Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age

by Brett McCracken, Collin Hansen (contributor), Read Mercer Schuchardt (contributor)

Christian Wisdom for Our Tech-Saturated Age

The rapid advance of digital technology is reshaping our world and warping our minds. The onslaught of social media and smartphones has brought an appetite for distraction, an epidemic of loneliness, and increased rates of mental unhealth. For Christians, the digital revolution has profound implications for spiritual formation and mission. How should believers respond to the theological and discipleship challenges of scrolling life?

On the 40th anniversary of Neil Postman's prophetic book Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), Scrolling Ourselves to Death gathers today's most incisive writers to think critically about the shaping power of contemporary technology. This book explores Postman's insights, connects them to the challenges facing Christians today, and turns difficult challenges into life-giving opportunities for the church. Stepping back from their screens, listeners will be equipped to live faithfully, and grow spiritually, in a "scrolling ourselves to death" world.

Includes action steps listeners can use to reclaim a healthy life in a tech-saturated world Helps listeners become more discerning in the way they think about and utilize technology Useful for Church Leaders or Ministry Perfect for those who want to help those they lead think more carefully about technology Expert Features insights from a wide variety of leading Christian thinkers on technology, faith, and culture

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Christian Living, Technology, Theology, Audiobook, Cultural

256 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2025

Reviews

[Amanda (aebooksandwords) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: This book is intended to get you thinking about phone and social media usage, in part by showing you how it is changing the way we think and how to wisely navigate this as believers.

Are our lives passing us by as we stare at a screen, spending time we’ll never regain? Is this our reality? Sadly—for most of us—it is. What can we do to terminate this sick cycle? How can we take back our focus—our souls—from deadening distractions?

Enter “Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age.” This book features chapters from authors such as Brett McCracken, Jen Pollock Michel, Jay Y. Kim, and others, drawing from Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death.”

“Dopamine media is the most powerful, pervasive, and engineered form of communication technology in human history, and it's not shaping us to love Jesus most. It's not shaping us to love our neighbor. It's shaping us into pleasure-seeking addicts.” - Patrick Miller

Fave chapters:

• From Amusement to Addiction: Introducing Dopamine Media
• From the Age of Exposition to the Age of Expression
• Striving for Seasonableness in a “Now . . . This” World
• Use New Media Creatively But Cautiously
• Cling to Embodiment in a Virtual World

“Ultimately, the call isn't to abandon technology but to bring it under Christ's lordship.”

This challenging book has already changed my life! Because of it I’ve drastically altered how I use my phone and social media. Of all the things I can’t stop thinking about this book, it’s that this book is a must read for all!

Highlights:

“...the way gambling works on the brain is exactly how dopamine media works.”

“Dopamine, plain and simple, dictates much of our behavior, especially online.”

“We must think carefully about why we find certain distractions addictive, and cultivate in their place solid loves for the gifts with which God has filled his world.”

“Our flight into digital distraction is often Jonah-like; we want to forget these circumstances and delegate those roles.”

“The time we spend scrolling and wandering down algorithmic rabbit trails is often time taken directly away from the nobler, if harder, tasks God has given us to do.”

“…algorithmically driven social media tends to affirm and reinforce what we already believe.”

“...the onset of AI technology, which can put any words in anyone’s mouth in remarkably real-looking video or audio clips, gives us new reason to doubt online content’s trustworthiness.”

“We must step in and speak truth that gives life . . . lifting hunched-down faces to behold the one who is infinitely more satisfying than whatever fleeting amusements flash across our screens.”

Total: 4.75 Stars

Readability: 4
Impact: 5
Content: 5
Enjoyment: 5

Thank you to Crossway for gifting me a copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

[Lettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was like The Anxious Generation but from a Christian perspective. Each chapter focused on a different aspect of media and entertainment which was very sobering, but was then wrapped up with gospel hope. It was very refreshing and convicting!

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book begins with an incisive analysis of our cultural technopoly. Joe Carter and Samuel James's chapters excel here as well as Jen Pollock Michel's chapter, which is the first in the book to cast a clear vision for what new affections we might cultivate to, as the subtitle says, reclaim life in our digital age. In part 2, Nathan Finn's chapter on reading history is also excellent. In part 3, the contributions from Shane Morris (evaluating the Christian use of video/film), Jay Kim (on the necessity of embodied Christian community), and Andrew Spencer (which should've been titled "Consider the Amish") are stand-outs.

[Lydia Lindvall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thoughtful read about how technology is changing the way we connect with others. It offers insight about how the church can speak life into a world that is becoming increasingly online and isolating people more than ever. This book draws upon a large body of old and new literature about technology, giving the reader both ideas to contemplate and practical steps to live out. It repeatedly encourages us to be cautious about new technology and evaluate its possible benefits vs costs before adopting it. Although each chapter is written by a different contributor, the book has a very cohesive voice. Would definitely recommend for Christians living in the 21st century.

[Jason Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent modern Christian companion to Neil Postman’s classic “Amusing Ourselves to Death”. I love TGC books featuring many contributors, in this case, one per chapter. This book builds on the successes of Postman’s book while also avoiding some of the pitfalls, namely, the lack of actionable steps to avoid his dystopian vision of the future. In this book, each author leaves the reader with action steps to be taken both individually and corporately in Christian community to devote our lives to Christ, His people, and His good gifts, rather than “scrolling ourselves to death”.

[Joshua Crask · Rating 5 out of 5]

"meeting people where they are" does not necessarily mean "meeting people in the media format they most prefer". great read for the church to refocus ourselves in the digital age and includes practical points to not be too taken with our technology.

[Alyssa Borwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I really enjoyed this. Gave me a lot to think about. Would recommend!

4.5/5

[Dr. David Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

The internet has changed life as we know it for the foreseeable future. Despite the benefits of recent technological tools, we are experiencing a phenomenon that should be of grave concern to pastors, parents, and Christian leaders. Some notable authors have highlighted how technological advances is hindering learning and even re-wiring the brain.

Brett McCracken and Ivan Mesa continue the discussion in their recent book, Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age. The editors of this fine book lock arms with a formidable team of pastors and Christian thinkers who are committed to offering biblical solutions in a world that is being manipulated by technological pirates, through artificial intelligence and algorithms.

The book draws some of its most potent material from Neil Postman’s book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, first published in 1985. Postman’s warning was apropos at the end of the twentieth century. It is even more serious now. Scrolling Ourselves to Death begins by focusing on Postman’s insights. Patrick Miller writes insightfully, “Your phone is a digital syringe. It’s a gateway to lifelong, brain-altering, relationship-destroying addiction.” Such a warning should readers to pause and reflect, leading them to the next section.

The book continues by noting some practical challenges that face Christian communicators. Matters of apologetics, epistemology, and theology are explored, all subjects that make good use of Postman’s timely observations. Thaddeus Williams makes the keen observation that “Christianity scratches humanity’s deepest existential itches for relationship, freedom, mystery, beauty, awe, hope, and more.” This powerful reality is seen throughout the book and serves as a testament to the authority of God’s word.

The book concludes with a section that provides insight on how the church can minister to a “scrolling death” world. Technological advances are not cast aside here; rather their use is encouraged with the caveat of caution. In an especially illuminating chapter, Read Mercer Schuchardt never repudiates the use of technology or media. But he does admonish readers to embrace their mission. He writes:

Go touch grass. Put down the phone, give up the screen, and initiate: no matter your age, stop scrolling and start your life. You need only ten thousand hours of deliberate practice to get good at something worth doing, and you’ve got that in spades if you give up the 10.85 hours per day currently devoted to media. That’s just 749 days to get really good at your skill, art, trade, or craft; that’s just two years, which is half the time it takes to acquire a college education.

Scrolling Ourselves to Death is a much-needed work. The authors pick up where Postman left off and offer readers a smorgasbord of practice tools for moving into the future with an eye on the gospel and a heart for the kingdom of God.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

[Anthony Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more books I read about technology and it's effects on us, the more I learn about how so deeply formed we are by it. Scary.

Of those books, this one might be my favorite. Really well researched. Convicting. It's less practical but I'm still feeling very called-to-action.

[Sarah Kroese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I agreed with the author on basically everything. He mentioned so many other novels related to this topic, and I kept thinking, oh, I've read that too! (He even mentioned Bible Project, one of my favorite teaching resources). Here are some of my favorite points he made:
1. We live in a time that denies truth and values entertainment. As Christians, we must continue to push for the truth we know.
2. Truth vetted across time is usually reliable. Read more old books!
3. The Christian tradition has always passed down truth from generation to generation. We cannot have arrogance amnesia, assuming we know better than those of the past, just because we have the internet at our fingertips.
4. We must consider our information/action ratio. Today, people believe that simply posting something on their story helps those who are suffering. Discussing an issue is not the same as taking action. We need to actually go out and help other people in our community.
Overall, I highly recommend this book, and I hope more people read it!

[Kevin Halloran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been meaning to re-read Postman's seminal work Amusing Ourselves to Death for some time, but I'm glad I came across Scrolling Ourselves to Death instead. The TGC team thoughtfully draws on Postman's core themes and applies them to today's digital landscape through a clear biblical lens. The result is a book rich in theological insight and practical wisdom, offering a timely challenge to engage with technology more intentionally and faithfully.

[Jed Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early candidate for book of the year. Outstanding research and analysis that leads to practical discussions of how to navigate this critical topic. Honors Postman’s legacy in all the right ways.

[Alex McEwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished Murray’s “Christian Baptism” a few days ago, and so Brett McCracken’s “Scrolling Ourselves to Death” came with me to the pool yesterday. It was an easy single sitting read at under 200 pages. Unfortunately, I don’t think I liked it.

McCracken sets out to build on Neil Postman’s classic “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” A book I recommend without hesitation to anyone trying to make sense of our media saturated age. In fact, McCracken goes as far to say this is meant to be a spiritual and cultural sequel, or at least a companion volume. The premise is solid. Postman’s warnings have only grown more urgent in the age of TikTok and algorithms fighting for our souls. And McCracken rightly identifies our scrolling habits as both a symptom and a driver of modern discontent.

But while it’s clear in its aims, the execution feels thin. The essays are only loosely connected reflections orbiting Postman’s insights. That’s fine as a format, but the downside is that the material quickly begins to recycle. After a while, I felt like I was reading the same five or six ideas again and again, just dressed up in slightly different language. Even the discussion questions, an otherwise welcome addition, begging to feel exactly the same after each essay. They all seemed to ask, how are you distracted? Where do you seek meaning? What is the impact of media on your formation? All important questions, but they blur together after a few iterations of the same question asked every few pages.

McCracken is pastoral and thoughtful, and occasionally he lands a line that sticks. But I found myself wondering if this book would have been stronger had it remained a short series of online essays. Or better yet, if it had encouraged readers to revisit Postman directly, perhaps with a companion guide. As it stands, I suspect the best approach would be to read the introduction and then skim a chapter or two that most piques your interest.

That said, I probably will return to the discussion questions as prompts for small groups or conversations. They aren’t bad, just repetitive. And without their inclusion, I don’t know if I would have allowed this boon to take up the shelf space when I finished.

As always, Crossway gives us a lovely page, typeface is excellent, and the paper weight is premium. But there’s absolutely no margin space to reflect on the questions they just asked you! You’re prompting me to journal. Give me the space to do it! Also, a book this saturated with facts just needs the margin space for you to take notes.

In the end, “Scrolling Ourselves to Death” left me a bit underwhelmed. It’s a beautiful book, physically. The topic is timely. The heart behind it is good. But the content doesn’t quite warrant the time investment especially when you can just read Postman himself, or even Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation.”

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not because I’m one of the editors, but this volume has contributions from some of the most thoughtful people that I enjoy reading and learning from. We’re publishing this to coincide with the 40th anniversary (2025) of Neil Postman’s ‘Amusing Ourselves to Death’ (1985), as we think Christianly about technology, social media, and the task of Christian discipleship. Our aim is to gather clear, countercultural thinkers and brave prophets who, like Postman, sound necessary alarms and provide timely guidance. We need frequent reminders of how the ancient gospel can speak truth and shape life in our brave new world. We pray this offers a bracing and hope-filled word to the church.

[Emily Waits (emilylovesreading_) · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I received a complimentary copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.)

“Ultimately, the call isn't to abandon technology but to bring it under Christ's lordship.”

Is it too soon to say this title will be on my list of 2026 "Books of the Year" for me, if it's only the first week of January?

This book is a modern take on Neil Postman’s classic, titled “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” I had only read excerpts from Postman’s book previously, and I enjoyed that there were lots more excerpts included in the writing of this book. “Scrolling Ourselves to Death” is really a continuation of the former in a way, as it takes that book to its furthering conclusion as the world has continued to change and the ways in which we amuse ourselves have evolved–into scrolling.

Written by a multitude of authors, each chapter is written by someone different. I found this title to be very approachable and enjoyable to read, even though it was absolutely packed with information. This book is both wise and practical, warning readers to approach technology with both discernment and self-control. Technology itself is not necessarily bad, but we can easily misuse it and become slaves to it with a multitude of negative consequences to our health, lives, and relationships.

This title is on such an important topic, and I’d definitely call this book a “must read.” As we begin a new year, now would be an excellent time to pick up “Scrolling Ourselves to Death.” If you haven’t already, make 2026 the year you set major social media boundaries and “reclaim” your real life in this social media, digital obsessed age. It’s worth it!

Highly recommend!

[Cailyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most pressing issue of our time. I felt compelled to read this as a teacher witnessing my students overall capacity in their memory decreasing though instructional content remains steadfast.

The way that Christians move forward in the digital (more specifically, TikTok) age should be incredibly thoughtful. The embodied life of the Christian is at odds with the increasingly disembodied culture that our digital lives are creating.

The book offers practical advice, but more importantly issues a warning. We are at a crux in history and can decide which way we, as individuals, will move forward. Arguing from the pillars of “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” the Christian authors expound on Neil Postman’s arguments of the detriment of television to human life to include those of our technologically centered society today.

I’d encourage those curious in what the digital age is doing to reform us - mentally, socially, and spiritually - to read this book. The facts that we now have beyond “teen mental health is bad because of social media” are astounding and terrifying. The least we ca do, as the book argues, is assess technology through the lens of these questions: “what problem does xyz solve? what problems does xyz create?”

Here’s to thoughtful approaches to our lived experience and the belief that God is redeeming our time.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scrolling Ourselves to Death is a collection of writings by different authors. The book quoted Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves To Death" a lot and had some good points. I definitely think "scrolling" and/or entertainment can be an addiction and we need wisdom with how we use our time. It is definitely a struggle!

The book did feel a bit repetitive at times, but it was a pretty easy read. All in all, a powerful read at times and a good reminder to use wisdom with how to live in our tech-saturated world.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

[Noah Senthil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my 2nd full read. But I’ve read the chapter by Read Mercer Schuchardt—one of Neil Postman’s former students—at least 4 times in the past year. It is piercing and prophetic. One of the best essays (though more like a rebuke/exhortation) on technology and human flourishing I’ve ever read. When I was in undergrad at Wheaton, everyone knew who Dr. Schuchardt was because you either loved him and imitated his way of life or thought he was the most annoying professor on campus, even if you never met him. I was in the latter category of students. I was totally wrong about him. Almost all of his opinions that I thought were absurd—which I heard via other students—I now agree with. Such is life!

Brett McCracken’s chapter on the separation of information and action is also profoundly true and particularly helpful in matters I’ve been navigating recently. Overall, Brett and Ivan did a great job compiling and editing this volume. An impressive achievement.

[Rachel Ekberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful update to Neil Postman’s book “Amusing Ourselves to Death” that moves past postman’s focus on TV to consider the impact of social media. It also includes more useful application but does suffer from a little unevenness in the writing as each chapter has a different author.

[Trent Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable.

[Hayden Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a TGC collab, which applies Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death" to current day technology. Although somewhat repetitive, I appreciated the authors' applications to different areas of life, including preaching, fellowship, etc. A major takeaway is the importance of embodied relationships. The Church is one of the few places where this can be applied! Also, this book convinced me never to bring an iPad up into the pulpit (Physical Bibles only).

[Jeffrey McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking and challenging.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all the tech-debunking content I’ve read this was by far the most clear, helpful, and convicting. I’d highly recommend this book and considering what are the costs of consuming the media that you do!

[Brittany Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The church must step in and speak truth that gives life, redirecting glazed-over eyes and lifting hunched-down faces to behold the one who is infinitely more satisfying than whatever fleeting amusements flash across our screens.”


Wow! What a necessarily pessimistic yet optimistically hopeful book we have here.

Over the years my relationship to technology has oscillated from joy— because I can get my groceries delivered to my house and can google all my weird questions and get immediate answers to satisfy my curiosity— to fear and anxiety as I am bombarded with every global tragedy and angering political stance and spend time wondering how AI will somehow be used to frame me for some bizarre crime I didn’t commit (I read a lot).

It’s a wild world we live in.

How do we make sense of it all? How should a biblical worldview shape our evaluation of technology and our personal use of it? This book, written by 15 different contributors engages with the prescient writings of Neil Postman, writer of Amusing Ourselves to Death, the title of which Scrolling Ourselves to Death is derived from.

Amusing Ourselves to Death was written at the dawn of television. Postman lamented how easily our culture became content with entertainment instead of substance, visual distraction instead of intellectual engagement.

I was drawn in immediately in reading Scrolling Ourselves to Death when McCracken (fantastic last name) shared Postman’s evaluation of the dystopian futures depicted in both 1984 and Brave New World. Postman, who was writing Amusing in the year 1984, was curious to see which dystopian prediction had most come to fruition. He observed:

“Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies … In 1984 people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure.”

When I recently read 1984, I could see a lot of parallels to today, but now I also see the sneaky control of Brave New World and how susceptible our current culture would be to such methods.

What Postman recognized decades ago when television came on the scene is even more evident in our era of pocket supercomputers: we are a culture distracted and shaped by technology and our pursuit of pleasure and entertainment.



In every chapter of Scrolling Ourselves to Death an author compares Postman’s findings to what we see in our world today and goes a step further by looking at it through a biblical lens— what does this mean for Christians and what do we do about it?

There have been many books written about this topic— including Haidt’s recent and popular book The Anxious Generation— so you may not be surprised by all the studies finding how addicting dopamine-inducing scrolling is or how isolated and lonely people are even though they’re ‘more connected’ to the world than ever before. You might not even be surprised that the suicide rate for kids increased “62% between 2007 (the year the iPhone debuted) and 2021.”

But you may be surprised to know that the authors of this book are not asking you to abandon technology.

What I loved about this book was not just the thoughtful and careful analysis of Postman’s work and its increasing relevance for today (and where his conclusions fall short), it was how every chapter contained constructive ideas or hopeful encouragement.

Books that critique technology and show us all the terrible consequences of it can just make us more anxious or fearful or overwhelmed by how integrated it is in our lives. How could we ever change something so pervasive? I don’t like the books that tear everything down and then basically hold up two fingers and say ‘Peace.’

In contrast, Scrolling Ourselves to Death actually offers real peace reminding us that:

“Ultimately, the call isn’t to abandon technology, but to bring it under Christ’s lordship.… In him, we have enduring hope, unshakable truth, and eternal life – the things we crave that our secular age and its technologies can’t supply. By keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, we can boldly and creatively use technology for his glory and for the good of his church.”

While I can’t impart all the good things to you that I read within these pages, I’ll highlight some of the points they make that are especially important for Christians to think about:


Technology is shaping how people determine what is true and good.

Postman recognized the shift in ‘currency’ when television came on the scene. Content depth was traded for entertainment value.

“religious ideas are increasingly judged by their ability to entertain and hold the audience’s attention, rather than by their spiritual truth or theological depth…”

This was the movement into a ‘consumer’ Christianity.

Several of this book’s authors build on that understanding, sharing how people’s beliefs about what is true are so often shaped by TikTok or YouTube videos and the like before they even step into a church.

Rich theology can’t be fully imparted in thirty second videos by people presenting the information in the most click-bait or evocative way.

“Does the internet deliver popular access with complex arguments? Or does this medium— think of social media in particular— privilege certain messages that divide us?”

Postman coined the ‘Now… This’ effect which is a “rapid, superficial succession of information, designed to be discarded.” Even more so than TV, scrolling through so many ads and short clips or quotes keeps our brains from thinking clearly about or processing what we’re seeing. This creates discontinuity and incoherence.

Keith Plummer observed that he’s seeing more and more people disinterested or unconcerned with logic. They are fine with the contradictions of their own beliefs.

Plummer points to the ‘Now… This’ effect:

“Part of the reason contemporary people have become comfortable with contradiction is that they’ve been shaped by a scrolling world in which discontinuity reigns.”

Hans Madueme echoes this with a call to venture out from an online community when seeking truth: “People still live falsely even while ‘knowing’ the truth— because we are powerfully catechized by the company we keep (1 Cor 15:33). Thus, we need healthy communities that will nurture us to treasure what is true, including people from church, close friends, neighbors, and family.”


All of this matters to us as Christians because we are called to share God’s truth with the world. Truth matters and we can’t allow ourselves to be content with incoherence and discontinuity in our beliefs.

We need to evaluate our own ways of determining truth— have we resorted to online content and snippets or are we willing to have conversations with trusted people or read books (new and old) or above all, study the Scriptures?

This also affects evangelism. Plummer encourages us not to give up because people are unreasonable, but to continue to engage with people and draw them into the real, coherent story God reveals in Scripture about himself and his plan for his people.

“Narratives, whether literary or cinematic, communicate worldviews. The grand, glorious biblical story is what minds trained to think in fragments need in order to see how the pieces of human experience fit together in a larger whole. Evangelism and apologetics are about proclaiming and defending a sweeping, coherent, and imagination-gripping story about the nature of reality that explains our deepest desires as well as the reasons for our resistance to the truth.”

We need to stay committed to working in the field and trusting God with the growth and the harvest.


Technology can trivialize and relativize Christianity.

Thaddeus Williams explains that we can share the truth of the gospel with people content with contradictions by breaking through the veneer of relativism, avoiding trivialization, and going beyond disinformation.

We challenge relativism by declaring that Jesus isn’t just one of many equal ways— he is THE way, “unparalleled in his goodness, trustworthiness, grace, historical reality, bodily resurrection, and saving power.”

He shared a study that found almost half of Christian millennials think it’s wrong to share their beliefs with others with the desire they might come to share the same faith or that to disagree with someone is to judge them.

This is relativism at work and turns the Great Commission “into the Not-So-Great Suggestion.”

When we play along with the gimmicky tricks of marketing and chasing mass appeal as we present the gospel, we are more likely to trivialize Jesus, turning what is precious and sacred into “another cheap gimmick.”

Postman’s definition of ‘disinformation’ is “misplaced, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial information— information that creates the illusion of knowing something but which in fact leads one away from knowing.”

William’s warns Christians against adding to the noise of disinformation by “posting and reposting unsubstantiated, sensationalistic content and conspiracy theories.”

Especially in the age of AI where the difference between fact and fake is hard to detect. I see this all time, even amongst my Christian friends, where sensationalist and outraging news stories are shared before we get the whole story— many times the original story was wrong! We need to be wise and discerning. Being the first to share an alarming story doesn’t make us virtuous.

Be selective and cautious about what you share online lest you cause everything you share to be called into question. Be committed to telling a better story:

“we must clearly communicate our Christian worldview as a worldview, a Christ-centered vision that makes sense of all reality. Christianity scratches humanity’s deepest existential itches for relationship, freedom, mystery, beauty, awe, hope, and more.”


Technology can make us a disembodied people.

G. Shane Morris talks about the individualistic, performative, and disjointed nature of the online world.

He recognizes:

“the limits our bodies impose on our time, our relationships, our work, and our worship can be good. These limits are not always obstacles we should strive to overcome with technology…

… Christianity is a physical religion involving tangible sacraments, face-to-face fellowship, and the participation in worship and word in physical spaces. Converts are baptized in real water, commune with real bread and wine, and are welcomed into a real, local body of believers. It has always been so, and to demand Christianity renegotiate these inheritances is to demand it become a fundamentally different, less embodied religion.”

I think McCracken hits the nail on the head of some of my own anxiety when he states that “we’re overinformed and underactivated.”

We used to only know what was going on in our local communities and could take direct actions to impact our communities. But now we know every tragedy and problem across the entire globe— problems we can’t usually directly do anything about.

Because of this, activism has turned into “slacktivism” in which we merely change our Facebook profile picture to whatever the latest cause is or use the right hashtags or speech and think we're making a difference.

He includes a great quote from a letter C.S. Lewis wrote lamenting that people equate the state of being worried with meritoriousness.

“You weren’t made to be a gawker but a gardener,” McCracken then admonishes.

The church as an embodied people should be working in the place God has put them.


Read Mercer Schuchardt (who studied under Postman himself) wrote a particularly blunt but refreshing chapter calling readers to tangible participation instead of digital spectating.

“Real love requires real sacrifice. It’s proof of social media’s weaponization of your empathy that you ‘think’ you did a good thing because it ‘feels’ like you did a good thing. But if you can’t name the individuals you helped, or say how you helped them, you likely did nothing except make yourself feel good.”

My favorite quote of the whole book may be when he said “we were created for realities, not vibes.”

I always cringe at this phrase because it’s true: ‘Good vibes’ are not enough! Participate in the process of life. Show up for the people in your life and in your community in a tangible way. This was probably the most convicting chapter for me. I realize I need to do a better job of looking for needs in my community that I can meet.


Jay Y. Kim speaks to the creation of ‘online church’ during the pandemic. It solved one problem, but created new problems: convenience and low commitment.

Those are the questions the church should be asking about technology: What is the problem that this new technology solves? What new problems do we create by solving this problem?

An embodied church may be inconvenient or messy, but high commitment is a principle of meaning and of real transformation. We lose that when we do church by ourselves on our computers.

“When ‘church’ is reduced to staring at a screen, the mirror simply reflects our preferences and proclivities. But gathering together shatters the mirror and helps us see beyond the abyss of self and out onto the expansive horizon of communal life in God’s kingdom.”

We were created to be an embodied church, an embodied people.



Recommendation

Scrolling Ourselves to Death was written on the heels of the 40th anniversary of Postman’s book and I don’t think the relevance for us today could be overstated.

Technology is not going away, and it’s going to keep changing. We can’t avoid it or eliminate it, but we can live better with it.

As this whole host of authors has attested in this book’s pages: We can orient ourselves to God’s truth instead of algorithmic suggestions. We can declare the reality of God’s holiness and exception instead of perpetuating disinformation that obscures and trivializes him. And we can participate in a tangible, embodied community that puts love into action instead of isolating ourselves into a digital world of false empathy, performance, and meaninglessness.

Andrew Spencer sums it up well: “The churches mandate is not just to sound the alarm and stop our neighbors from scrolling themselves to death. We must also invite them into life —the abundant life offered in Christ. It’s a life more abundant than all the conveniences of algorithms, more satisfying than all the pleasures of our smartphones, more beautiful than all the wonders we could possibly scroll across.”

I think everyone should read this book that combines pessimism and optimism into a realistic but hopeful resource that will bolster Christians to live well in a tech-saturated and increasingly lonely world.

There is life to be had.

I love the verse Ivan Mesa points to in the epilogue, “the source of life will remain the same. As Simon Peter answered Jesus, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’ (Jn 6:68)”

[See original review post for a list of other relevant books]

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[Bobby Bonser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every so often we must pause from our media reverie and ask reflective and hard questions about our use of technology:
What are my technology habits doing to my brain?
How is my use impacting my relationships?
What is my reason for using it?
Where do I find myself addicted or drawn in to use it too much or for the wrong reasons?
What can I replace these habits with that are more productive for eternity and the sake of Christ?

This book fundamentally is an update/addendum to Neal Postman's oddly prophetic (in a non-mystical sense of the word) classic written in the 80s "Amusing Ourselves to Death", written before the advent of the Internet.
(McCracken references Postman often, so I would highly recommend reading Postman's book before diving into this one. It's a "must read" book in my opinion).

That being said, this was a refreshing addendum to Postman in two ways:
1. It is updated by about 50 years, for the age in which we live (internet, smart phone, AI). Now that we have lived with the Internet for about 4 decades, we have much more science and study about what the Internet is doing to our brains and society at large. Some of the effects are positive, most are negative. But everyone is swept up into the age whether we like it or not, as the new technology renders functionality in society very difficult if you choose to completely abstain.

McCracken wades through this research, highlighting the science and providing caution, whilst also having a realistic view of how to live in this tech culture as Christians. Which leads to my next point.

2. The analysis is helpful because it is from a Biblical perspective. Postman, being Jewish, hints at the impacts of technology individually, as a society, and then hints at how this may affect the way we think about or worship God. McCracken, writing from a Biblical Worldview, tackles these questions and issues head-on. How do we, as Christians, think through and resist the media frenzy while also not becoming luddites? What should churches do to guard against some of the pitfalls of this technology frenzy? How should church leaders think through these issues to help others and shepherd people in their families and relationships (parents, children, students, etc.). The implications drawn from these questions will necessarily inform how we function in these relationships, and day-to-day how we use our time to honor Christ.

He does a good job in the book of not "prescribing" a certain exact rule or set of rules, but merely raises questions and poses thoughts through research and bringing the Bible to bear on thinking through these ideas.

One critique I have is that would loved to have heard more of the gospel in the book itself. While that wasn't his primary purpose, I think there were natural moments in the book that a discussion about how the good news of Christ's death and resurrection intensely impacts and changes our desires even in the way we use and choose technology daily. He could highlight a little more clearly the security we have in Christ; that even as we fail and continue to battle these daily inundations, we must run to the cross where we see our precious Savior who died for our sins.

Overall, this is a very helpful book, written this year (2025) that I think everyone should put on their "to read" list.

[Josh Kannard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for a summer book group at my church.

I found this book to be pretty uninspiring. I think that it suffers from the very thing it's against. With 14 chapters (+ the intro) over 216 pages of text, all isolated and writen by different authors, the book doesn't really have the ability to make a profound cohesive argument. It's just an collection of brief snapshot chapters that remain shallow. I would rather have spent my time directly reading Postman.

[Michael Philliber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death” years ago. His point, back in the 1980s and 1990s, was about the way we have become an entertainment culture, where television and televised news media, have sucked the life out of our ability to have healthy discussions, process news, and reason. I was delighted that Crossway has just recently pulled together a team of thinkers who are not anti-technology, but want to help fellow Christians think through technology – especially in the areas of multiple media venues, AI, cyber-space, etc. “Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age,” is a 256-page softback edited by Brett McCracken, an author and senior editor for the Gospel Coalition, along with Ivan Mesa, editorial director for the Gospel Coalition. This highly readable book is “intended to get you thinking about technology…showing how technology is changing the way we think” (pg. 11). This material is clearly for the digital natives (Millennials and GenZers – those who grew up with the internet and smartphones). But also, those of us who are digital immigrants (Boomers and older GenXers – who came from a land and time before there was even a dial-up internet connection), have much to gain here as well.

The chapter contributors cover a wide spectrum of academics, editors, pastors, and more: Collin Hansen, Read Mercer Schuchardt, Joe Carter, Jen Pollock Michel, Hans Madueme, Samuel D. James, Nathan A. Finn, Jay Y. Kim, Patrick Miller, Keith Plummer, Thaddeus Williams, G. Shane Morris, Andrew Spencer. Each writer brings a unique perspective into the discussion from different angles. The variety ensured that there was never a dull moment as I worked through each chapter.

The book could have become a “Technology-is-utopia” panegyric, or it could have swung to the other extreme and been a dark and dismal dystopian diatribe. Instead, each author, interacting with Neil Postman’s works from the 20th Century, brings Postman’s analysis into the 21st Century, and works through his warnings and evaluations with fresh eyes. There is analysis of what is being done to us, the behind-the-scenes intentions (gathering audiences by dopamine addiction who can be sold to advertisers), and the way it changes our views and understandings of God, self and what it means to be human.

But all the way through are remedies and ways of resistance – not a “rage against the machine” kind of defiance. Rather, Christian maturity and soberminded types of resistance. One of the main ways to stand our ground, as shown by multiple contributors in these pages, is personal presence in people’s lives and flesh-and-blood congregations worshiping and serving together. In the snazzy way that Read Mercer Schuchardt puts it (drawing from Jacques Ellul), L’existence, c’est resistance! – Existence is resistance (pg. 185)! Or Andrew Spencer’s deliberative declaration, “Widespread resistance to technological dominion can happen only when robust communities with strong social fabrics enable that resistance…Christian communities have the resources to resist the negative influences of technology and break the self-reinforcing feedback loops a tech-saturated society creates. We have the gospel’s hope to guide us beyond the utopic technological visions of our day” (pg. 206).

My copy of this book is underlined, dog-eared, and ruffled all the way through. Many of the conclusions are conclusions I have been aiming at and pointing to for years (See my books, “Gnostic Trends in the Local Church,” “Our Heads on Straight: Sober-mindedness – a Forgotten Christian Virtue,” and “Beyond Outrage: Vetting Media to Increase Sensibility and Stability”). I could fill this book review with a bushel of quotations from “Scrolling Ourselves to Death” that would ring your bells and possibly bring you to tears. But I will leave things here.

If you’ve begun to despair over how “the algorithm serves us what we crave, not necessarily what we need for spiritual nourishment” (Hansen, pg. 102); or if you have finally seen how the disembodied cyber-world has brought us to conclude that our “bodies don’t define us; our desires do” (Michel, pg. 53), then here is some help! This is a must-read-must-discuss book for church leaders of all stripes, Christians, parents, and all who are beginning to sense this thing is about to race beyond our restraining reach and turn back around on us and consume us. I strongly recommend you grab hold of a copy of “Scrolling Ourselves to Death” yesterday! Okay, that was a bit melodramatic, but you get the urgent point.

[BooksNCrannies · Rating 4 out of 5]

"From the rising of the sun to its going down, we scroll our way through the day. We scroll our way through life. And we are scrolling ourselves to death."

✏️ Review ✏️

Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age offers practical, insightful, and Bible-based advice on modern device usage and how to navigate today's tech-dependent world in a God-honoring way. This collection of essays is quite thought-provoking and made me rethink the amount of time I lend to scrolling on my phone.

Because it is written by a collaboration of many different contributors, Scrolling Ourselves to Death can sometimes lack continuity and focus on its overall topic. It isn't necessarily a major flaw, but it is a characteristic that tends to mark books written by a large number of people. Each essay, though, did offer in its own insight, educational information, and wisdom on navigating and living in today's technology frontier. I can definitely say that I view devices and my time online differently now than I did before I read this book.

This book is straightforward with the fact that it's based on Neil Postman's 1985 publication Amusing Ourselves to Death. The contributors make many references to Postman's work as well as to the author himself. Now, as someone who isn't familiar with that author or his work, I found this to more distracting than helpful. While some of the comparisons this book made from Postman's book proved interesting, keeping Scrolling Ourselves to Death separated from Postman's work would have been better for the readers not familiar with Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death.

In an age where devices, social media, and online activities constitute much of our lives, it has never been more imperative to understand how to utilize screentime to God's glory and honor. Scrolling Ourselves to Death is a thought-provoking read that will certainly make readers rethink their next habitual scrolling session.

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📊 A Quick Overview 📊

👍🏼 What I Liked:
• The presentation of biblical and practical insight and wisdom about modern device usage.
• The clear organization of the topics presented.
• The discussion questions found at the end of each chapter.

👎🏼 What I Did Not Like:
• The fact that this book is based on a previous publication — can be more distracting and confusing than necessary.

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❓ To Read or Not To Read? ❓

— Would I recommend this book? Yes.*

— To whom? To those who are looking for a Christian nonfiction read on device and social media usage in today's world.

*(Note: I leave it up to each individual to decide the maturity and discernment level required to read the books I recommend, based on my content warnings below [in my Book Breakdown]. My content warnings [if any] should always be considered alongside my recommendations when deciding who these books are best suited for.)

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📖 BOOK BREAKDOWN 📖 (Overall: 4/5)
~Fundamentals {Nonfiction Version}: (1=worst; 5=best)
— 📑 Didactics: 3/5

— 📝 Writing: 4/5

— 👀 Engagement: 4/5

— 🧩 Clarity: 3.5/5

~Content: (0=none; 1=least; 5=most)

— 🤬 Language: 0/5

— ⚔️ Violence: 0/5

— ⚠️ Sexual: 1/5

• A few brief, nondescript discussions about pornography and online sexual exploitation.

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📣 Random Comments 📣

• (None)

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💬 Favorite Quotes 💬

• (None. There are so many good points and quotes in this book but taken out of context they don't have the same meaning, so I opted to leave this space blank instead.)

[Isaac Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good. Not necessarily great, but good. Insightful into our day and age, where technology rules and continually shapes who we are and how we live our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. This book is not for the faint of heart, definitely some higher level writing and so higher level engagement/thinking is required. That being said, the discussion questions at the end of each chapter are a huge help and worthy endeavor for those looking to take their comprehension to another level. This will probably be a book I revisit in the coming years. But for now, I’m going to throw my phone out the window, because I feel I should after this read lol.

[Charlene Atz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an impactful read. I very recently ditched social media in an effort to invest more fully in embodied relationships and to ease my own anxieties and distorted tendencies of online interactions. This book strengthened my resolve to remain committed to that decision. I appreciated the wide array of evidence and the wisdom of individuals from different eras throughout the book, especially the references to C.S. Lewis. How it made me appreciate my local church and the relationships I treasure within it. It is difficult to further distance myself from the amusement and alure of the media world, but I think it will be worth it. I was highly convicted working through this book.