The Allure of the Screen and the Erosion of the Soul: Smartphones, Fascination, and the Call to Contemplation

Homebrewed Christianity

Dr. Tripp Fuller | Theologian, Philosopher, Minister

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.6 • 612 Ratings

🗓️ 27 March 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This is an audio version of an essay on my substack, Process This. In it, I explore the tension between contemplation and fascination in the digital age, particularly regarding smartphone use. Inspired by my son's school essay on phone-free schools, I took up a Lenten social media fast. Learning how deeply our digital habits have affected our capacity for genuine connection has been revelatory. Inspired by recent conversations with philosophers Kevin Hart and Norman Wirzba, I develop a distinction between contemplation and fascination. Through their attention-fragmenting design, smartphones ultimately create hollow connections that diminish our ability to be present with others and ourselves. Rather than advocating for complete technological rejection, I think about intentionally cultivating contemplative practices as a counterbalance to digital habituation, suggesting that creating space for more profound attention may be essential to human freedom in our increasingly digitized world. I hope you enjoy it and consider supporting my work by joining 80k+ other people on Process This. If you want to read or watch the essay, you will find it here on SubStack. Related Resources Norman Wirzba Love's Braided Dance: Hope in a Time of Crisis (Book) This Sacred Life: Humanity's Place in a Wounded World (Book) “Attention and Responsibility: The Work of Prayer” in The Phenomenology of Prayer (Article) Farm to Table Theology (HBC Podcast) The Way of Love (HBC Podcast) Kevin Hart Contemplation: The Movements of the Soul (Book) Lands of Likeness: For a Poetics of Contemplation (Book) Hartmut Rosa Being at Home in the World (Podcast) Resonance In An Accelerated Age (Podcast) Related books by Rosa:The Uncontrollability of the World , Resonance: A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World, and his newest book, Democracy Needs Religion. Theology Beer Camp | St. Paul, MN | October 16-18, 2025 3 Days of Craft Nerdiness with 50+ Theologians & God-Pods and 600 new friends. A Five-Week Online Lenten Class w/ John Dominic Crossan Join us for a transformative 5-week Lenten journey on "Paul the Pharisee: Faith and Politics in a Divided World."This course examines the Apostle Paul as a Pharisee deeply engaged with the turbulent political and religious landscape of his time. For details and to sign-up for any donation, including 0, head over here. _____________________ Hang with 40+ Scholars & Podcasts and 600 people at Theology Beer Camp 2025 (Oct. 16-18) in St. Paul, MN. This podcast is a Homebrewed Christianity production. Follow the Homebrewed Christianity, Theology Nerd Throwdown, & The Rise of Bonhoeffer podcasts for more theological goodness for your earbuds. Join over 80,000 other people by joining our Substack - Process This! Get instant access to over 45 classes at www.TheologyClass.com Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Okay, everyone, so look at the numbers from Q1, and you'll see that there's a sharp...
0:04.0	Alex? Oh, I think you're frozen.
0:06.8	And that's why it's crucial that we mean.
0:08.9	E, that sounded important.
0:11.0	Because if we don't act, we've lost him.
0:14.5	Bring an end to work-call interruptions with EE Wi-Fi Enhancer.
0:18.7	More work from homers are choosing EE broadband,
0:21.8	the UK's fastest-growing broadband provider.
0:25.0	And he's back.
0:26.4	So I hope that was all clear.
0:27.7	To verify I see e.cote.uk.
0:31.1	This is an essay from Tripsubstack
0:33.3	titled The Allure of the Screen and the Erosion of the Soul.
0:38.1	Smartphones, Fascination, and the call to contemplation.
0:42.7	For more content like this, visit process this.substack.com.
0:58.6	The invitation of God can come in many voices.
1:06.2	Recently, my son, Elgin's voice, had a divine tenor and called me into the Linton season in a profound way.
1:11.1	It started with a school essay, he wrote, advocating for phone-free. Organizing his argument around the educational, psychological, and social impacts of smartphones on teenagers,
1:17.3	he methodologically assembled the research demonstrating their harmful effects.
1:23.1	His conclusion was devastating in its clarity.
1:26.1	At some point, we're going to look back and wonder
1:28.7	why we allowed smartphones in schools, just like we realized schools shouldn't have smoking sections.
	...

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