If you’ve ever felt that your phone is changing you, or if you have concerns about helping your children navigate the social internet and new digital technologies, then this is a book you should read.

It is not an anti-technology book. Rather, it is a book about thinking through wisely and biblically how to live in a digital world. Many Christian books and articles that are written about the social internet are very practical (implement these practices and these safeguards, etc, to protect your family from harm on the internet). This book is unique in that it evaluates the social internet as a habitat or moral context that has never existed before, in which we must learn to live faithfully and wisely as Christians.

Samuel James looks at the liturgies (forms and habits) that the social internet promotes and how these “digital liturgies” quietly mould our beliefs about life. The five key areas he concentrates on are authenticity, outrage, shame, consumption, and meaninglessness. Then he evaluates these areas according to God’s wisdom.

This books gives the reader a clearer understanding of the ways digital technology can inadvertently lead us as Christians to practices and beliefs that contradict the Scripture’s teachings. It also traces out a path forward for living wisely and well in a digital context.