Restless Devices: How Technology Shapes Us (Felicia Wu Song)
Is technology shaping us more than we realize? Are we losing our ability to rest, reflect, and be present? In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer sits down with Dr. Felicia Wu Song, sociologist and author of Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age (InterVarsity Press). They explore how digital technology influences our sense of self, why constant connectivity isn’t neutral, and how Christians can resist being shaped by algorithms instead of by God.
Key Discussion Topics:
The hidden ways digital media rewires our attention and habits
Marshall McLuhan & Neil Postman—what they got right about the power of media
Why modern tech trains us to consume, not reflect
The rise of digital exhaustion—why even Gen Z is feeling the burnout
Recovering personhood & presence—practical ways to reclaim attention and space
How Christians can build “analog” rhythms that resist digital overreach
Resources & Links:
Go deeper: Technology & Media
Thinking Christian is hosted by Dr. James Spencer, president of the D. L. Moody Center and author of Digital Discernment (InterVarsity Press). Each conversation reads the Bible as the final authority for life and faith, questioning the assumptions of our culture, even our Christian culture, so that we don't settle for a narrower vision than God's word offers.
Unsettling convention. Cultivating conviction.
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📖 Restless Devices – Buy at ivpress.com (use code IVPPOD20 for a 20% discount)
Dr. Felicia Wu Song’s Website – feliciawusong.com
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In addition to being a regular contributor to Christianity.com and Washingtontimes.com, James has published multiple works, including Christian Resistance: Learnign to Defy the World and Follow Christ, Useful to God: Eight Lessons from the Life of D.L. Moody, Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind, and Trajectories: A Gospel-Centered Introduction to Old Testament Theology.
James currently serves as president of the D. L. Moody Center, an adjunct instructor at Wheaton College Graduate School, and faculty member at Right On Mission.
You can find out more about James at his personal website www.jamesspencer.com.
