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12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You
Do You Control Your Phone—Or Does Your Phone Control You?
Within a few years of its unveiling, the smartphone had become part of us, fully integrated into the daily patterns of our lives. Never offline, always within reach, we now wield in our hands a magic wand of technological power we have only begun to grasp. But it raises new enigmas, too. Never more connected, we seem to be growing more distant. Never more efficient, we have never been more distracted.
Drawing from the insights of numerous thinkers, published studies, and his own research, writer Tony Reinke identifies twelve potent ways our smartphones have changed us—for good and bad. Reinke calls us to cultivate wise thinking and healthy habits in the digital age, encouraging us to maximize the many blessings, to avoid the various pitfalls, and to wisely wield the most powerful gadget of human connection ever unleashed.
224 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2017
979 people are currently reading
11971 people want to read
About the author
Tony Reinke
16 books696 followersTony Reinke hosts the popular Ask Pastor John podcast and serves as the Communications Director for desiringGod.org. He has authored five books including *12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You* (2017). He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and their three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,358 reviews
February 21, 2020
Note: I listened to the audiobook version of this book on my iPhone -- an irony that is not lost on me.
SUMMARY
This is a book you will hate.
One that you will love.
One that you will love to hate.
And one that you will hate to love.
Why?
Because this book is a mirror to your heart, and at some point while reading this book, your heart/flesh will hate it. It will scream at you, try to deceive you, try to tell you that no, that's not really you. He's talking about other people. Or there are reasons you have to be like this. The ends justify your addiction.
Don't believe that voice.
Which is why you'll love this book. Because whether your heart likes it or not, your spirit & mind knows it needs someone to give you a self-check in areas like this. So let's talk about the book.
THE GOOD
Reinke's writing in this book is in top form. He weaves words like Batman weaves punches. What I loved most about this book is that it shows the problem and gives a biblical solution to it WITHOUT being legalistic. He evens calls out all the technology haters and shows them why they are wrong to hate God's good gifts just because people use them for evil.
This book drips joy from the very first pages. John Piper's foreward is great. Hearing the poll stats/metrics and what that means is heartbreaking. Reinke's sections on FOMO, vices, and loneliness are some of his best. But his chapter on harshness is a must read for everyone who engages on social media, especially for people who like to involve themselves in discernment or watchdog blogs, accounts, or sites.
THE CHALLENGES
There were only two things I really missed. The first is that I wished Reinke did the narration for the audiobook. The man they used gets a little monotone and in a number, stat, and technology filled book, we need a more human emotional voice. Not a robotic one.
The second was I wish Reinke had given a more personal narrative at times. There are news stories here and there, but the book lacks a more emotional real-life true-story look at this issue. He gave that look at his TGC17 breakout and I was hopeful it would be in this book, but it wasn't. The book doesn't suffer much from it, but it would have made this book a hard 5 stars for me instead of the 4.5 stars I round up from mentally.
CONCLUSION
Regardless, this is a book you'll want to read and then read again and then give to a friend. And I can't recommend enough that you do just this.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
SUMMARY
This is a book you will hate.
One that you will love.
One that you will love to hate.
And one that you will hate to love.
Why?
Because this book is a mirror to your heart, and at some point while reading this book, your heart/flesh will hate it. It will scream at you, try to deceive you, try to tell you that no, that's not really you. He's talking about other people. Or there are reasons you have to be like this. The ends justify your addiction.
Don't believe that voice.
Which is why you'll love this book. Because whether your heart likes it or not, your spirit & mind knows it needs someone to give you a self-check in areas like this. So let's talk about the book.
THE GOOD
Reinke's writing in this book is in top form. He weaves words like Batman weaves punches. What I loved most about this book is that it shows the problem and gives a biblical solution to it WITHOUT being legalistic. He evens calls out all the technology haters and shows them why they are wrong to hate God's good gifts just because people use them for evil.
This book drips joy from the very first pages. John Piper's foreward is great. Hearing the poll stats/metrics and what that means is heartbreaking. Reinke's sections on FOMO, vices, and loneliness are some of his best. But his chapter on harshness is a must read for everyone who engages on social media, especially for people who like to involve themselves in discernment or watchdog blogs, accounts, or sites.
THE CHALLENGES
There were only two things I really missed. The first is that I wished Reinke did the narration for the audiobook. The man they used gets a little monotone and in a number, stat, and technology filled book, we need a more human emotional voice. Not a robotic one.
The second was I wish Reinke had given a more personal narrative at times. There are news stories here and there, but the book lacks a more emotional real-life true-story look at this issue. He gave that look at his TGC17 breakout and I was hopeful it would be in this book, but it wasn't. The book doesn't suffer much from it, but it would have made this book a hard 5 stars for me instead of the 4.5 stars I round up from mentally.
CONCLUSION
Regardless, this is a book you'll want to read and then read again and then give to a friend. And I can't recommend enough that you do just this.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
May 31, 2017
The best way to summarize this book is probably to let the author do it.
Sounds pretty dire. But Reinke is, at heart, a technophile, not a technophobe; and he doesn’t conclude from these dangers that every Christian needs to smash his smartphone. He offers positive practices in place of the negative.
A few more thoughts:
One question that really stuck out to me, toward the end of the book: do I deserve to spend time on social media trivialities right now? Sobering.
Another question Reinke pressed on me helpfully is one I have to ask all the time, especially in my line of work as a professional blogger: do I have an unhealthy interest in validation-through-social-shares? That one’s tough when your job description involves increasing social shares.
Chapter 11 was really excellent, about slander and "outrage porn."
I sometimes wonder how much of our society’s public worry (and public kvetching) over the dangers of technology will seem quaint to our great grandchildren—like those who worried around the turn of the 20th century that people wouldn’t be able to breathe if cars exceeded 10 miles per hour, because the air would be rushing by too fast. But we’re not our grandkids. We’re us. I can’t shake the feeling that the world really has changed, that the Internet has amplified our fallenness more than it has increased our virtue. The overall tone of Reinke’s book is one of gentle warning and instruction, and I think that’s perfectly appropriate.
This is definitely my new go-to book for wisdom on the use of consumer technology. (Dyer’s From the Garden to the City is a good complement to it.)
The reader in the Christian Audio production was smooth and serviceable, though (to be a little too frank?) a little too much like a male version of Siri for my tastes. This book called for reading with a little more feeling, a little more homiletical intensity. But I was able to go triple speed (is that ironic?) and understand perfectly.
I got this book for free for review purposes from Christian Audio, but they attached no strings to my opinions.
In the last twelve chapters, I have warned against twelve corresponding ways in which smartphones are changing us and undermining our spiritual health:
- Our phones amplify our addiction to distractions (chapter 1), and thereby splinter our perception of our place in time (12).
- Our phones push us to evade the limits of embodiment (2) and thereby cause us to treat one another harshly (11).
- Our phones feed our craving for immediate approval (3) and promise to hedge against our fears of missing out (10).
- Our phones undermine key literary skills (4) and, because of our lack of discipline, make it increasingly difficult for us to identify ultimate meaning (9).
- Our phones offer us a buffet of produced media (5) and tempt us to indulge in visual vices (8).
- Our phones overtake and distort our identity (6) and tempt us toward unhealthy isolation and loneliness (7).
Sounds pretty dire. But Reinke is, at heart, a technophile, not a technophobe; and he doesn’t conclude from these dangers that every Christian needs to smash his smartphone. He offers positive practices in place of the negative.
Along the way, I have also attempted to commend twelve life disciplines we need to preserve our spiritual health in this smartphone age:
- We minimize unnecessary distractions in life to hear form God (chapter 1) and to find our place in God’s unfolding history (12).
- We embrace our flesh-and-blood embodiment (2) and handle one another with grace and gentleness (11).
- We aim at God’s ultimate approval (3) and find that, in Christ, we have no ultimate regrets to fear (10).
- We treasure the gift of literacy (4) and prioritize God’s Word (9).
- We listen to God’s voice in creation (5) and find a fountain of delight in the unseen Christ (8).
- We treasure Christ to be molded into his image (6) and seek to serve the legitimate needs of our neighbors (7).
A few more thoughts:
One question that really stuck out to me, toward the end of the book: do I deserve to spend time on social media trivialities right now? Sobering.
Another question Reinke pressed on me helpfully is one I have to ask all the time, especially in my line of work as a professional blogger: do I have an unhealthy interest in validation-through-social-shares? That one’s tough when your job description involves increasing social shares.
Chapter 11 was really excellent, about slander and "outrage porn."
In an age when anyone with a smart phone can publish dirt on anyone else, we must know that spreading antagonistic messages online with the intent of provoking hostility without any desire for resolution is what the world calls "trolling," and the New Testament calls "slander."
I sometimes wonder how much of our society’s public worry (and public kvetching) over the dangers of technology will seem quaint to our great grandchildren—like those who worried around the turn of the 20th century that people wouldn’t be able to breathe if cars exceeded 10 miles per hour, because the air would be rushing by too fast. But we’re not our grandkids. We’re us. I can’t shake the feeling that the world really has changed, that the Internet has amplified our fallenness more than it has increased our virtue. The overall tone of Reinke’s book is one of gentle warning and instruction, and I think that’s perfectly appropriate.
This is definitely my new go-to book for wisdom on the use of consumer technology. (Dyer’s From the Garden to the City is a good complement to it.)
The reader in the Christian Audio production was smooth and serviceable, though (to be a little too frank?) a little too much like a male version of Siri for my tastes. This book called for reading with a little more feeling, a little more homiletical intensity. But I was able to go triple speed (is that ironic?) and understand perfectly.
I got this book for free for review purposes from Christian Audio, but they attached no strings to my opinions.
December 23, 2017
Excellent conversation on the pros and cons of smart-phones from a Christian point of view. I tend to be a highly suspicious technology geek. I am drawn to the latest technology while also sitting back and worrying about this is changing the world and me. I like how Mr. Reinke made the distinction that some people are called to warn others about technology and some are called to live without it as an example. That doesn't mean we all have to give them up but we do need to let our prophets be prophets.
April 17, 2024
5⭐️
This is definitely a book I will want to pick up again! 👏🏻
A very insightful look into the subtle (and obvious) ways our phones/technology/internet are impacting our day to day lives and habits, and how to be proactive about not being consumed by it, but giving it a back seat to our walk with Christ
This is definitely a book I will want to pick up again! 👏🏻
A very insightful look into the subtle (and obvious) ways our phones/technology/internet are impacting our day to day lives and habits, and how to be proactive about not being consumed by it, but giving it a back seat to our walk with Christ
June 15, 2023
Everyone should read this book.
Well, not every book is for everyone. But most people should definitely read this book. I read it twice (because I read it too fast the first time), and it was equally thought-provoking both times. I expected more of your typical digital-detox book (think Digital Minimalism , but from a Christian perspective), and while there was some of that, this book was far more than that—it got to the heart of the matter. Why do I use technology the way I do? What is my motivation for reading and posting what I read and post? Do I use my digital devices to serve the Lord and others, or to avoid hard questions, entertain myself, and improve my self-image? Is my technology subservient to the eternal glory of Christ or distracting me from it?
Ouch to all of the above.
Let it be said that I don’t agree with all of Tony Reinke’s theology. He seemed to imply that technology will help our world get better and better until we reach the kingdom, which does not align with my beliefs, though it’s possible I misinterpreted some of his statements. He also references some quotes or elements of popular culture that I don’t agree with. I knew before starting this book that he would be operating from a Reformed perspective, so I took that into account—but overall, what a Christ-centered look at what technology is and how we should approach it.
I very much appreciated Reinke’s balanced view: “technology” is not limited to today’s digital devices, nor is it unbiblical or incapable of being used for good. At the same time, it’s irresponsible of God’s people to avoid asking ourselves hard questions about the way we use digital technology. Part of the strength of this book for me lay in the way Reinke connected Scripture to the use of technology through copious footnotes. I would never say out loud that the Bible doesn’t address digital technology, because of course the Bible addresses everything, but I had sort of fallen into an unstated idea that technology is an ultra-modern necessary evil that falls outside the purview of traditional Christianity—as in, “Christians throughout history never had to deal with what I have to deal with, and really good Christians probably don’t use smartphones, so God doesn’t really address this kind of thing, but I really do need mine, so I guess I just have to get by the best I can.” Which sounds so stupid when actually stated, and I needed this book to help me tie biblical principles to the digital realm.
Reinke’s focus on the heart is convicting in more ways than one, because digital technology is not the only area in which I tend to focus on myself and lose sight of the surpassing wonder of the risen Christ—the awe and reverence that should drive all my decisions, both digital and analog. As Reinke points out, we can never truly quit unwise smartphone habits until we replace those temptations with the satisfaction that is found in Christ alone. Guilt in the moment is not enough. Asking ourselves these questions is hard but necessary, and asking them of myself has made me realize how often my online activity is centered around me—having fun, learning something that makes me smarter than the next person, avoiding what I should be doing—rather than around the wise use of my time and the service of my Redeemer.
I do wish the book would have delineated more between social media use and other forms of online behavior, as someone can spend little time on social media (me) and still have unwise online habits (also me). Some of the book should really have been titled 12 Ways Social Media is Changing You. Yet I realize that for many people, smartphone use and social media are practically interchangeable, and most of Reinke’s points concerning one do apply to the other. I can ignore the people around me, inflate my own ego, and lose my place in time just as easily if I’m skimming articles or flicking through social media. In the same way, this book’s value reaches beyond the realm of digital technology and forces us to look at all the ways digital technology simply magnifies the tendencies that are already in our own hearts: being addicted to distraction, ignoring the limits of our fleshly bodies, craving immediate approval, devaluing critical reading and comprehension skills, feeding on man-made productions, becoming like what we worship, feeling lonely, indulging secret sins, losing meaning, fearing any kind of missing out, being harsh and impatient with the people around us, and losing our sense of how we fit into God’s grander plan. These heart issues, and Reinke’s suggestions for countering them, are far from being online-only phenomena, and that is part of what makes this book so challenging.
Reinke’s writing style is both elevated and approachable, handling tough topics with straightforwardness and grace. If you want a quick digital-detox checklist, this is not the book for you. Or maybe it is. I thought that was what I wanted. Instead, I got a book that made me look beyond “turn your phone off an hour before bed” to “it’s easier to look at my phone than interact with the flesh-and-blood imago Dei person next to me in line.”
Read this book. And then think about it. Let it challenge the motives of your heart and point you to the redemptive power of Christ. We cannot wisely manage our technology otherwise.
Join my newsletter list for monthly reading roundups and author updates, plus a free short story.
Well, not every book is for everyone. But most people should definitely read this book. I read it twice (because I read it too fast the first time), and it was equally thought-provoking both times. I expected more of your typical digital-detox book (think Digital Minimalism , but from a Christian perspective), and while there was some of that, this book was far more than that—it got to the heart of the matter. Why do I use technology the way I do? What is my motivation for reading and posting what I read and post? Do I use my digital devices to serve the Lord and others, or to avoid hard questions, entertain myself, and improve my self-image? Is my technology subservient to the eternal glory of Christ or distracting me from it?
Ouch to all of the above.
Let it be said that I don’t agree with all of Tony Reinke’s theology. He seemed to imply that technology will help our world get better and better until we reach the kingdom, which does not align with my beliefs, though it’s possible I misinterpreted some of his statements. He also references some quotes or elements of popular culture that I don’t agree with. I knew before starting this book that he would be operating from a Reformed perspective, so I took that into account—but overall, what a Christ-centered look at what technology is and how we should approach it.
I very much appreciated Reinke’s balanced view: “technology” is not limited to today’s digital devices, nor is it unbiblical or incapable of being used for good. At the same time, it’s irresponsible of God’s people to avoid asking ourselves hard questions about the way we use digital technology. Part of the strength of this book for me lay in the way Reinke connected Scripture to the use of technology through copious footnotes. I would never say out loud that the Bible doesn’t address digital technology, because of course the Bible addresses everything, but I had sort of fallen into an unstated idea that technology is an ultra-modern necessary evil that falls outside the purview of traditional Christianity—as in, “Christians throughout history never had to deal with what I have to deal with, and really good Christians probably don’t use smartphones, so God doesn’t really address this kind of thing, but I really do need mine, so I guess I just have to get by the best I can.” Which sounds so stupid when actually stated, and I needed this book to help me tie biblical principles to the digital realm.
Reinke’s focus on the heart is convicting in more ways than one, because digital technology is not the only area in which I tend to focus on myself and lose sight of the surpassing wonder of the risen Christ—the awe and reverence that should drive all my decisions, both digital and analog. As Reinke points out, we can never truly quit unwise smartphone habits until we replace those temptations with the satisfaction that is found in Christ alone. Guilt in the moment is not enough. Asking ourselves these questions is hard but necessary, and asking them of myself has made me realize how often my online activity is centered around me—having fun, learning something that makes me smarter than the next person, avoiding what I should be doing—rather than around the wise use of my time and the service of my Redeemer.
I do wish the book would have delineated more between social media use and other forms of online behavior, as someone can spend little time on social media (me) and still have unwise online habits (also me). Some of the book should really have been titled 12 Ways Social Media is Changing You. Yet I realize that for many people, smartphone use and social media are practically interchangeable, and most of Reinke’s points concerning one do apply to the other. I can ignore the people around me, inflate my own ego, and lose my place in time just as easily if I’m skimming articles or flicking through social media. In the same way, this book’s value reaches beyond the realm of digital technology and forces us to look at all the ways digital technology simply magnifies the tendencies that are already in our own hearts: being addicted to distraction, ignoring the limits of our fleshly bodies, craving immediate approval, devaluing critical reading and comprehension skills, feeding on man-made productions, becoming like what we worship, feeling lonely, indulging secret sins, losing meaning, fearing any kind of missing out, being harsh and impatient with the people around us, and losing our sense of how we fit into God’s grander plan. These heart issues, and Reinke’s suggestions for countering them, are far from being online-only phenomena, and that is part of what makes this book so challenging.
Reinke’s writing style is both elevated and approachable, handling tough topics with straightforwardness and grace. If you want a quick digital-detox checklist, this is not the book for you. Or maybe it is. I thought that was what I wanted. Instead, I got a book that made me look beyond “turn your phone off an hour before bed” to “it’s easier to look at my phone than interact with the flesh-and-blood imago Dei person next to me in line.”
Read this book. And then think about it. Let it challenge the motives of your heart and point you to the redemptive power of Christ. We cannot wisely manage our technology otherwise.
Join my newsletter list for monthly reading roundups and author updates, plus a free short story.
January 27, 2018
Thank God that Mr. Tony Reinke wrote this book. Incredibly timely -so don't wait to read it... it could be too late-. Mr. Reinke's book is well researched, Biblical (an arsenal of Bible verses as footnotes support his points), and super well balanced. It will make you think and talk about what you are thinking. It will make you think and pray about what you are reading. It will challenge you to be brave and ask hard and honest questions about your online habits.
When I finished the book I wrote on its last page this, "In a year -and in 2 years and in 10 years- I don't want to ask myself, "What happened? How did my phone changed *me* so much? But, "How did I use my phone and social media and technology to advance the Kingdom of God, to love Him and my neighbor more and better, to change the world?"
When I finished the book I wrote on its last page this, "In a year -and in 2 years and in 10 years- I don't want to ask myself, "What happened? How did my phone changed *me* so much? But, "How did I use my phone and social media and technology to advance the Kingdom of God, to love Him and my neighbor more and better, to change the world?"
October 1, 2024
“The more we take refuge in distraction, the more habituated we become to mere stimulation and the more desensitized to delight. We lose our capacity to stop and ponder something deeply, to admire something beautiful for its own sake, to lose ourselves in the passion for a game, a story, or a person.”
9/26/2024 update:
Since it'd been 6 years since I've read this, but still have been recommending it to people... I wanted to reread. Personally, I needed an encouragement and perspective again on not only having a discipline to 'be on your phone less', but the 'why' behind it and looking honestly at my habits—mainly looking to it for distraction instead of finding the delight of being with my Savior.
A side note I liked on this read too: think about is your digital chit chat/texting/dm-ing aimless or headed somewhere? We will answer for every careless word. You can use it to build relationships, but many of us just use our words carelessly on our phones.
1/1/2018 review:
This book changed my perspective a lot. I was expecting another book saying to merely get off your electronics, but Tony really delves into the heart issues behind what we do on our phones and how it's changing us even it we don't realize it.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
“The more distracted we are digitally, the more displaced we become spiritually.”
“Freedom in Christ is not freedom to do whatever you want; it is for sure-footed self-reflection and for avoiding the cultural bondage of sin. My freedom in Christ gives me eyes to see that not all things are helpful for me, helpful for others, or acceptable for my witness in the world.”
“True freedom from the bondage of technology comes not mainly from throwing away the smartphone, but from filling the void with the glories of Jesus that you are trying to fill with the pleasures of the device.
questions to ask before you post:
"*Will this ultimately glorify me or God?
*Will this stir or muffle healthy affections for Christ?
*Will this merely document that I know something that others don’t?
*Will this misrepresent me or is it authentic?
*Will this potentially breed jealousy in others?
*Will this fortify unity or stir up unnecessary division?
*Will this build up or tear down?
*Will this heap guilt or relieve it?
*Will this fuel lust for sin or warn against it?
*Will this overpromise and instill false hopes in others?”
9/26/2024 update:
Since it'd been 6 years since I've read this, but still have been recommending it to people... I wanted to reread. Personally, I needed an encouragement and perspective again on not only having a discipline to 'be on your phone less', but the 'why' behind it and looking honestly at my habits—mainly looking to it for distraction instead of finding the delight of being with my Savior.
A side note I liked on this read too: think about is your digital chit chat/texting/dm-ing aimless or headed somewhere? We will answer for every careless word. You can use it to build relationships, but many of us just use our words carelessly on our phones.
1/1/2018 review:
This book changed my perspective a lot. I was expecting another book saying to merely get off your electronics, but Tony really delves into the heart issues behind what we do on our phones and how it's changing us even it we don't realize it.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
“The more distracted we are digitally, the more displaced we become spiritually.”
“Freedom in Christ is not freedom to do whatever you want; it is for sure-footed self-reflection and for avoiding the cultural bondage of sin. My freedom in Christ gives me eyes to see that not all things are helpful for me, helpful for others, or acceptable for my witness in the world.”
“True freedom from the bondage of technology comes not mainly from throwing away the smartphone, but from filling the void with the glories of Jesus that you are trying to fill with the pleasures of the device.
questions to ask before you post:
"*Will this ultimately glorify me or God?
*Will this stir or muffle healthy affections for Christ?
*Will this merely document that I know something that others don’t?
*Will this misrepresent me or is it authentic?
*Will this potentially breed jealousy in others?
*Will this fortify unity or stir up unnecessary division?
*Will this build up or tear down?
*Will this heap guilt or relieve it?
*Will this fuel lust for sin or warn against it?
*Will this overpromise and instill false hopes in others?”
February 9, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. It’s full of Biblical wisdom, thought-provoking, and I love how Reinke continually points his readers to Eternity. I have severely decreased the amount of time spent on my phone since 2020, but if I hadn’t, this book would certainly convince me to.
February 9, 2022
Everyone who owns a smartphone needs to read this book… it should be required 😂 so so good!!
August 10, 2022
Excellent book. I highly recommend everyone read or listen but only if you use the internet at all in your life ;P
I told my 18 year old son who read and reviewed this first that I think everyone should read the conclusion to the book at least once every quarter. The conclusion sums it all up, gives you questions to ask yourself about your phone usage, and forces you to evaluate your time.
I've been asked if there are any CW for young teenagers: In chapter 8, Reinke talks about the "seeking an affair" site Ashley Madison and the travesty that was, also he discusses the just-a-click-away access to pornography. His discussion is matter-of-fact and illustrates well how nothing we do "in private" is actually hidden...either from the un-eraseable paper trail and of course from God. I would let a young teenager read this chapter but have a conversation with them about it.
I told my 18 year old son who read and reviewed this first that I think everyone should read the conclusion to the book at least once every quarter. The conclusion sums it all up, gives you questions to ask yourself about your phone usage, and forces you to evaluate your time.
I've been asked if there are any CW for young teenagers: In chapter 8, Reinke talks about the "seeking an affair" site Ashley Madison and the travesty that was, also he discusses the just-a-click-away access to pornography. His discussion is matter-of-fact and illustrates well how nothing we do "in private" is actually hidden...either from the un-eraseable paper trail and of course from God. I would let a young teenager read this chapter but have a conversation with them about it.
March 21, 2025
This book was challenging and surprisingly full of depth. It has definitely helped shape my perspective on my smart phone usage... now to implement some new habits and maintain them!
Read
May 14, 2019Idk how to rate this because I don’t like the idea of the target audience being Christians. There is some interesting information that would be much better if it just included anyone who uses a phone, not just a “religious” group. “There go those Christians again, thinking people find them more interesting or more worthy or more entitled...” SMH
June 18, 2017
This is an incredibly timely and challenging book. I appreciated Tony's approach of, "Hey, I'm a tech user and a Christian too. Let's talk about how the two work together" as opposed to a legalistic anti-tech perspective. That's not to say Tony is pro-tech: there's a few chapters that will make you want to get rid of your smartphone. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
What's most impressive is how Tony is ultimately pushing the reader to consider Christ and Heaven above all else and ask the question, "How does my tech use lead into the Gospel". All in all, it's a fantastic book that every Christian who engages with technology and social media ought to read.
What's most impressive is how Tony is ultimately pushing the reader to consider Christ and Heaven above all else and ask the question, "How does my tech use lead into the Gospel". All in all, it's a fantastic book that every Christian who engages with technology and social media ought to read.
June 2, 2024
Wow. Should be required reading for every teen (adult?) receiving a smartphone - the Christian's accompaniment to the phone's users manual!
I was afraid it was going to be one long, somewhat self-righteous anti-technology guilt trip, but it definitely was not!
Super, super helpful in thinking through online / phone habits and how they are affecting your heart and life.
Incredibly well researched theologically, and though already slightly out of date, still widely applicable. A few minor things here or there I didn't embrace fully, but overall phew. So good.
Highly, highly recommend.
I was afraid it was going to be one long, somewhat self-righteous anti-technology guilt trip, but it definitely was not!
Super, super helpful in thinking through online / phone habits and how they are affecting your heart and life.
Incredibly well researched theologically, and though already slightly out of date, still widely applicable. A few minor things here or there I didn't embrace fully, but overall phew. So good.
Highly, highly recommend.
July 6, 2025
Convicting and wise, definitely recommend!
“Am I entitled to spend hours every month simply browsing odd curiosities? I get the distinct sense in Scripture that the answer is no. I am not my own. I am owned by my Lord. I have been bought with a price, which means I must glorify Christ with my thumbs, my ears, my eyes, and my time. I do not have "time to kill" —I have time to redeem.”
“Am I entitled to spend hours every month simply browsing odd curiosities? I get the distinct sense in Scripture that the answer is no. I am not my own. I am owned by my Lord. I have been bought with a price, which means I must glorify Christ with my thumbs, my ears, my eyes, and my time. I do not have "time to kill" —I have time to redeem.”
July 1, 2019
An interesting book – giving a Christian perspective on smart phones in a series of 12 essay like Chapters.
The author, himself an early-adopted of technology, attempts, successfully in my view, to steer a middle ground between “the utopian optimism of the technophiliac and the dystopian pessimism of the technophobe”.
The book draws very explicitly on conversations with a number of Christian thinkers on the role of technology. Perhaps more interestingly he also draws on some Christian thinkers from earlier ages (for example CS Lewis) who examined the influence of technology in their own times.
And most importantly he roots his work in Scripture both at a micro level (very impressively there are four closely typed pages of references in the appendix) and at a macro level, for example:
Pointing out that FOMO has its origins in the Garden of Eden;
Using James 4:11-12 to examine a correct attitude to Twitter outrage
An interesting use of 1 Corinthians 7 1-15 to examine the topic of distraction
John 12:27-43 to examine the yearning for approval and affirmation via “likes” and retweets
Job 28 to consider the reach and the limitations of technology and man-made innovation
A nice rewrite of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 to consider how the world of Twitter and Facebook has compressed emotional seasons and meaningful empathy into instantaneous, cost free emoticon responses.
Recommended and a book I intend to return to from time to time.
The author, himself an early-adopted of technology, attempts, successfully in my view, to steer a middle ground between “the utopian optimism of the technophiliac and the dystopian pessimism of the technophobe”.
The book draws very explicitly on conversations with a number of Christian thinkers on the role of technology. Perhaps more interestingly he also draws on some Christian thinkers from earlier ages (for example CS Lewis) who examined the influence of technology in their own times.
And most importantly he roots his work in Scripture both at a micro level (very impressively there are four closely typed pages of references in the appendix) and at a macro level, for example:
Pointing out that FOMO has its origins in the Garden of Eden;
Using James 4:11-12 to examine a correct attitude to Twitter outrage
An interesting use of 1 Corinthians 7 1-15 to examine the topic of distraction
John 12:27-43 to examine the yearning for approval and affirmation via “likes” and retweets
Job 28 to consider the reach and the limitations of technology and man-made innovation
A nice rewrite of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 to consider how the world of Twitter and Facebook has compressed emotional seasons and meaningful empathy into instantaneous, cost free emoticon responses.
Recommended and a book I intend to return to from time to time.
May 8, 2021
I do not generally read modern evangelical books for a variety of reasons. I made an exception in this case, and while I was frustrated from time to time, I was also amply rewarded. Above all, Reinke's work will make you think. That is priceless, in my view, and I wholeheartedly commend him for it. He will make you think about society, about yourself, about technology, about the future, and about Heaven. The strength of the book really lies in this: he confronts us so often and from so many angles about our screen use that we are forced to come to terms with it. It isn't a screed; it is a thoughtful dissertation.
At the same time, Reinke's work is not without its frustrations, as mentioned above. He strikes me as a John Piper lackey, and lackeyism in anyone bothers me. Worse than though, for whole sections and even entire chapters he wanders off the reservation into metaphysical gobbledygook, musing about cosmic disturbances in the force. It strikes one as either forced or superfluous, entirely unnecessary to a thoughtful examination of the subject at hand.
In spite of all that, however, it is a book worth thinking your way through. That is what you will do. You won't read through it; you will think through it. And that is awesome.
At the same time, Reinke's work is not without its frustrations, as mentioned above. He strikes me as a John Piper lackey, and lackeyism in anyone bothers me. Worse than though, for whole sections and even entire chapters he wanders off the reservation into metaphysical gobbledygook, musing about cosmic disturbances in the force. It strikes one as either forced or superfluous, entirely unnecessary to a thoughtful examination of the subject at hand.
In spite of all that, however, it is a book worth thinking your way through. That is what you will do. You won't read through it; you will think through it. And that is awesome.
May 22, 2017
This book is convicting and hope-giving, and should be required reading for every Christian today. I read a pre-pub version in January and immediately made changes in my smartphone use.
What I appreciate about Tony Reinke's book is that it doesn't merely provide a checklist of behaviors to change but an entire approach—a worldview—to (re)establish. He wants us to be deliberate, others-minded, and God-honoring in our use of smartphones rather than being used (mastered?) by them.
Not only is Tony well-versed in the latest research (look at the numerous footnotes), he also grounds all he does in the timeless truth of God's revelation. I think it's fair to conceive of this book as a biblical theology of technology.
If you're like me and have often felt guilty about your smartphone (mis)use, then pick this book up. I know it'll serve you well. (Read a pre-pub version in January and a final version after publication.)
What I appreciate about Tony Reinke's book is that it doesn't merely provide a checklist of behaviors to change but an entire approach—a worldview—to (re)establish. He wants us to be deliberate, others-minded, and God-honoring in our use of smartphones rather than being used (mastered?) by them.
Not only is Tony well-versed in the latest research (look at the numerous footnotes), he also grounds all he does in the timeless truth of God's revelation. I think it's fair to conceive of this book as a biblical theology of technology.
If you're like me and have often felt guilty about your smartphone (mis)use, then pick this book up. I know it'll serve you well. (Read a pre-pub version in January and a final version after publication.)
January 15, 2018
This is one of those books that you are not sure you want to read because you are afraid that you might be convicted of something you aren't ready to let go of. This is a most amazing read. It isn't a "get rid of your phone" book at all. Gentle suggestions of "why" and "have you thought about it this way" lead you through to a conclusion that you make yourself. Books like this frustrate me- but in a good way - I read carefully- take notes and mark up as I go and when I finish - I have the urge to start all over to find what I missed the first time. This is a keeper. One to own- and reread.
September 14, 2018
Surprisingly insightful. This isn’t just one of those shallow BuzzFeed-like articles “12 ways your phone is changing you” expanded into a book with lots of fluff. The author genuinely took time consider this on a theological level. Since this book went deeper, I enjoyed it much more than Reinke's other book: Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books.
April 21, 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Only read this if you're okay with a slap in the face of conviction. Highly recommended for all Christian tech-users.
Only read this if you're okay with a slap in the face of conviction. Highly recommended for all Christian tech-users.
February 25, 2025
I would never have picked up this book on my own, but I saw someone on bookstagram recommend it so I decided to give it a try. It was so good and incredibly impactful! It was definitely a book that I needed to read because I, for sure, have a problem with being on my phone too much and not being conscientious of the time I spend on it. I love that the author is a Christian and that he uses his points in this book to steer you towards a closer walk with God. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but definitely to people that use social media frequently!
.
.
.
My takeaways:
•”Feel the brevity of life, and it will make you fully alive.”
•”It is difficult to serve God with our heart, soul, strength, and mind when we are diverted and distracted and multi-tasking everything.”
•If God feels distant, it’s because we are distracted. He never draws away from us; it is we who draw away from Him. ”The more distracted we are digitally, the more displaced we become spiritually.” “The key is to move from being distracted on purpose to being less and less distracted with an eternal purpose.”
•We can lack empathy when communicating with others online because we aren’t face to face with them. “It is much easier to slander an online avatar than a real-life brother.”
•”The Christian’s challenge is to love not in tweets and texts only, but even more in deeds and physical presence.”
•”We easily settle into digital villages of friends who think just like us and escape from people who are unlike us. Our phones buffer us from diversity.”
•”If the glory of man is your god, you will not celebrate the glory of Christ.” “The itch for human approval ultimately renders faith pointless because faith is the act of being satisfied with Christ.”
•”If you want to internalize a piece of knowledge, you’ve got to linger over it.” “We can hardly get submerged into the serious work of reading a book before we feel the desire to virtually surface and Jet Ski (skim) over easier water.”
•”To skim the Bible is to misread it.” “God’s Word demands our highest level of literary concentration because it requires relational reading.”
•”God’s words and works always precede man’s words and works.”
•”We are not who we think we are; we are not even who others think we are; we are who we think others think we are.”
•”We crave acceptance, and we are always becoming like what we admire. So in whose identity will I find my home?”
•”Either we worship what is created (idols) or we worship the Creator (Christ). These are our only options.” “We are becoming like what we worship.”
•”If we fail to reflect Christ, we fail to be what God creates us to be; we lose our purpose.”
•”Our smartphones are portable shields we wield in public in order to deter human contact and interaction.”
•We were made to connect with other humans, but we are training ourselves with our phones to be to alone in public and never alone in seclusion.
•”Permit not your minds to be easily distracted, or you will often have your devotion destroyed.”
•”The life of faith is about comprehending the whole when we can only see a fraction.” “True faith lives for what is invisible and undisclosed.”
•We pick up our phones so often because of FOMO. We fear missing out on some new happening or trend. “Heaven is God’s eternal response to all of the FOMOs of this life. Heaven will restore every “missing out” thousands of times over throughout all of eternity.”
•”Many believers use truth as a license to righteously diminish others’ reputations.” “The easiest work in the world is to find fault.” “Faultfinding destroys our love for others. Faultfinding runs contrary to Calvary.”
•”We use our phones to multitask our emotions.”
•”I do not have ‘time to kill’—I have time to redeem.”
•”To remember God is to satisfy the soul and to recalibrate our always-shifting perception of reality. But to forget God is to forsake God.” “All spiritual growth is rooted in remembering what Christ has done for me.”
•”Treasure God with your whole being, and then pour out your God-centered joy in love for others. On these two commands all other smartphone laws depend.”
•”Technology makes life easier, but immaturity makes technology self-destructive.”
•No one wants to find themselves at the end of their life looking back and discovering that they spent most of their time not doing what they ought or liked, and yet, that is what our smartphones are leading us towards.
•”Our advances in technology have a way of rendering God more and more irrelevant to our world and in our lives—the very definition of worldliness.”
•”Smartphone habits expose the heart.” “The essential question we must constantly ask ourselves I the quickly evolving age of digital technology is not what can I do with my phone, but what should I do with it?”
•”The key to balancing ourselves in the smartphone age is awareness. Digital technology is most useful to us when we limit its reach into our lives.”
•”Our greatest need in the digital age is to behold the glory of the unseen God in the faint blue glow of our pixelated Bibles, by faith.”
.
.
.
My takeaways:
•”Feel the brevity of life, and it will make you fully alive.”
•”It is difficult to serve God with our heart, soul, strength, and mind when we are diverted and distracted and multi-tasking everything.”
•If God feels distant, it’s because we are distracted. He never draws away from us; it is we who draw away from Him. ”The more distracted we are digitally, the more displaced we become spiritually.” “The key is to move from being distracted on purpose to being less and less distracted with an eternal purpose.”
•We can lack empathy when communicating with others online because we aren’t face to face with them. “It is much easier to slander an online avatar than a real-life brother.”
•”The Christian’s challenge is to love not in tweets and texts only, but even more in deeds and physical presence.”
•”We easily settle into digital villages of friends who think just like us and escape from people who are unlike us. Our phones buffer us from diversity.”
•”If the glory of man is your god, you will not celebrate the glory of Christ.” “The itch for human approval ultimately renders faith pointless because faith is the act of being satisfied with Christ.”
•”If you want to internalize a piece of knowledge, you’ve got to linger over it.” “We can hardly get submerged into the serious work of reading a book before we feel the desire to virtually surface and Jet Ski (skim) over easier water.”
•”To skim the Bible is to misread it.” “God’s Word demands our highest level of literary concentration because it requires relational reading.”
•”God’s words and works always precede man’s words and works.”
•”We are not who we think we are; we are not even who others think we are; we are who we think others think we are.”
•”We crave acceptance, and we are always becoming like what we admire. So in whose identity will I find my home?”
•”Either we worship what is created (idols) or we worship the Creator (Christ). These are our only options.” “We are becoming like what we worship.”
•”If we fail to reflect Christ, we fail to be what God creates us to be; we lose our purpose.”
•”Our smartphones are portable shields we wield in public in order to deter human contact and interaction.”
•We were made to connect with other humans, but we are training ourselves with our phones to be to alone in public and never alone in seclusion.
•”Permit not your minds to be easily distracted, or you will often have your devotion destroyed.”
•”The life of faith is about comprehending the whole when we can only see a fraction.” “True faith lives for what is invisible and undisclosed.”
•We pick up our phones so often because of FOMO. We fear missing out on some new happening or trend. “Heaven is God’s eternal response to all of the FOMOs of this life. Heaven will restore every “missing out” thousands of times over throughout all of eternity.”
•”Many believers use truth as a license to righteously diminish others’ reputations.” “The easiest work in the world is to find fault.” “Faultfinding destroys our love for others. Faultfinding runs contrary to Calvary.”
•”We use our phones to multitask our emotions.”
•”I do not have ‘time to kill’—I have time to redeem.”
•”To remember God is to satisfy the soul and to recalibrate our always-shifting perception of reality. But to forget God is to forsake God.” “All spiritual growth is rooted in remembering what Christ has done for me.”
•”Treasure God with your whole being, and then pour out your God-centered joy in love for others. On these two commands all other smartphone laws depend.”
•”Technology makes life easier, but immaturity makes technology self-destructive.”
•No one wants to find themselves at the end of their life looking back and discovering that they spent most of their time not doing what they ought or liked, and yet, that is what our smartphones are leading us towards.
•”Our advances in technology have a way of rendering God more and more irrelevant to our world and in our lives—the very definition of worldliness.”
•”Smartphone habits expose the heart.” “The essential question we must constantly ask ourselves I the quickly evolving age of digital technology is not what can I do with my phone, but what should I do with it?”
•”The key to balancing ourselves in the smartphone age is awareness. Digital technology is most useful to us when we limit its reach into our lives.”
•”Our greatest need in the digital age is to behold the glory of the unseen God in the faint blue glow of our pixelated Bibles, by faith.”
April 2, 2024
“My phone is a window into the worthless and the worthy, the artificial and the authentic.”
“With my phone, I find myself always teetering between useful efficiency and meaningless habit.”
This book is not an anti-technology book. Or even an anti-smartphone book. Reinke is fascinated by technology and its advancements.
“my aim is to avoid both extremes: the utopian optimism of the technophiliac and the dystopian pessimism of the technophobe.”
He has written this book to help us use our phone in better ways. To think about how our phones are influencing us and changing us and to help us take captive our habits and thoughts and order them properly.
“The question of this book is simple: What is the best use of my smartphone in the flourishing of my life?”
There are numerous studies on the psychological and physical affects smartphones, social media, and internet usage has on people as individuals and on the society in general. We would be naive to think our phones aren’t changing us.
Reinke doesn’t dive into the psychological and physical, but instead veers to the spiritual. He spends time talking about nine biblical realities surrounding technology and how it pertains to creation, human power, our creativity, our health, our relationships and more.
It was convicting to read this book and realize the deeper influence my phone has on my ability to listen and hear God, distracting me from meeting physical needs around me (tangibly and spiritually), keeping me from silence, enabling me to speak harshly with little immediate kickback, inflating my fear of missing something, weakening my ability to process information, and luring me to become “like what I like.”
I think all would benefit from reading this book and changing our mindsets and boundaries with our phones.
I thought it was interesting when he compared our phones to the carved images and statues (idols) of Bible times. They weren’t used as tools, but they were worshiped for something else:
“These idols were more like our technologies, divine oracles of knowledge and prosperity, used by worshipers in an attempt to control and manipulate the events of life for personal benefit. The figurine and the iPhone appeal to the same fetish.”
There are definitely ways we use our phone as a tool, but if we aren’t careful, it becomes the means by which we seek to control and manipulate our lives for our own gain.
Similarly, in the foreword John Piper likens our phones to mules. If we live in fear, our phones become an escape from life or from fear of death, but as Christians we have hope in the resurrection of Christ and should not live in fear. Then our phones are more like mules— there to just get the job done and help us on our way to something better.
“Don’t waste your life grooming your mule. Make him bear the weight of a thousand works of love. Make him tread the heights with you in the mountains of worship.”
One interesting thing about this book is that it was written in 2017 and even in these 7 years between its publishing and my reading it, technology has changed. AI is on the rise. Facebook isn’t as popular. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Metaverse, and Fortnite are the time-wasters. And there’s probably a whole host of other apps that I’ve not even aware of taking over the interwebs and people’s time.
This book is more phone/internet-specific, but if you are interested in how we as Christians should view technology more generally, I would recommend Reinke’s book God, Technology, and the Christian Life which has some really good insights from the Tower of Babel and beyond and how God has used technology for his glory.
Though our world has advanced since its writing, the principles Reinke shares in this book are no less relevant.
I liked how he summarized the twelve points at the end of the book:
[I’ve removed chapter parentheticals for easier reading]
- “Our phones amplify our addiction to distractions, and thereby splinter our perception of our place in time.
- Our phones push us to evade the limits of embodiment and thereby cause us to treat one another harshly.
- Our phones feed our craving for immediate approval and promise to hedge against our fears of missing out.
- Our phones undermine key literary skills and, because of our lack of discipline, make it increasingly difficult for us to identify ultimate meaning.
- Our phones offer us a buffet of produced media and tempt us to indulge in visual vices.
- Our phones overtake and distort our identity and tempt us toward unhealthy isolation and loneliness.”
I think we can read these and all recognize areas of our phone usage that is not beneficial to our relationship with ourselves, those around us, or God himself.
But with every warning, Reinke pairs it with a positive, an encouragement and a grace. Just throwing out our phones is not going to solve the problem or change our hearts. We must use wisdom to understand our weaknesses and in all things seek Christ first.
Reinke promotes disciplines that tie in with each pitfall and points us back to Christ and the gospel freedom he offers us. It positions us to our phones in a way so we can use the phone for God’s glory instead of being at the mercy of our phone.
Some Standouts
Every chapter had great insights and I took a lot of notes, but here are just a few ponderings I will share from my readings:
In the throes of Covid, churches were largely forced to commune online. And even after we could meet in person again, so many people opted to continue to be churched from afar, electing to just watch the sermon online. What’s the point of dealing with the church body if I can just be taught at home?
But we miss out on so much when we are not meeting together in person as the Lord commands in Scripture. Sure, it might be awkward at times, or uncomfortable but we have to force ourselves out of the phone’s drive for immediate approval and its pull to like-minded people.
People are diverse. People have different strengths, weaknesses, and blindspots. The church is a place to feel unity and encouragement even in difference. To learn how to work through disagreements and talk through hard things, not avoid them.
“In the local church, I do not fear rejection. In the healthy local church, I can pursue a spiritual depth that requires agitation, frustration, and the discomfort of being with people who conform not to “my” kingdom but to God’s.”
We can’t live in a vacuum or on a pedestal of our own maneuvering. We need the body of Christ to challenge us and bear with us in our struggles. We need the honesty and tangibility of the church body.
As a reader, another of Reinke’s principles stood out to me. Our phones cause us to lose literacy. The shortness of tweets and posts and our constant scrolling and skimming erodes our ability to concentrate and read for long periods of time.
We are being conditioned for snippets and highlights, not depth and meditation.
“God has given us the power of concentration in order for us to see and avoid what is false, fake, and transient— so that we may gaze directly at what is true, stable, and eternal. It is part of our creatureliness that we are easily lured by what is vain and trivial.”
“We are called to suspend our chronic scrolling in order to linger over eternal truth, because the Bible is the most important book in the history of the world.”
We are called to know and love God’s Word. But to understand the Bible, we have to put in the work of studying it, and lingering over it. Taking it to heart. A random daily Bible verse on an app is not bad, but it’s not the kind of depth that is required of us.
I know not everyone can read the amount of books that I do, but it’s important not to shrug off reading altogether. We miss out on the very words of God when we settle for snapshots and scrolling instead of silence and savoring.
As an artist/creator/writer, his chapter on production and digital media and creations was interesting to think about. It reminded me a little of Rembrandt is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey as he talked about what art is meant to do, meant to portray.
Technology can help us create things. Make art. It is a platform to share our pictures and our words.
We need to think about where our art and our words lead people— towards God or away? Does it serve and build up our audiences?
We wield a power to influence many people and we should evaluate before every post or creation whether or not we are pointing to truth and the beauty of God and his world.
“take all of God’s created and revealed gifts to you and make all of them into a life that shows the world how glorious and satisfying God really is.”
I was shocked when Reinke shared this statistic:
“The average output of email and social-media text is estimated at 3.6 trillion words, or about thirty-six million books— typed out every day… which is one million more books than the Library of Congress holds.”
Seven years later, it’s got to be a lot more than this. That is a lot of words.
And it’s sobering when we consider that we will be held accountable for every idle word we speak or tweet or post or message. (Matt 12:36)
How much of our online presence or our phone usage is made up of idle, careless words? We may think what we do with our phones is anonymous or without consequences, but God sees every stroke and swipe and we will have to answer for every action we take on our phones, every choice we make with it.
That’s not to beat us down with the gravity of that reality and make us feel like failures, unable to atone for all those careless words we’ve written. Of course, we do need to feel the weight of our sin and the need for our Savior.
But Reinke also uses this verse to remind us that we are responsible for every word that comes from us— in word, thought, or deed— and it would be good practice to consider the idleness of our phone usage and our online presence. Can we stand behind what we do and say? And if not, what changes need to be made?
Conclusion
“If our digital technology becomes our god, our wand of power, it will inevitably shape us into technicians who gain mastery over a dead world of conveniences.”
I recommend this book to all people. Smartphones aren’t going away. Or if they do, they will be replaced by something even more invasive and alluring. We have to take the time to look at how our phones are changing us and what pitfalls we can easily fall into.
Reinke’s book is realistic and practical and written in a voice, not of abandoning technology, but in harnessing it and using it to point to God and his glory. To use our phones and not let our phones use us. To understand what sins poor phone usage can tap into and to seek forgiveness.
“I am not my own. I am owned by my Lord. I have been bought with a price, which means I must glorify Christ with my thumbs, my ears, my eyes, and my time. And that leads me to my point: I do not have “time to kill”— I have time to redeem.”
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | StoryGraph
“With my phone, I find myself always teetering between useful efficiency and meaningless habit.”
This book is not an anti-technology book. Or even an anti-smartphone book. Reinke is fascinated by technology and its advancements.
“my aim is to avoid both extremes: the utopian optimism of the technophiliac and the dystopian pessimism of the technophobe.”
He has written this book to help us use our phone in better ways. To think about how our phones are influencing us and changing us and to help us take captive our habits and thoughts and order them properly.
“The question of this book is simple: What is the best use of my smartphone in the flourishing of my life?”
There are numerous studies on the psychological and physical affects smartphones, social media, and internet usage has on people as individuals and on the society in general. We would be naive to think our phones aren’t changing us.
Reinke doesn’t dive into the psychological and physical, but instead veers to the spiritual. He spends time talking about nine biblical realities surrounding technology and how it pertains to creation, human power, our creativity, our health, our relationships and more.
It was convicting to read this book and realize the deeper influence my phone has on my ability to listen and hear God, distracting me from meeting physical needs around me (tangibly and spiritually), keeping me from silence, enabling me to speak harshly with little immediate kickback, inflating my fear of missing something, weakening my ability to process information, and luring me to become “like what I like.”
I think all would benefit from reading this book and changing our mindsets and boundaries with our phones.
I thought it was interesting when he compared our phones to the carved images and statues (idols) of Bible times. They weren’t used as tools, but they were worshiped for something else:
“These idols were more like our technologies, divine oracles of knowledge and prosperity, used by worshipers in an attempt to control and manipulate the events of life for personal benefit. The figurine and the iPhone appeal to the same fetish.”
There are definitely ways we use our phone as a tool, but if we aren’t careful, it becomes the means by which we seek to control and manipulate our lives for our own gain.
Similarly, in the foreword John Piper likens our phones to mules. If we live in fear, our phones become an escape from life or from fear of death, but as Christians we have hope in the resurrection of Christ and should not live in fear. Then our phones are more like mules— there to just get the job done and help us on our way to something better.
“Don’t waste your life grooming your mule. Make him bear the weight of a thousand works of love. Make him tread the heights with you in the mountains of worship.”
One interesting thing about this book is that it was written in 2017 and even in these 7 years between its publishing and my reading it, technology has changed. AI is on the rise. Facebook isn’t as popular. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Metaverse, and Fortnite are the time-wasters. And there’s probably a whole host of other apps that I’ve not even aware of taking over the interwebs and people’s time.
This book is more phone/internet-specific, but if you are interested in how we as Christians should view technology more generally, I would recommend Reinke’s book God, Technology, and the Christian Life which has some really good insights from the Tower of Babel and beyond and how God has used technology for his glory.
Though our world has advanced since its writing, the principles Reinke shares in this book are no less relevant.
I liked how he summarized the twelve points at the end of the book:
[I’ve removed chapter parentheticals for easier reading]
- “Our phones amplify our addiction to distractions, and thereby splinter our perception of our place in time.
- Our phones push us to evade the limits of embodiment and thereby cause us to treat one another harshly.
- Our phones feed our craving for immediate approval and promise to hedge against our fears of missing out.
- Our phones undermine key literary skills and, because of our lack of discipline, make it increasingly difficult for us to identify ultimate meaning.
- Our phones offer us a buffet of produced media and tempt us to indulge in visual vices.
- Our phones overtake and distort our identity and tempt us toward unhealthy isolation and loneliness.”
I think we can read these and all recognize areas of our phone usage that is not beneficial to our relationship with ourselves, those around us, or God himself.
But with every warning, Reinke pairs it with a positive, an encouragement and a grace. Just throwing out our phones is not going to solve the problem or change our hearts. We must use wisdom to understand our weaknesses and in all things seek Christ first.
Reinke promotes disciplines that tie in with each pitfall and points us back to Christ and the gospel freedom he offers us. It positions us to our phones in a way so we can use the phone for God’s glory instead of being at the mercy of our phone.
Some Standouts
Every chapter had great insights and I took a lot of notes, but here are just a few ponderings I will share from my readings:
In the throes of Covid, churches were largely forced to commune online. And even after we could meet in person again, so many people opted to continue to be churched from afar, electing to just watch the sermon online. What’s the point of dealing with the church body if I can just be taught at home?
But we miss out on so much when we are not meeting together in person as the Lord commands in Scripture. Sure, it might be awkward at times, or uncomfortable but we have to force ourselves out of the phone’s drive for immediate approval and its pull to like-minded people.
People are diverse. People have different strengths, weaknesses, and blindspots. The church is a place to feel unity and encouragement even in difference. To learn how to work through disagreements and talk through hard things, not avoid them.
“In the local church, I do not fear rejection. In the healthy local church, I can pursue a spiritual depth that requires agitation, frustration, and the discomfort of being with people who conform not to “my” kingdom but to God’s.”
We can’t live in a vacuum or on a pedestal of our own maneuvering. We need the body of Christ to challenge us and bear with us in our struggles. We need the honesty and tangibility of the church body.
As a reader, another of Reinke’s principles stood out to me. Our phones cause us to lose literacy. The shortness of tweets and posts and our constant scrolling and skimming erodes our ability to concentrate and read for long periods of time.
We are being conditioned for snippets and highlights, not depth and meditation.
“God has given us the power of concentration in order for us to see and avoid what is false, fake, and transient— so that we may gaze directly at what is true, stable, and eternal. It is part of our creatureliness that we are easily lured by what is vain and trivial.”
“We are called to suspend our chronic scrolling in order to linger over eternal truth, because the Bible is the most important book in the history of the world.”
We are called to know and love God’s Word. But to understand the Bible, we have to put in the work of studying it, and lingering over it. Taking it to heart. A random daily Bible verse on an app is not bad, but it’s not the kind of depth that is required of us.
I know not everyone can read the amount of books that I do, but it’s important not to shrug off reading altogether. We miss out on the very words of God when we settle for snapshots and scrolling instead of silence and savoring.
As an artist/creator/writer, his chapter on production and digital media and creations was interesting to think about. It reminded me a little of Rembrandt is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey as he talked about what art is meant to do, meant to portray.
Technology can help us create things. Make art. It is a platform to share our pictures and our words.
We need to think about where our art and our words lead people— towards God or away? Does it serve and build up our audiences?
We wield a power to influence many people and we should evaluate before every post or creation whether or not we are pointing to truth and the beauty of God and his world.
“take all of God’s created and revealed gifts to you and make all of them into a life that shows the world how glorious and satisfying God really is.”
I was shocked when Reinke shared this statistic:
“The average output of email and social-media text is estimated at 3.6 trillion words, or about thirty-six million books— typed out every day… which is one million more books than the Library of Congress holds.”
Seven years later, it’s got to be a lot more than this. That is a lot of words.
And it’s sobering when we consider that we will be held accountable for every idle word we speak or tweet or post or message. (Matt 12:36)
How much of our online presence or our phone usage is made up of idle, careless words? We may think what we do with our phones is anonymous or without consequences, but God sees every stroke and swipe and we will have to answer for every action we take on our phones, every choice we make with it.
That’s not to beat us down with the gravity of that reality and make us feel like failures, unable to atone for all those careless words we’ve written. Of course, we do need to feel the weight of our sin and the need for our Savior.
But Reinke also uses this verse to remind us that we are responsible for every word that comes from us— in word, thought, or deed— and it would be good practice to consider the idleness of our phone usage and our online presence. Can we stand behind what we do and say? And if not, what changes need to be made?
Conclusion
“If our digital technology becomes our god, our wand of power, it will inevitably shape us into technicians who gain mastery over a dead world of conveniences.”
I recommend this book to all people. Smartphones aren’t going away. Or if they do, they will be replaced by something even more invasive and alluring. We have to take the time to look at how our phones are changing us and what pitfalls we can easily fall into.
Reinke’s book is realistic and practical and written in a voice, not of abandoning technology, but in harnessing it and using it to point to God and his glory. To use our phones and not let our phones use us. To understand what sins poor phone usage can tap into and to seek forgiveness.
“I am not my own. I am owned by my Lord. I have been bought with a price, which means I must glorify Christ with my thumbs, my ears, my eyes, and my time. And that leads me to my point: I do not have “time to kill”— I have time to redeem.”
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July 25, 2022
This book was great! There was rarely a dull moment while reading this, which is rare for me when reading non-fiction. I think I genuinely did come away from this with a clearer knowledge of how smartphones/technology keeps a hold on us all and how it controls us.
Reinke uses interesting and intriguing real-life examples or quotes at the beginning of (and throughout) most of his chapters, which immediately hooks you and grabs at the very thing he explains in this book, our "Neomania," what Reinke defines as "an addiction to anything new within the last five minutes." But these interesting tidbits and stories only add to the message of the chapter and overall book; and Reinke doesn't tell stories the whole time - these examples and stories he has found and shares with us quickly leads into his writing on what it means about our phones. Addiction to new curiosities is just one of the subjects he talks about, splitting them up into 12 general categories, held each within the 12 chapters of this book, the “ways in which our smartphones are changing us and undermining our spiritual health."
(as a side note, in addition to our spiritual health which is the focal point of this book, Reinke touches on our phone-afflicted mental health, and, in the Epilogue, briefly looks into the actual physical effects our phone has on us).
To roughly sketch out to you the chapters of this book: Our phones "amplify our addiction to distractions" (chapter 1), our phones "push us to evade the limits of embodiment" (chapt. 2), our phones "feed our craving for immediate approval" (3), they "undermine key literary skills" (4), and "offer us a buffet of produced media" (5), and "overtake and distort our identity" (6), and tempt us "toward unhealthy isolation and loneliness" (7), and "to indulge in visual vices" (8), making it hard "to identify ultimate meaning" (9), while also promising to "hedge against our fear of missing out [(FOMO)]" (10). Finally, our phones "cause us to treat one another harshly" (11) and "splinter our perception of our place in time" (12).
So there is the "Table of Contents," if you will, of this book.
Read it (it's a book any 21st century Christian should and can read), learn from it (how could you not when is so informed and theologically insightful?), be humbled (you will be), and be inspired to end your smartphones woes (whether that be addiction to it, hatred for it, want for approval, want for distraction, etc) and use this tool (for that is what it is) rightfully.
TL;DR: In this book, hopefully, you'll learn how to take back control of your phone and stop letting your phone control you.
5 stars ["it was amazing"]
January 12, 2023
This book is definitely worth reading. The title is a little misleading, as the book is actually on a biblical view of technology and social media. Only the end was actually on the smart phone itself. So this wasn’t exactly the topic I was hoping to read but it was still very convicting. I’m thinking of getting off Instagram and getting rid of my smart phone. He has a lot of reasons that I’ve already been sitting on.
The last two chapters were just repetitive information and that made me like the book less, since I was eager for it to be over.
The last two chapters were just repetitive information and that made me like the book less, since I was eager for it to be over.
January 3, 2024
Definitely worth the read. He made a few new, thought-provoking points and then reiterated many that I'm familiar with. That said, when it comes to important topics like these, it's valuable to have regular reminders and chances to reevaluate. It's easy to listen, get inspired, and then... do nothing.
May 23, 2022
This book was a much needed slap in the face with conviction. I would venture to say that every single Christian living in this stage of history should read this book. We cannot be passive about the way we interact with technology as Christians. Reinke is so insightful, fair, and straightforward in his criticism of the ways we allow smartphones to shape our lives and our faith. I appreciated the practicality balancing with his insights about technology and our sinful tendencies. Left to our own devices (pun intended) we will be consumed by the overwhelming influence of smartphones, but we are called to something higher as Christians. We are to be slaves of Christ, not our phones. Honest self reflection, constant reevaluation, and repentance are all necessary in our interactions with technology to use it in its proper place. I agree with Reinke in that we should not exploit our phones to give us the maximum amount of entertainment or placation, but look at our individual season of life to see what the minimum amount of influence a phone must have in our lives and use it in that context only. In everything, including technology, we must not accept the world's approach, but look to Scripture to see what the Christian way is and commit to that wholeheartedly.
February 21, 2023
Everything Tony Reinke writes as eye-opening and convicting. The warnings he brought out about technology were helpful because they were related to your spiritual health as opposed to physical. There are many scientific warnings about technology. But how does it change the way we interact with others? How does it change the way we view others? Does technology aid or halt our obedience to biblical commands?
I would highly recommend this book and will probably come back to it in the future.
I would highly recommend this book and will probably come back to it in the future.
February 17, 2019
You HAVE to read this book. It's the BEST book I have read in the last 18-24 months. Thought-provoking, well-researched, and easy to follow. Tony Reinke writes with the style of a journalist, the balance of a well-trained academic, and the surgical precision of a theological commentator. Read this book, and you won't think about smartphones and technology in the same way. While written for the Christian audience, I think that anyone could benefit from hearing what Tony has to say.
When I moved back to the States, I was seriously considering ditching my smartphone. After two years of needing to have a phone on me at all times, I was preparing to go nuclear and just go with a flip phone. After reading various books, reflecting on my smartphone habits, and observing how the people around me used them, I was preparing to ditch my iPhone 5c. Upon picking up 12 Ways, I was expecting Reinke to give me the last bit of encouragement I needed to live a smartphone free life. But, honestly, he argued more for a different attitude in how they are used, rather than giving up the habit altogether. His stated purpose is to get you, the reader, to think deeply and critically about the way your smartphone is changing you.
For me, I find myself constantly going to my smartphone for a new and novel article, story, or to refresh my social media feed. My phone functions as an endless buffet of cotton-candy for my mind. It's sweet and provides a great sugar-high of information, but it leaves me feeling more empty and less knowledgeable in the long-term. Sitting still and expending hours to read the Bible or my books and articles for graduate school is just not as exciting even though I know that these things nourish my soul and provide my mind with the ideas I truly want. The true and timeless knowledge of God and wise sages, historians, and social commentators is being forgotten and neglected, while I gorge myself with trivial and unimportant clickbait, videos, and articles.
I've noticed that not only has my reading stamina decreased over the years, but I've also noticed that pure, blissful silence is no longer something I take the time to enjoy. An empty moment is instead a chance to queue up Spotify, check my email, watch a YouTube video, or scroll through Facebook. I thrive on moments of true stillness and quiet, but they are becoming fewer, not because I'm too busy, but because I choose to rather attend to the blue-light square machine that beckons to me from within my satchel or pocket.
Use this book as an opportunity to evaluate just how your smartphone is changing you. Take notes, discuss with friends, and pray about how God might be leading you to have healthier habits. I've greatly benefitted from Reinke's work, and I think everyone should take a moment to consider what he's saying. At his urging, I've already begun taking steps to better control my phone habits for the purposes of knowing God better, engaging with the people around me, working harder, and giving my mind a much-needed information rest.
When I moved back to the States, I was seriously considering ditching my smartphone. After two years of needing to have a phone on me at all times, I was preparing to go nuclear and just go with a flip phone. After reading various books, reflecting on my smartphone habits, and observing how the people around me used them, I was preparing to ditch my iPhone 5c. Upon picking up 12 Ways, I was expecting Reinke to give me the last bit of encouragement I needed to live a smartphone free life. But, honestly, he argued more for a different attitude in how they are used, rather than giving up the habit altogether. His stated purpose is to get you, the reader, to think deeply and critically about the way your smartphone is changing you.
For me, I find myself constantly going to my smartphone for a new and novel article, story, or to refresh my social media feed. My phone functions as an endless buffet of cotton-candy for my mind. It's sweet and provides a great sugar-high of information, but it leaves me feeling more empty and less knowledgeable in the long-term. Sitting still and expending hours to read the Bible or my books and articles for graduate school is just not as exciting even though I know that these things nourish my soul and provide my mind with the ideas I truly want. The true and timeless knowledge of God and wise sages, historians, and social commentators is being forgotten and neglected, while I gorge myself with trivial and unimportant clickbait, videos, and articles.
I've noticed that not only has my reading stamina decreased over the years, but I've also noticed that pure, blissful silence is no longer something I take the time to enjoy. An empty moment is instead a chance to queue up Spotify, check my email, watch a YouTube video, or scroll through Facebook. I thrive on moments of true stillness and quiet, but they are becoming fewer, not because I'm too busy, but because I choose to rather attend to the blue-light square machine that beckons to me from within my satchel or pocket.
Use this book as an opportunity to evaluate just how your smartphone is changing you. Take notes, discuss with friends, and pray about how God might be leading you to have healthier habits. I've greatly benefitted from Reinke's work, and I think everyone should take a moment to consider what he's saying. At his urging, I've already begun taking steps to better control my phone habits for the purposes of knowing God better, engaging with the people around me, working harder, and giving my mind a much-needed information rest.
February 12, 2018
Although this came recommended by a trusted friend, I still fully expected any Christian book on the topic of smart phone use to be yet another simplistic diatribe or guilt-driven listicle. Much to my grateful surprise, it was neither. Tony Reinke writes a balanced and carefully researched series of points on the ways that this current technology has—or at least easily can—affect us, both for good and for ill. He points out the ways that smart phones have created unprecedented opportunities for connecting with God’s people and for delving deeper and more consistently into our reading of Scripture, for example. But he also presents some painful and convicting observations about the ways that our phones can drive a wedge between us and our neighbors and, worse, between us and God.
Reinke is surgically precise in where he aims his blade, seeking to cut out the harmful and destructive phone habits that plague our spiritual, familial, societal, and political lives while simultaneously preserving those elements of phone use that are valuable, edifying, and good. I found this to be a clear, helpful, and evenhanded treatment of a tough subject—one that hits as close to home as our own back pockets. I commend it to you.
Reinke is surgically precise in where he aims his blade, seeking to cut out the harmful and destructive phone habits that plague our spiritual, familial, societal, and political lives while simultaneously preserving those elements of phone use that are valuable, edifying, and good. I found this to be a clear, helpful, and evenhanded treatment of a tough subject—one that hits as close to home as our own back pockets. I commend it to you.
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