Podcast

Viral Jesus

Courtesy of Felicia Wu Song

Felicia Wu Song: The Perils of Digital Discipleship

Digital devices impair our ability to be fully present. Sociologist Felicia Wu Song on how to reprioritize our connections with God, people, and ourselves.

“We love talking to leaders who are using social media for the common good,” says Heather, “but that doesn’t mean social media doesn’t have a dark side.”

In this episode, Heather invites you to learn about some of the existential dangers of social media from a leading scholar of digital technology. How do we use social media without allowing ourselves to be consumed by it? How does it impact our ability to be present with the people around us? Felicia Wu Song is the perfect person to guide us around the pitfalls and red flags, while also encouraging us to hang onto our humanity in this digital age.

Felicia Wu Song is a cultural sociologist of media and digital technologies who serves as a professor of sociology at Westmont College in Santa Barbara. With degrees in history, communication, and sociology from Yale, Northwestern, and the University of Virginia, her research is oriented around the rapidly evolving world of digital technology and how the adoption of social media and digital devices fundamentally alters the landscapes of family, community, and organizational life. She is the author of Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age.

Reach out to Heather at heatherthompsonday.com, on Twitter @HeatherTDay, and on Instagram @heatherthompsonday.

Viral Jesus is a production of Christianity Today

Host and creator: Heather Thompson Day

Producer: Loren Joseph

Executive Producer: Ed Gilbreath

Director of CT Podcasts: Mike Cosper

Our Latest

The Bulletin

Venezuelan Oil, LA Fires Aftermath, and Revival In America

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

The global aftershock of military action in Venezuela, California churches rebuild one year after LA fires, and the possibility of revival in America.

What Christian Parents Should Know About Roblox

Isaac Wood

The gaming platform poses both content concerns and safety risks that put minors in “the Devil’s crosshairs.” The company says tighter restrictions are coming.

How Artificial Intelligence Is Rewiring Democracy

Three books on politics and public life to read this month.

Analysis

The Dangerous Ambition of Regime Change

The Bulletin

Is America’s appetite for power in Venezuela bigger than its ability to handle it?

News

Kenyan Christians Wrestle with the Costs of Working Abroad

Pius Sawa

Working in the Gulf States promises better pay, but pastors say the distance harm marriages and children.

Happy 80th Birthday, John Piper

Justin Taylor

Fame didn’t change how the Reformed theologian lives.

So What If the Bible Doesn’t Mention Embryo Screening?

Silence from Scripture on new technologies and the ethical questions they raise is no excuse for silence from the church.

The Chinese Evangelicals Turning to Orthodoxy

Yinxuan Huang

More believers from China and Taiwan are finding Eastern Christianity appealing. I sought to uncover why.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube