FIVE DIABOLICAL SOCIAL MEDIA SCAMS YOU NEED TO DISCUSS WITH YOUR CHILDREN.

I am appalled by the blatant Lying (lucutio contra mentem) or by falsifying the Truth and telling others what is true when you know it isn’t. This insidious and frequently used method of AI users, who abuse the medium by falsifying, making up stories, and then even creating a real photo of the victim saying those falsehoods, is one of the great existential crimes of our time. And I don’t know how to stop it other than for end users to realize what is happening and, if they do see it, to make sure their children don’t take what is on television or streaming services as being true.

This comes back to what is central to being human, i.e., “What can we depend upon that is true? Who speaks Truth? Is Truth so meaningless that there is no standard for what is right and what people actually say?”

It is not by chance that the Ten Commandments contain a whole principle (one of ten) that offers us a stern warning that, if we do this, we are not in resonance with the absolute Truth from beyond our nature (The Trinity).

What follows are my thoughts as embellished by AI. It is an example of how AI can be used to expose the absolute Truth, absolutely.

The Fragmenting of Human Speech: Reclaiming Truth in a Digital Wilderness. (Part 2 of 2)

“When we pull language away from God, words lose their anchor. You see, God didn’t just create words; He is the Word—the Logos that holds the universe together. When we detach our speech from that divine source, language ceases to be a bridge to objective reality and becomes a tool for manipulation.

Think back to the Tower of Babel. The people didn’t just wake up speaking different languages; their shared understanding of reality fractured because they tried to build a kingdom to their own pride. When your own ego becomes the ultimate authority, “truth” becomes whatever serves your immediate comfort, personal branding, or tribal power. Words lose their holy purpose, and language devolves into empty noise.

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The Antidote: Resetting the Bone

Fixing this isn’t easy, my friends. It requires an antidote that feels a lot like breaking a bone that healed crookedly, only for a doctor to reset it properly. It hurts, and it goes completely against our oldest inherited disease: the original sin of pride.

To restore Truth, we have to endure the painful snap of shattering our own self-made idols. We must deliberately break our habit of self-justification, our need always to be right, and our frantic desire to control how others see us online. It means falling to our knees and admitting, “I am not the author of reality; God is.” Only when that pride is broken can the soul heal straight, aligning itself once more with the humbling, beautiful reality of God’s Truth.

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A Grandfather’s Guide for Parents: Navigating the Digital Wilderness

As mothers and fathers, you have the most beautiful, sacred task on earth: protecting the souls of your children. The digital world they are growing up in can be tricky, and they need your gentle wisdom to navigate it. Think of these five points not as rules to shout, but as truths to whisper to them when you sit down at the end of the day:

• The Screen is Not the Mirror of Reality: Just because something flashes across a television screen or pops up on a computer doesn’t make it real. It is very easy to paint a false picture with bright colors.
• Listen with a Patient, Guarded Heart: Treat the streaming videos and podcasts you encounter with a healthy dose of suspicion. Not every voice through a microphone is speaking with a clean heart.
• Anchor Yourself to the Catechism: When the seas of modern deceit get rough, measure what you hear against the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is a steady anchor that will keep your family from drifting away. [1]
• Be Mindful of the Sowers of Division: We must realize that some of what we read or see online comes from broken, even demonic influences. Their entire goal is to sow factions, outrage, and confusion within our beautiful Church. Remember what Scripture tells us: “The Devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour.”
• Look to the Shepherds for Clarity: Whenever you hear a strange rumor or shocking story about the Catholic Church, don’t panic. Measure it quietly against what the Holy Father says or what the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) puts forward.

Safe Harbors: Trusted Sources for the Journey

When your family is looking for Truth, guide them to these trusted digital spaces where the light of the faith shines clearly:

• The Holy See (www.vatican.va): For the direct encyclicals, letters, and teachings of the Pope.
• The USCCB (www.usccb.org): For official statements, daily readings, and guidance from our shepherds.
• New Advent (www.newadvent.org): A wonderful library containing the Catholic Encyclopedia and the writings of the Church Fathers.
• Word on Fire (www.wordonfire.org): For beautiful, intelligent commentary on faith and modern culture.
• Dr. Scott Hahn (scotthahn.com): For deeply faithful biblical scholarship read from the very heart of the Church. [1, 2]

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The Closure: Pioneers, Not Settlers

To take back morality in a world of digital shadows, we must undergo a radical shift in our spiritual posture. We can no longer afford to be passive settlers—pious souls content to maintain our faith inside a closed circle, waiting out the cultural storm. Settlers look for comfort, guard what they have, and eventually lose ground to the creeping compromise of the age.

Instead, God is calling us to be pioneers of the Faith.

Pioneers do not merely defend a perimeter; they advance. Being a pioneer means entering the public square, our workplaces, and our living rooms armed with the unsettling, beautiful sharpness of objective Truth.

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ACTIO: Do Your Catholicism

There is a defining moment in the Gospel where Our Lady looks at the attendants and gives the ultimate directive for the Christian life: “Do whatever he tells you.”

Catholicism is not a philosophy to be studied; it is a reality to be lived. You must actively do your Catholicism, or you will lose it. No one else can step into the arena for you. Only you can determine exactly what that looks like, using your unique life experiences, your specific professional circles, and your individual family dynamics.

Commit to one concrete action that you are not now doing to advance the message of Jesus Christ to your situation—just One Per Year. Find your one thing for this year. Write it down. Build it into your daily schedule. Execute it with a humble heart.

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Prayers for the Discerning Pioneer

As you seek your concrete action for this year, pray these words of complete surrender and radical trust.

The Prayer of Thomas Merton

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

The Prayer of Abandonment (Charles de Foucauld)

“Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures—I wish no more than this, O Lord, into your hands I commend my soul: I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.”

Copyright 2026 Michael F. Conrad, Ed.D. The Center for Contemplative Studies. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.organism.earth

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