St Paul’s Missionary College continues to create thoughtful spaces where faith meets the complexity of modern life through its ongoing Bible & Beer series. The latest edition, Parenting in the Digital Wild, invited parents to an honest and engaging conversation about raising children in an age shaped by screens, scrolling, and constant stimulation.
Held at The Grist, The Brewhouse, Mrieħel, the evening brought together speakers from different fields to explore how technology, community, and emotional growth intersect. Around tables filled with food and good company, parents reflected on the everyday challenges of guiding children through a digital world that rarely slows down.
“Social media has shattered sacrifice and service” – Mark Laurence Zammit
Journalist and presenter Mark Laurence Zammit opened the discussion with a clear look at how capitalism, advertising, and social media shape our sense of happiness and belonging. “We live in the best of times, with longer lives, peace, and comfort, yet never before have we felt so dissatisfied,” he said.
Zammit explained that the push to buy and compare has weakened the human need for community. “To keep the economy alive, people must keep buying. But to be happy, we don’t actually need much,” he said. “Capitalism cannot accept the idea of someone being content with nothing.” He described social media as “a system built to keep us slightly unhappy so that we keep scrolling,” adding that “the Church remains one of the few places still capable of creating real communities.” His message to parents was simple: “Offer your children something more beautiful than the internet, or they will never leave it.”
“We can’t parent for a world that doesn’t exist anymore” – Dr Erika Galea
Educational psychologist Dr Erika Galea focused on how digital life affects the developing brain. Referring to Generation Alpha, children born from 2010 onward, she noted that they are growing up in an environment that floods them with fast information and constant stimulation, changing how they learn and what they value.
“Parents need to understand that what children consume is shaping their brains,” she said. “We cannot raise them for a world that no longer exists. Discipline, values, and presence are more essential than ever.”
Dr Galea encouraged parents to shift their focus from grades to emotional intelligence, reflection, and critical thinking. “We need to teach them how to slow down, how to connect, and how to tell what is real from what is not,” she said. “Parents are meaning-makers, but to guide children, they first need to make sense of the world themselves.”
She warned about what she called “a generation dependent on dopamine,” where quick satisfaction through screens leads to anxiety, addiction, and restlessness. “Mental health struggles are increasing because our brains are being trained to want more, all the time,” she added, suggesting practical steps such as keeping screens away before bedtime and modelling balanced use of technology.
“Children need parents, not friends” – Sr Veronica Gerada
Educator Sr Veronica Gerada spoke about the growing anxiety she sees among young people. “We are overprotecting them in the real world but not protecting them enough in the virtual one,” she said.
After years of teaching adolescents, she has seen the impact of digital overstimulation on wellbeing. “The link between smartphones and anxiety in children is too strong to ignore,” she explained. “The most unsettled children are those allowed to do whatever they want. Children need guidance, not friendship.”
Sr Veronica also reflected on how constant online activity distances both adults and children from their inner life. “If you are always online, you cannot be with yourself. Without that inner connection, life loses meaning, and without meaning, there is no real joy.”
She called for closer collaboration between parents and schools, and for parents to support one another as they face the pressures of modern parenting.
Throughout the evening, participants reflected on how to protect children without isolating them, and how to prepare them for a changing world while helping them stay grounded in what truly matters. One key idea echoed across the discussion: letting children experience boredom, because it opens space for imagination and creativity.
The Bible & Beer series, organised by St Paul’s Missionary College, continues to offer a meeting point between faith and daily life, encouraging reflection, dialogue, and shared wisdom in a time that often feels fragmented.