Check out this article by the research institution at Georgetown University, CARA (aka Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate).
New Catholics, New Media: More 'Bread and Circus' than Eucharist
In a recent article in OSV, CARA researcher Melissa Cidade noted a surprising statistic: only 17% of adult Millennial Catholics (those born after 1981) are aware of liturgical changes that will occur at English language Masses on the first Sunday of Advent.
Millennials represent about one in five adult Catholics (19%) and the oldest members of this generation were in elementary school when the Internet began to gain widespread use in the United States. They are sometimes described as the digital or new media generation. Many in the Church assume that the way to connect with this emergent generation of Catholics is not through traditional print media, television, or radio but online—through blogs, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter accessed on smart phones, tablets, and e-readers. The hope is often stated that we may be able to use new media to get this generation “back into the real world pews” that are more often populated by their parents and grandparents. ....
It is worth reading the entire article, which starts slow but picks up a lot of steam at the end. Short version: if the Church is hoping to reach millenials (or anyone) through the new media (facebook, twitter, etc.), good luck with that. It isn't happening.
Thoughts on why? Or how to better communicate the gospel message? Discuss....
