Ethics and Religion in the Age of Social Media by Healey, Kevin; Woods Jr., Robert;

Short description:

Arguing that popular digital platforms promote misguided assumptions about ethics and technology, Ethics and Religion in the Age of Social Media lays out a new perspective on the relation between technological capacities and human virtue.

Long description:

Arguing that popular digital platforms promote misguided assumptions about ethics and technology, this book lays out a new perspective on the relation between technological capacities and human virtue.

The authors criticize the “digital catechism” of technological idolatry arising from the insular, elite culture of Silicon Valley. In order to develop digital platforms that promote human freedom and socio-economic equality, they outline a set of five “proverbs” for living responsibly in the digital world: (1) information is not wisdom; (2) transparency is not authenticity; (3) convergence is not integrity; (4) processing is not judgment; and (5) storage is not memory. Each chapter ends with a simple exercise to help users break through the habitual modes of thinking that our favorite digital applications promote. Drawing from technical and policy experts, it offers corrective strategies to address the structural and ideological biases of current platform architectures, algorithms, user policies, and advertising models.

This book will appeal to scholars and graduate and advanced undergraduate students investigating the intersections of media, religion, and ethics, as well as journalists and professionals in the digital and technological space.

"The Digital Revolution has spawned a seemingly infinite number of books addressing the Internet, social media and their meaning for our society and the future, with considerable repetition between them. In Digital Proverbs, Kevin Healey and Robert H. Woods, Jr. provide a critical and original take on our digital dilemmas, and use their ‘prophetic rage’ to shine a bright new light on the important issues at hand. I strongly recommend this absorbing book."

• Robert W. McChesney, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  

"This insightful book offers proverbial wisdom to make ethical communication possible in a digital world where finding common ground is a challenge, tribalism is increasing, and civil discourse is decreasing.　　With clarity and insight, this engaging and thought-provoking book provides a masterful blueprint for restoring virtue and values to a media and information saturated society. Supported with research and wisdom, Healey and Woods eye-opening observations are valuable to students beginning their study communication or leaders who will determine whether we are a society adrift in a digital sea of disconnected data, or dreamers and poets inspired by the good, the beautiful, and the true."

-Steven A. Beebe, Ph.D., Regents' and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus

"An amazing and thought-provoking book. An unbelievable effort. Genuinely a refreshing and different examination of the industry."

-Jason Alan Snyder, Global Chief Technology Officer, McCann Worldgroup,
Founder, MPOWERD, Inc.

"By highlighting the religious undertones of Silicon Valley, writers Healey and Woods dismantle the blind faith some harbor for technology as a savior to society. They also provide a critique of the tech industry that manages to make room for hope in technology's future. The relationship between religion and technology is one that is eloquently explored in a way that draws parallels and parables any follower can learn from."

-Shamika Goddard, Founder, Tech Chaplaincy Institute at Union Theological Seminary

Table of Contents:

Introduction

1 The Current Crisis in Digital Media

2 Historical Origins of the Digital Crisis

3 Information Is Not Wisdom

4 Transparency Is Not Authenticity

5 Convergence Is Not Integrity

6 Processing Is Not Judgment

7 Storage Is Not Memory

Part III

8 How to Think Differently About Tech: Corollaries to the Proverbs

9 Prophetic Imagination and Institutional Change

Conclusion: An Ethic of Non-Violence for the Digital Age