‘Don't Let Digital World Define Your Worth,’ says Korean Communication Expert ahead of Digital Missionary Assembly

Young Catholics should not allow online popularity, follower counts or digital visibility to determine their sense of worth, says a South Korean communication expert ahead of the first Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly.

Dr. Anna Jihyun You, a veteran journalist and communication scholar, said the Church’s digital mission must help young people discover a deeper sense of identity and human dignity in an online culture increasingly shaped by algorithms, comparison and pressure to perform.

“Do not allow the digital world to define your worth,” Dr. You told Radio Veritas Asia in an interview ahead of the September 10–13 assembly at Radio Veritas Asia in the Philippines.

The gathering, themed “Influencers to Witnesses: Synodal Way for Digital Mission in Asia,” will bring together nearly 100 Catholic digital communicators and influencers from across Asia to reflect on how the Church can become a more meaningful presence in the digital spaces where young people live, communicate and search for meaning.

Dr. You holds a Ph.D. in communications from Kwangwoon University and has emerged as a regional voice on ethical communication, human dignity and communication in the age of artificial intelligence.

For Dr. You, one of the central challenges facing young people is the pressure to be constantly visible online.

Digital platforms can encourage users to measure themselves through likes, followers, views and other forms of engagement. But Christian witness, she said, begins from a different understanding of human worth.

“You do not need thousands of followers or polished perfection to be a witness,” she said. “A quiet, yet sincere conversation or compassionate presence can touch a soul in ways you may never see.”

She urged young digital missionaries to begin not with strategies for increasing reach but with prayer, listening and an authentic encounter with Christ.

Reflecting on Acts 4:20, “We cannot but speak” You said the apostles did not speak because they were trying to build a platform or promote a message. They spoke because of what they had “seen and heard.”

For digital missionaries, she said, this means that communication should flow naturally from an encounter with Christ rather than from the pursuit of visibility.

South Korea offers a particularly important context for examining these questions. About 94.5 percent of the population uses the internet, while smartphone ownership among adults is about 97 percent. Dr. You also noted that roughly two-thirds of Koreans have already used an AI service.

Yet, according to statistics released by the Korean bishops, only 15.5 percent of Korean Catholics attend Sunday Mass, while the Catholic population is also aging.

“Ninety-four percent connected. Fifteen percent present,” she said, describing the gap as “the pastoral question of our generation.”

The challenge, therefore, is not simply to bring more Catholic content to digital platforms. The Church must offer something that digital technology cannot provide on its own: genuine human presence.

Dr. You called on the Church to change its pastoral approach from “Come to us” to “Let us join you and accompany you.”

She also warned that influence without formation can leave young creators vulnerable to burnout, isolation and unhealthy expectations.

“In the age of generative AI, glossy polish and flawless production are cheap, abundant, and instantaneous,” she said. “Technology can amplify a message, but it can never fabricate compassion, human touch, or a life honestly lived.”

She also encouraged young people to begin the digital pilgrimage toward World Youth Day Seoul 2027, seeing the event not merely as a gathering but as an opportunity to build communion across Asia’s languages, cultures and borders.

Recalling Blessed Carlo Acutis, You said the internet can become a place of genuine encounter rather than an escape into isolated digital worlds.

The goal of the Catholic digital mission, she said, is ultimately not to make Christ more visible through algorithms alone, but to create digital spaces where people can encounter one another with compassion, listen deeply and experience the warmth of faith.