Pope tells families to put down their phones and start talking to each other

The Pope has called for people to 'learn once again how to talk to one another' in a forthright statement delivered to coincide with World Communications Day.

Sniping at technology, the head of the Catholic Church said that we are now made to simply 'generate and consume information'.

The annual message seems to be a thinly veiled attempt to convince followers to put down their phones and start speaking to each other again in an era of mass communucation.

But Pope Francis may have to practice what he preaches, with his newfound tendency to tweet from his @Pontifex Twitter account, which boats an impressive 5.38million followers.

As part of his message issued from the Vatican yesterday, the Pontiff said: "The great challenge facing us today is to learn once again how to talk to one another, not simply how to generate and consume information.

"The latter is a tendency which our important and influential modern communications media can encourage. Information is important, but it is not enough.

"All too often things get simplified, different positions and viewpoints are pitted against one another, and people are invited to take sides, rather than to see things as a whole."

It's not the first time Pope Francis has had a pop at the current selfie-culture, remarking last year that young people waste too many hours on 'futile things' like chatting on the internet or with smartphones.

Yesterday, he added: "Today the modern media, which are an essential part of life for young people in particular, can be both a help and a hindrance to communication in and between families.

"The media can be a hindrance if they become a way to avoid listening to others, to evade physical contact, to fill up every moment of silence and rest."