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It’s hard to escape the lifestyle of “new media.” No longer the Internet “wave of the future,” new media instead has integrated itself into our daily lives. Updated statuses are conversation starters, “friend” is a verb and “tweet” takes on a meaning other than springtime birdsong.

According to the New Media Institute, an organization working to improve public understanding of new forms of communication, “new media” encompasses blogging, the use of audio and video, social networking, Internet dating, instant messaging, mobile use, downloading music — basically any digital form of communication or interaction.

With a new media boom sweeping the digital world, the Catholic Church is doing its best to stay relevant. The Vatican recently launched a YouTube channel that offers video in Italian, English, Spanish and German to its 13,660 subscribers. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Office of Digital Media, responsible for developing and maintaining “everything Internet” for the organization, links to audio podcasts of the daily Scripture readings (plus video reflections), videos on the sacraments and other Church topics, movie reviews and more. Singles are connecting via dating sites like CatholicMatch and CatholicSingles. And of course Catholic media, including the Catholic Herald, have jumped, keyboards-first, into the world of Web sites, blogs, Twitter feeds and Facebook pages to deliver material to a wider audience and a younger generation.

Diocesan ministries, too, have embraced new media. A “media center” on the Arlington Diocese Web site, arlingtondiocese.org, connects users with informative videos, podcasts of talks from the young adult Theology on Tap series and additional audio selections of homilies, talks and reflections by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde. The Office of Catholic Schools issues a quarterly electronic newsletter — the E-ducator — that is both e-mailed and posted online.

Diocesan schools like St. Bernadette in Springfield and Linton Hall in Bristow use online tools such as Homework Hero to post assignments.

Social networking, especially via the online phenomenon Facebook, has established itself as the crux of many diocesan groups. Young adults, youth and campus ministries, and even Catholic Charities and the diocesan Human Resource office, are updating their statuses, listing events or job openings, and posting photos. Nearly 200 people belong to the Facebook group “We Love Bishop Loverde.”

“I can’t imagine trying to have a ministry to people in their 20s and 30s and not using Facebook,” said Kateri Schmidt, coordinator of young adult ministry and operator of the Arlington YAM (young adult ministry) Facebook page. “We put all of our events on there. We can see how many people are coming; they can see who else is going. They can add it to their Outlook calendar. There’s no way they can forget about it.”

Now with 641 “friends,” Arlington YAM’s Facebook page is growing steadily.

“People are looking for it there,” Schmidt said.

Father Brian Bashista, diocesan vocations director, has a personal profile on Facebook — he’s a Capitals fan, a Virginia Tech alum and a member of the group “Diocese of Arlington is the Greatest” — and has created a group for those involved with the men’s discernment program Quo Vadis.

Even with his online presence, Father Bashista insists he’s “behind the curve.

“I’m just trying to keep up with these young ones,” he said. “Especially those in high school, they look at e-mail like we look at the slide rule. If they have an e-mail, they don’t check it. They do everything through Facebook.”

Father Bashista said that besides being a communication tool, Facebook is a good way to discover common ground between youths and priests.

“It kind of breaks down barriers,” Father Bashista said. “A lot of the young ones are surprised that a 45-year-old priest has a Facebook page.”

Youth Apostles Father David Sharland, campus minister at Marymount University in Arlington, said Facebook has been a “hugely helpful” resource for him and his ministry.

“Most college students these days do not read their e-mails, but they all go to Facebook,” Father Sharland said. “It is my primary way of communicating with students when I can’t communicate with them face-to-face.”

The campus minister added that Facebook is helpful for establishing initial contact, scheduling upcoming events or meetings, or for simply checking in and catching up. Father Sharland links his Facebook status to his Twitter account, so those who “follow him” will have an idea of what he’s up to or that an event is about to start. A more personal status updated with a quote or thought helps convey to his students “what’s on my heart,” he said.

The new technology has forced the campus ministry team into being proactive — to open a door into the students’ world, Father Sharland said.

“It invites us to go where the students are going, to kind of go into their world,” he said. “I think a lot of students get surprised when they see you show up on Facebook. They can see I’m doing what they’re doing.”

If you don’t have Facebook, however, not all is lost. Old-fashioned Web sites and list servs still play a large part in online communication. Schmidt sends a weekly newsletter to an e-mail listserv with a quote of the day, links to the diocesan Web site and lists of upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.

Father Bashista will snail mail you a letter if that’s what it takes to communicate. And Father Sharland will continue to maintain face-to-face contact, whether you’re his Facebook friend or not.

“There’s always the danger that we stop communicating face-to-face and person-to-person,” Father Sharland said. “I work very hard to make sure we don’t lose that.”