I went to Catholic school and yes they do in fact update saints. There's a patron Saint for the internet (Isidore of Seville), movies (Genesius), and astronauts (Joseph of Cupertino). I would say the tradition combines derives from Greco-Roman theosymbolism where divine beings represent specific domains of contemporary life. Note that Protestant and Baptist denominations do not generally recognize patron saints.

You can see a list of all them here and the rationale for their patronage as well. Pretty interesting to see the swath of culture and technology they cover: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/patrons.aspx