Technology has changed the way that women are approaching life — and their relationships are changing as a result.

Women have maintained a significant edge on men as the prominent drivers in social-media usage over the past decade, particularly when it comes to outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

For this reason, Catholic individuals and organizations alike have recently taken to using these outlets as tools to connect women — and in doing so are transforming the way we look at social networking.

One of these groups is an organization called Blessed Is She (or BIS, BlessedIsShe.net). The women at BIS are using social media to tap into these opportunities for connection by fostering an environment in which friendships can organically develop. By inviting women to sign up for daily email devotionals and encouraging them to join Facebook groups (divided geographically by region), BIS has facilitated female connections all across the country. Once women have connected — first with BIS by email and then with other women in the BIS community by Facebook — new friends are encouraged to meet in person (specifically, over brunch) to converse and dive even deeper into these virtually made connections.

Through BIS, moms are connecting with other moms, college students are connecting with other college students, and professionals are connecting with professionals; then, once that companionship is formed, the dialogue is organically deepened by the implied reality that each of these women is looking toward God in her journey. Women are not simply “swapping secrets of the trade” — they’re consulting one another on how to maneuver life as mom, student, professional, all within the context of Catholic faith.

And there are others who’ve done the same. BIS is one of a few organizations facilitating an actual virtual community for women, but other creatives — bloggers, artists, and entrepreneurs — are using social media as a meeting place for faithful users to gather and connect.

By producing faith-based media and posting it online for the public to access and discuss, Internet users are crossing paths with like-minded others.

We often criticize our dependence on social media and the glued-to-our-phones mentality that seems to plague so many of us today.

But as Matthew 7:16 reminds us, “You will know them by their fruits.” And what richer fruit could we ask of social networking than that of friendship?

Mary Kate Knorr

writes from Illinois.

Another Reason to Get Online

Catholics Come Home is now reaching out to Millennials at CatholicsComeHome.com, as well as through new ads.

Explained Catholics Come Home’s founder and president, Tom Peterson, “Our hope is to … guide young adults toward healthier, joy-filled lifestyles by introducing them to — or reminding them of — the importance of faith.”