How do you pray? In the morning? With friends from church? How about with your smartphone? Millions of people already are, and paying a subscription to do so. And Big Tech thinks you will too. Are Prayer Apps good for the soul? Adam and Chris dive into the spiritual, and financial, realities of Prayer Apps and this new pay-to-pray world.
Read MoreFelicia Wu Song is a Christian sociologist who says digital natives aren't as native as we think. Is there any hope for the rest of us? She says, yes.
Chris interviews Dr Felicia Wu Song about her new book Restless Devices. She explains her belief that our digital routines and habits are themselves forms of discipleship. She says they not only form our habits, but also shape our identity, community, and relationships.
And as a sociologist, Dr Song also draws attention to Big Tech's platforms and design decisions, the structures and systems they create, and the defaults those designs introduce to digitally mediated relationships.
Afterwards, Adam and Chris explore more what those routine and habits look like for them, and the struggles that come with the "immanent sense of the digital," as Dr Song puts it in her book. They imagine together what new habits and designs could help them better relate digitally to the most important people in their lives.
Read MoreDoctors and scientists have fallen on hard times. Experts are facing a crisis of trust, and we think technology is a major factor. We explore why on this episode of Device & Virtue.
Chris proposes how elders, priests, and magicians gave way to the modern expert, how digital media has led to the expert’s decline, and who is rising up in their wake.
Meanwhile, Adam says that information overload is something the Bible addresses in surprising ways. Navigating the new information economy starts with some age-old wisdom.
Read MoreMeet a new smartphone that can’t install apps, doesn’t have Facebook, and that’s why people want it. Does it make life better?
Adam interviews Chris Kaspar, founder of Techless and maker of the Wisephone about digital addiction, parenting, smartphone self-control, and more. Then, in the post-interview discussion, Chris and Adam discuss whether they would get a Wisephone and suggest some ways the Techless might make the Wisephone better.
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