What is Prudence & How Does it Relate to Technology?

Virtue Formation Series, Part 2. Ancient Wisdom can bring stability and security to the modern world. Aren't we all desperate for more of that?

This is the second article in my Virtue Formation series as it relates to digital media, childhood, and the Christian Life. The first may be found here.

There are four Cardinal Virtues of the Christian faith: prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude.

The problem is that in today’s world we don’t use words like cardinal, virtue, prudence, temperance, or fortitude. If there was a pop quiz on defining these terms, I think most of us would be lucky to earn a C+. We may have a vague sense of what justice means in the legal sense, but not so much as an attribute we should personally cultivate.

I want to suggest is that in taking the time to understand the Cardinal Virtues, we will gain clarity and confidence when it comes to how our families, churches, and communities approach digital media. I believe there is wisdom in ancient teachings, if we will only take the time to learn from them. Here’s my best, concise attempt:

Cardinal Virtues

Cardinal virtues have almost nothing to do with the bird, but I live in Virginia and our state bird is the Cardinal. I often watch these birds out of my office window and believe that bird watching, even for just a few minutes, is a great way to put a smile on your face. So, I hope you enjoy the photo.

As to the non-fowl version, Dr.

Christopher Perrin

, helps us understand the cardinal virtues in this way:

They were called cardinal because they were hinge virtues on which one’s life really revolved. Cardo cardinalis in Latin means ‘hinge.’ If you had these four virtues matured within you, you would become a fully developed human being according to the ancients.

With the rise of Artificial Intelligence, the idea of becoming, and raising, fully developed human beings is an idea we can’t afford to ignore.

Prudence

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis helps us understand the first Cardinal Virtue of Prudence:

Prudence means practical common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it.

Practical common sense. Yes, please. Sign me up. I’d like some for my kids and husband, too. And my neighbors, my in-laws, my kids’ teachers and our politicians. I’m officially in the pro-prudence camp.

In all seriousness, as an adult, I understand that I will never be able to give my children a solution to every problem they will face in life. They will need to develop prudence so that they can be equipped for all that life will throw at them. Kids and teenagers must be given the ability to learn how to make good decisions in the real world with foresight and an awareness of reality. In a podcast on prudence, Dr. Perrin asks, “What is really real?” He suggests (as did Plato) that we can’t change the world into what we want it to be, but rather “reality is something that we are born into.”

This isn’t to say we don’t try to improve the world around us, but it means we do so with an eye to the constraints we live within.

In the physical world, this means that if we jump off a deck, we should expect to fall. This is practical common sense. A six year old may believe he can fly, but gravity is really real.

In the spiritual world, as Christians, we should anticipate that we will not withstand all temptation as Jeremiah 17:9 warns, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable - who can understand it.” It is really real that we are all sinful human beings and this is still true in the digital world. In many cases algorithms are driving us to make immoral choices. Consider this, from

Anthony B. Bradley

,

Teenage boys are increasingly targeted by social media algorithms that push explicit content, including pornography, directly onto their feeds—even without their active search. This isn’t just an unfortunate side effect; it’s a deliberate strategy to exploit engagement metrics for profit, regardless of the psychological and spiritual harm inflicted on young men. These algorithms don’t simply respond to user behavior—they manipulate it, luring teens into addictive cycles.

I believe one of the biggest problems we are facing within Christian society is that we lack prudence when it comes to digital media and the social internet.

Living in Reality

In the modern digital age, parents must know what is really real about social media, smartphones, video games, AI, and algorithms. Practical common sense can’t exist without knowledge of the world we are living in, whether it is the physical or digital world. This doesn’t mean we should be fearful of the internet and go live in a cave, but we must be realistic.

For over a decade now we have taken the approach that social media, smartphones and the internet are here to stay and we have to shape our lives to deal with them. May I suggest that the more prudent option is to shape our adult lives around what is good, true, and beautiful and then add in digital media as it makes sense? For kids and teens, it is really real that the kids are not alright these days and our digital consumption is the main culprit.

If our goal is to simply be the “just say no” parent to screen time we will have missed the mark on developing prudence. There is a both/and approach that I think we must cultivate.

We see in the book of Genesis that God created man and woman, placed them out doors, gave them work to do, and commanded a weekly period of rest. This was the good life, pre-fall. If we accept these things as being really real, then prudence would say that when we avoid these things (community, creation, work, rest), there will be consequences. Really real consequences.

When we make efforts to engage in the practices outlined in Genesis 1, I’ve found that there are very few minutes remaining in our kids’ days for screen time. (It must be said that texting friends is efficient, but it is not a substitute for in-person community.)

The reality of what is happening behind screens is terrifying. Consider what

Brad Littlejohn

recently wrote in his post, Taking the Fight to Big Porn.

Today’s children will be tomorrow’s adults. The porn industry knows this, and that is why it is so eager to addict them—and addict them it does, in millions.

If prudence is “taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it,” as Lewis wrote, there is no space to believe that these devices will not harm your children or our society at large. What is really real is that we are up against Big Porn and algorithms. This calls to mind the old phrase, if you are playing with fire, expect to get burned. In this case, it sure looks like we are burning our kid.

Dear Christian Parent, don’t fall victim to what the culture says is normal. Pay attention to what is really real. Use prudence. Teach your children to be prudent by teaching them about the reality of the world. Tell them about the dangers of online porn, algorithms, social media and the like. I have found that when we are honest with our kids, their interest in these things diminishes. Look, I don’t believe we have to throw all of the computers out the window and cancel our wifi. (Though some people certainly are willing to go this far.

Paul Kingsnorth

intentionally does not bring a smartphone into his home.) Instead, we can engage technology as a tool to accomplish a task. Anything more than that, especially for kids, isn’t prudent.

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Non-Tech Gift Ideas

Here are a few ideas of gifts for the Christmas season that are non-tech and have provided hours of entertainment in my house. Besides my Amazon Affiliate links, I don’t receive any compensation for recommending these items.

1. FlipSide Every kid that ever comes into my house plays with this toy. It’s similar to Simon memory game of my youth but with a few extra ways to play. Highly recommend!

2. Lego Days of entertainment guaranteed for all ages. We also love this book of 365 things to do with Lego if you need to jumpstart the creativity.

3. Indoor Basketball Hoop I even enjoy playing around with this every now and then. A simple gift with hours of play involved. (Great for basements too!)

4. Back Gammon This two player game is a family favorite. It involves skill, some basic math skills and loads of fun. Perfect for cold, winter nights inside.