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12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You

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Description

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. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crossway; Illustrated edition (April 30, 2017)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1433552434


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 34


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.56 x 8.5 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #21,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #87 in Christian Social Issues (Books)


#87 in Christian Social Issues (Books):


Customer Reviews: 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,135 ratings


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Very good!
Very well written and researched! Makes one rethink how one uses digital technology, and how to use it appropriately so that it is useful, helpful, and not robbing too much time.
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024 by JW in NM

  • One of the most important books to read in this age
I didn’t want to read this book at first. A friend recommended it to me and I knew it would be convicting. It certainly was. But along with convicting it was encouraging. The author emphasizes replacing your bad habits of screen time with some spiritual disciplines he mentions in their place. I’ve already cut my screen time in half and am feeling more focused and driven in my day to day life. We really don’t realize the dangers of our smartphones and what our habits are doing to us - and this book certainly cleared that up. One of my biggest takeaways is, as mentioned in chapter 12 “we never have time to kill - we have time to redeem.” ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2023 by Emily M. Emily M.

  • Christian perspective, title doesn’t state this
I am Christian and reading the Bible is a part of my daily life. The author is not a super famous Christian writer, but nor is he obscure. As it is openly published by a Christian publisher, I don’t think it was author’s intent to deceive or hide the fact it is a Christian. Perhaps the Amazon description should be more clear, less hidden under a bushel…That said I found my initial copy at my local public library. I doubt “12 Ways Smartphones are changing Christians” would be in a city library. But, as I stated, I am Christian and actually ended up enjoying the book even more than I initially expected. I recommend to at least a dozen friends. I’ve since purchased 2 copies. The author may have jumped on the demonize smartphones bandwagon but his points crossover to many areas, and address the larger pictures of: how do you occupy your time? What do you value? From Where : whom does human identity come? Not from the book, but a point to ponder- Sure, gardening is seen as a healthy, productive hobby, but if it’s in lieu of providing proper childcare or picking up required Rx meds, then gardening can be as destructive as a smartphone. Well worth the read for every person of faith - even non-Christian, but an avowed atheist or agnostic, & perhaps even a deist, may find it annoying or off putting. For you, those who may benefit from a sermon but really don’t want to hear one, I recommend: Reset your Child’s Brain by Dr. Victoria Dunkley (?) - even if you are not a parent. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2024 by mom

  • a very needed and appreciated work
The author has done a good job, great job perhaps, in consistently bringing the focus back to humanity’s intended purpose and function according to God’s Word. The book was thorough, thought-provoking, and yet gentle and humble in its tone. A truly helpful book.
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2024 by wpalla

  • "This is a volume which could be helpful not only to individuals but as a teaching tool for younger generations."
Tony Reinke seeks to answer the question, “What is the best use of my smartphone in the flourishing of my life (p. 20)?” Few questions are more pertinent in an age obsessed with technology in general and the smartphone in particular. While the smartphone was invented barely a decade ago (p. 15), one is now owned by most people and is checked on average every 4.3 minutes (p. 43). Reinke appreciates the valuable tool that the smartphone has become but at the same time recognizes the dangers. As a result, highlighting useful components of smartphone use, each of the twelve chapters zeros in on a unique danger. Some of the more serious dangers include: smartphone addiction, distractions, increased loneliness and isolation, living vicariously, illiteracy due to short attention spans, misplaced hero worship, seeking approval of people rather than God, wasting time, online slander, and secret vices. Reinke does not recommend nonuse of smartphones, as least not for most people, but he does call on his readers to courageously ask themselves three questions. • Ends: Do my smartphone behaviors move me toward God or away from Him? • Influence: Do my smartphone behaviors edify me and others or do they build nothing of lasting value? • Servitude: Do my smartphone behaviors expose my freedom in Christ or my bondage to technique (p. 194)? In conjunction with these questions he adds twelve more: 1. What does my smartphone cost me per year if I add up the price of the device, insurance protection, covers and cases, and monthly service? 2. Do I need mobile web access to fulfill my calling in vocation or ministry? 3. Is texting essential to my care for others? Do those texts need to be seen in real time? And is the smartphone the only way to do it? 4. Do I need mobile web access to legitimately serve others? 5. Do I need mobile web access to navigate unfamiliar cities? Is the device an essential part of my travels? 6. Do I need my smartphone to take advantage of coupons in stores? How much money would I save instead without a smartphone data plan? 7. Can my web access wait? Is the convenience of mobile web access something I can functionally replace with structured time at a laptop or desktop computer later? 8. Can I get along just as well with a dumbphone, a WiFi hotspot, an iPod, or a tablet? 9. Can I listen to audio and podcasts in other ways (through an iPod, for example)? 10. Have I simply grown addicted to my phone? If so, can the problem be solved with moderation, or do I need to just cut if off? 11. Do the mobile lures of my phone insulate me from people and real needs around me? 12. Do I want my kids to see me gazing at a handheld screen so much as they grow up? What does this habit project to them and to others around me (pp. 197-198)? Assuming that most will continue to use smartphones Reinke suggests twelve valuable boundaries: 1. Turn off all nonessential push notifications. 2. Delete expired, nonessential, and time-wasting apps. 3. At night, keep your phone out of the bedroom. 4. Use a real alarm clock, not your phone alarm, to keep the phone out of your hands in the morning. 5. Guard your morning disciplines and evening sleep patterns by using phone settings to mute notifications between one hour before bedtime to a time when you can reasonably expect to be finished with personal disciplines in the morning (9 p.m. to 7 a.m. for the author). 6. Use self-restricting apps to help limit your smartphone functions and the amount of time you invest in various platforms. 7. Recognize that much of what you respond to quickly can wait. Respond at a later, more convenient time. 8. Even if you need to read emails on your smartphone, use strategic points during the day to respond to emails at a computer (thirty minutes each at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. for him). 9. Invite your spouse, your friends, and your family members to offer feedback on your phone habits (more than 70 percent of Christians in my survey said nobody else knew how much time they spent online). 10. When eating with your family members or friends, leave your phone out of sight. 11. When spending time with family members or friends, or when you are at church, leave your phone in a drawer or in your car, or simply power it off. 12. At strategic moments in life, digitally detox your life and recalibrate your ultimate priorities. Step away from social media for frequent strategic stoppages (each morning), digital Sabbaths (one day offline each week), and digital sabbaticals (two two-week stoppages each year) (p. 200). Reinke is a Christian leader who is conflicted over technology and especially the smartphone. On the one hand he loves its usefulness and contributions to his life. As a researcher (he is senior writer for desiringGod.org) and author, it is invaluable. But he struggles to control his smartphone use and finds it often possessing and controlling his life. He has written this extremely helpful book for himself and others. This is a volume which could be helpful not only to individuals but as a teaching tool for younger generations. Reviewed by Gary E. Gilley, Southern View Chapel ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2017 by Gary Gilley

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