If we realize how gravely sick is our civilization, we may gain strength to resist.

Philosopher and patrologist Dr Jean-Claude Larchet, renowned for his examinations of patristic writings on the causes and consequences of spiritual and physical illness, here diagnoses the pathologies of new media in a society that is eager for speed, proximity and immediacy. Writing in an accessible and straightforward manner he examines the harm and illusion brought by the invasion of digital devices—from radio to networked smart phones and beyond. He analyzes their all-encompassing impact on society and personal life.

This meticulous diagnosis of new media’s insidious effects — bodily, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual —concludes with a discussion of the ways individuals might limit and counteract the most deleterious of these, with the aim that they might “discover once more the authentically human and spiritual communion that we have lost.”