Replay: Put Social Media In Its Place with Andy Crouch

In this Replay episode, Matthew Lee Anderson, Derek Rishmawy, and Alistair Roberts are joined by Andy Crouch — Partner for Theology and Culture at Praxis — to examine what the data on social media and video games reveals about the diverging formation of young men and women. The conversation turns on a pointed question: what happens when the skills adolescence develops are simulations rather than realities? And what does that mean for formative communities — home, school, and church — that bear responsibility for shaping persons, not just managing behaviors? - Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at . Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, R30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity: Inspiring True Stories from the Early Church Around the World, by going to: Apply for a full-tuition scholarship for Beeson Divinity School's M.Div program that begins Fall 2026 here: - Chapters 2:00 — Guest Introduction: Andy Crouch 3:00 — The Tweet: Social Media, Video Games, and Diverging Outcomes 5:30 — Why We Now Have Reliable Data 7:00 — Social Media's Harm to Girls 8:30 — Why Boys Seem Fine (At First) 11:00 — The Idolatry Framework: Things That Work at First 17:00 — Pornography as Formation Failure 19:00 — The Feminization of Internet Culture 25:00 — The Algorithmic Turn: From Chronological to Algorithmic Feeds 31:00 — The Algorithm Catches You at Your Worst 33:00 — Mobile Devices and the End of Distance 36:00 — Practical Applications: Give Resistors an Off-Ramp 40:00 — Banning Phones in Schools: A Framework 44:00 — "But They Need to Prepare for the Real World" 46:00 — Instruments vs. Devices: A Distinction 48:00 — Closing & Patron Teaser

You can listen to Replay: Put Social Media In Its Place with Andy Crouch online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Replay: Put Social Media In Its Place with Andy Crouch is an episode from Mere Fidelity by Mere Fidelity.

This episode is 50:33 long.

This episode was published on Feb 18, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Mere Fidelity when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.