The New Media Epidemic: The Undermining of Society, Family and our Own Soul
If we realise how gravely sick is our civilisation, we many 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 analyses 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 authenticity human and spiritual communion that we have lost." -- Backcover
Contents
Introduction
1 Invasion
2 When the Medium Replaces the Message
3 The Tyranny of the New Mediators
4 Shrinking Distance and Time
5 The Destruction of Interpersonal Relationships
6 Evil Encounters
7 The Abolition of Private Life
8 The Denial of the Body and Its Effects on Health
9 The Dominance of the Virtual over the Real
10 Mental Disorders
11 Dumbing Down the Mind
12 The Impoverishment of Spiritual Life
13 Prevention and Treatment
Notes
Subject Index
Author: Dr Jean-Claude Larchet, Archibald Andrew Torrance (Translator)
Format: Softcover
Pages: 197
Price: $40
