John A. Monaco@johnamonaco
I have “Christian content creator” fatigue.
I remember when I was teaching at a Catholic high school. Sometimes, I would explain a concept so clearly and it resonated with the students. Many of them would say, “Mr. Monaco, why don’t you start a YouTube channel or a podcast?” At first, I declined because of time limitations. But now, I’m doubting whether the issue is with the platform itself.
Of course, not all students paid attention. As a normie Catholic high school, the institution boasted about its 1:1 student to iPad ratio. They thought it was a selling point. I thought it was more of a product flaw. These damn iPads were ubiquitous, as were the AirPods in the ears. Eventually, I banned them, but when the lack of 21st technology integration made my teaching evaluation score low, I allowed them back in, but under strict supervision. The students would be “locked in” to a papal encyclical, a patristic text, or their digital notebook.
Once the bell rang and the iPads were unlocked from my classroom prison, the students went straight to YouTube, watching Mr. Beast, streamers, etc. On their phones, which were free from a firewall, they were scrolling short-form TikTok videos and YouTube Shorts, mostly on banal and superficial things (“Top Ten Midget Pranks” was a classic).
I don’t know if I’ve been in hibernation mode or not, but something has happened with social media. There is content overload. Even among Christian “content creators”—a term that induces nausea—they are infected with the same bacteria. Clickbait titles. Overestimating their intellectual competence. Constant debates, “reaction videos”, and amateur hour slop.
Even among women, there is a cringey “creator” aesthetic. They film themselves veiling, kneeling, praying. There’s a constant “look at me!” impulse across their pictures and videos. Veiling was once seen as a modest practice. Now, veiling is a call for a photo-op, complete with the 20% discount codes from the affiliated veil shop.
I know Christianity needs a presence on the Internet. It’s our common home these days. But I also think that the depth and mystery of Christianity should require us to reevaluate the way it is presented on social media. Perhaps I’m an “unc” or a Boomer. But I truly think that Christian content creation will eventually undermine the content of Christian revelation, if it has not done so already.
My former students told me I should create a podcast or YouTube channel precisely because that’s their point of reference for everything educational. If you have knowledge and the ability to communicate, then it naturally follows that you should open shop online. But what they don’t mention is how much filth, slop, and trash there is out in the Wild Wild Web.
I do wonder how public perception of Christianity is filtered by its online, visual presence. I used to think that the medium was neutral, but the personalities behind it were not. Now, I’m not so sure. How can a 45 minute “debate” between a Catholic who was just received into the Church 15 months ago and a OnlyFans harlot produce good fruit?
Perhaps it’s because I’m in “dissertation mode”, but when I read the work of actual theologians, I’m often amazed at the range of their knowledge, their competency in ancient languages, their command of the tradition. But very few people have the stamina to read them. Given the choice between Charles Journet and ThomistGroyper, most people will spend their time listening to the latter.
I’m not sure what the solution is, but I can at least say with certainty that I am fatigued by the current state of Christian “content creation”. Perhaps the bubble will burst. Maybe I’ll end up caving into the pressure and enter the ring myself. But all I know is that you could not pay me enough money to watch any of these videos below, or to find them to be adequate representations of our ancient, mystical Faith.
