The authors of Redeeming Technology help students learn how to have a healthier relationship with social media and digital technology.
On Friday, November 4, Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith, authors of Redeeming Technology: A Christian Approach to Healthy Digital Habits, spoke with CUAA students enrolled in LA 105 (Higher Education: A New Experience) about their book, specifically regarding healthy social/digital media use. Sutton, a Concordia Seminary graduate (’12) who is currently pastor at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Haslett, Michigan, also preached in the Chapel of the Holy Trinity that morning.
About the book
Via Concordia Publishing House:
4,105 hours. That’s how much time Americans spend consuming media each year. That equates to about 11 hours per day spent on social media, in front of a screen, or texting your friends and family. Have you considered how all of this media time is affecting both your physical and spiritual well-being?
Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Find a healthy balance with technology in today’s modern age while still being focused on Christ.
Each chapter includes a “Do This, Not That” advice column to help you make better decisions when it comes to your media and technology consumption. Additionally, there are discussion questions to get you thinking about your media use and to help you center yourself back on Christ.
About the class
“LA 105 is designed to help students successfully transition from high school to college,” explained the course instructor, Dr. Erin Laverick, assistant vice president of academics at CUAA. “We spend a lot of time working on time management skills, study strategies (including reading), and learning how to navigate college life, especially balancing athletics and academics. The class has not been offered in several years, but CUAA is offering it again as means to hopefully increase retention and help students find better success in their first semester of college.”
Why they visited
“As we know, college reading skills are extremely important,” Laverick said. “Therefore, students have been reading Sutton and Smith’s book, while learning how to take notes while reading, how to engage in academic conversations about the book, and how to answer short answer prompts using the book. Sutton and Smith’s visit provided students the opportunity to practice talking about academic writing with the actual authors. It was a fun day filled with good dialogue and engagement.”
Want in?
The School of Arts and Sciences at Concordia University Ann Arbor prepares men and women rooted in the Liberal Arts to be thoughtful and articulate people of faith who contribute in meaningful ways to their families, communities and cultures.