Pope’s communications day theme targets pitfalls of the ‘attention economy’

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV will address the risks of today’s “attention economy,” in which media platforms compete for and monetize people’s limited, valuable attention as the theme for the Catholic Church’s celebration of World Communications Day in 2027.

“A New Gaze: Paying Attention in the Age of Clickbait” is the theme for the day, which the Vatican and most dioceses will celebrate May 9, the Sunday before Pentecost.

The Dicastery for Communication made the announcement Sept. 29, the feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel, and the full papal message is traditionally released Jan. 24, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists.

Explaining the pope’s choice of the theme, the dicastery noted that “The attention economy, with its struggle for a few moments of interest amid the rapid and endless flow of content, is transforming not only our cognitive abilities but also the depth of our interpersonal communication.”

“The lack of genuine attention, fueled by digital culture, has accustomed us to a routine of rapid reactions, to superficial relationships, and to the ease with which we label and reject others,” the dicastery said. “Yet attention is a precious form of generosity,” with its Latin root signifying “to reach out toward the other and toward the truth.”

“Communicating is not about capturing attention, nor about selling it, but about safeguarding it as a precious resource for relationships,” it said. “To communicate in the age of ‘clickbait,’ we are called to ‘pay attention’ and to rediscover a genuinely healthy attention.”

“We are called to a conversion of our gaze: to look again, with attention and with love,” the dicastery said. “Only in this way will we be able to see the world, others and even ourselves, as Christ sees us: called by name and loved.”

Human communication changes, it said, “when our gaze chooses to encounter others rather than judge them.” And Christian communicators, in particular, “can rediscover attention as both a gift and a way of seeing — the gaze of Jesus, who saw and allowed himself to be touched.”

“Communication is not just about words; it involves the entire person and asks us to look, hear and feel again in order to answer Christ’s call,” the Vatican office said.

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