s” page as a Roman Catholic, I wasn’t offended, nor did my view of God change. I maintain an open-minded perspective, distinguishing between parody and reality. All I can say is that those FCL and theology courses paid off, and now, I’m learning a lot from my new media course, especially on how I use and view things through the media lens.

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Gwyneth Ileto, 20, is a third-year creative writing student at the University of Santo Tomas.