Elizabeth Scalia on Internet Searches, Mr. Rogers, and Listening to People

"The younger of my two sons has expressed his concerns to me about Google and the internet in general.

"'When we were kids, and we wondered about something, we asked you and Dad. Now, kids don't ask their parents anything; if they're curious about something, they go to Google or You Tube. Or, even if they ask their parents a question, a lot of times the parents will say, 'I don't know. Google it,' and the conversation, the exchange, the discussion - it all ends right there.'

"He has probably hit on an important truth: How much has our comfort with technology and our dependence upon search engines affected our interpersonal exchanges? How have they narrowed our outreach to one another, rather than broadening it?

"These are good questions and worth some study by specialists in social and family dynamics, but they remind me of a time when my older son's curiosity could not always be assuaged by a turn at an internet browser, or even by 'asking Mom,' and it caused him to reach out to a particularly distant (but paradoxically close and trusted) source: Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood."

In a recent commentary, writer Elizabeth Scalia, content editor at Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, reflected on lessons from Mr. Rogers on the importance of interacting with people (as opposed to doing Internet searches) as part of the process of learning about different things.

To access Ms. Scalia's complete post, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Blogs: Elizabeth Scalia: We Should All Want to Be Neighbors With Mr. Rogers (12 JUN 18)