If you’re looking for an account to follow that can actually make you a better person, we have a new recommendation. Real + True is a new platform that caught our eye this week because it shares insights from our faith tradition in a way that is worthy of the high standards our generation has for digital media.
We were captivated by the platform because, like Grotto, it’s unafraid to plumb the depths of our experience and ask the really big questions — the ones that come to mind when we’re looking at the stars or talking late into the night with friends around a campfire. It’s not easy to find accounts to follow that actually provoke self-reflection, that invite us to stop scrolling and consider if God has a plan for our lives. Real + True does that.
The project is centered on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is a text that captures what we believe about everything from Adam and Eve to just war theory. As Real + True puts it, the Catechism captures “what the Catholic Church actually teaches, about everything.”
As Catholics, we look to the Bible for answers in life, and we also find wisdom from a community that extends back thousands of years. That means our search for meaning should lead us to engage with both Scripture and insights from our tradition. The Catechism simply gathers and organizes those insights into a definitive guide to what our community of faith has been hearing from God through the ages.
The genius of Real + True is that it mashes up this ancient wisdom with the questions we’re asking about life today — and delivers content in a way that competes with the best platforms on social media right now.
“For many of us millennial and GenZ Catholics, we think of the Catechism as a textbook we studied in Confirmation class or some kind of rule book,” said Emily Mentock, co-founder of the new platform. “But the reality is that it's a gift because it is able to rise above the noise and focus on the truths of our faith and answer life’s deepest questions.”
If you check in on Real + True on Instagram (@real_plus_true) or TikTok (@RealPlusTrue), you’ll find a way to enliven your social media feed with content that is beautiful and compelling enough to make you stop and think — and maybe even pray.
“Real + True aims to present the Catechism in a way that speaks to our dreams and aspirations in a down-to-earth and relatable way,” Emily said. “The content is thought-provoking and rewards curiosity in a way that we hope will help people encounter the Catechism’s pulsating heart: Jesus."
