#Rules_of_engagement: 8 Christian Habits for Being Good and Doing Good Online (E4) by Ann M Garrido

Winner of a third-place award in the church professional category from the Catholic Media Association.

Do you behave on social media as the Christian you want to be? Are you dismayed at the often divisive and cruel exchanges you read online? In #Rules_of_Engagement, Ann M. Garrido shares eight practical habits that will help you align your activity in the digital world with the call of the Gospel to be Christ’s presence in the world.

Popes Benedict and Francis have called upon Christians across the globe to embrace the internet as a new “digital continent” and think of it as mission territory, a place where we can–with careful thought and discipline–accomplish enormous good.

Even as we strive to be faithful to our Christian values, many of us still show up on social media and behave in ways unbecoming a follower of Jesus Christ. Rather than practicing compassion, truth, honesty, and communion online, we sometimes are mean-spirited, inflammatory, and untruthful. Garrido tackles the problem head-on by providing practical tools, theological guidance, and spiritual inspiration for being the person God wants you to be online.

Garrido offers eight practices, rooted in Catholic tradition and teaching, that will help you avoid doing harm, and instead equip you to be a force for good through your social media presence and activities:

• clarify your purpose
• know your sources
• understand bias
• value the person
• lead with curiosity
• talk about intent and impact
• privilege face-to-face encounter
• manage your energy

The book includes simple exercises to help you assess your social media behaviors and integrate Garrido’s suggestions into your online communications as well as the opportunity to join a community of concerned Christians striving to live these habits.