Why do so many young people today live with anxiety, insecurity, and fear of the future? For José Ignacio Munilla, the answer lies in a society that places the gaze of others above God—and even above one’s own identity.
The Bishop of Orihuela-Alicante shared this reflection during the Rebeldes Podcast, hosted by Ignacio Amorós and Marcos Rodríguez. There, he offered a profound analysis of the spiritual and anthropological crisis facing today’s youth in the digital age.
“We Base Our Self-Esteem on the Gaze of Others”
During the conversation, Bishop Munilla explained that the main problem with social media is not merely technological, but deeply spiritual.
“Our biggest problem on social media is that we are replacing the presence of God with the gaze of others.”
According to the bishop, many people end up building their self-esteem entirely on how they are perceived by others—leading to insecurity and a loss of authenticity.
“We base our self-esteem on how we are perceived by others… it is very easy to end up acting inauthentically because you want to be accepted.”
This constant need for approval, he warned, empties a person internally and makes it difficult to face the future. Without what he calls a “vocational vision of life”—in which the future is discovered through God’s guidance—anxiety takes hold.
“If I have to invent my future instead of discovering it, it is anguish… because in reality I am playing at being God.”
From Prometheus to Narcissus
The bishop also reflected on how modern culture has shifted from pride to fragility.
Drawing on figures from Greek mythology, he explained that society once mirrored Prometheus—the man who defies God and determines for himself what is good and evil. Today, however, it resembles Narcissus: a person absorbed in self-image and the gaze of others.
“Narcissism is the image of someone who does nothing but look at himself… I look at myself through others and feel envy… we have gone from that self-sufficient and arrogant image to someone broken inside.”
He also warned that this crisis unfolds within what he called a “dictatorship of relativism,” where anything outside the dominant cultural narrative is often silenced.
“We are no longer just fighting against ideologies, but against the loss of our own human nature.”
A Testimony Marked by Suffering
During the interview, Bishop Munilla recalled his early years as a priest in Zumárraga, Spain, at the height of the heroin and AIDS crisis in the 1990s. He accompanied more than a hundred young people through Proyecto Hombre—many of whom died from addiction or illness.
“At a time like that, there is no room for illusions, no room for giving false hope.”
He especially remembered one young man with AIDS who, after his brother’s funeral, asked him:
“Have you already thought about what you are going to preach at my funeral?”
These experiences, he said, helped him understand more deeply the meaning of life and true freedom.
“Those young people knew they were going to die. But it mattered how they died. It is not the same to die enslaved by addiction as to die free. It is not the same to die after causing pain to your family as to die after bringing them joy by showing how you fought to begin again.”
For the bishop, the conclusion is clear:
“To die in God’s grace, to go to heaven—that is ultimately the success of this life.”
“Being a Saint and Being Happy Are the Same Thing”
In the final part of the interview, Bishop Munilla challenged the idea that holiness and happiness are two different paths.
“Saying that God wants you to be holy and that He wants you to be happy is the same thing. Holiness is seen from God’s perspective; happiness from yours.”
He explained that the problem arises when people think they must choose between the two.
“As long as you think there are two paths, you have a problem.”
True happiness, he concluded, is not the absence of suffering, but learning to embrace the Cross with Christ.
“I don’t believe in a ‘happy’ kind of happiness. I believe that happiness consists in embracing the Cross and seeing that it is glorious.”