Aristotle called friendship a virtue. Mark Zuckerberg made “friending” a verb. Next up: AI companions—What happens when they listen better than your fellow Christians? Loneliness is being called an epidemic, even as we’re “connected” all day. Online spaces reward hot takes over hospitality, and friendship gets flattened into a friend request, a feed, or a follower count. Meanwhile, Jesus’ most personal message was a passionate prayer for friendship. How can Christians recover real, virtue-shaped friendship in an age of hyper-connected loneliness—when AI affirms us, social media tribalizes us, and smartphones stick closer than a brother? Chris and Adam trace friendship as a virtue through Scripture and classic and contemporary voices, then weigh modern tech against what friendship actually requires: presence, trust, humility, and a shared pursuit of the good. In This Episode Did social media’s rise lead to friendship’s decline? Why Jesus put friendship—more than family—at the heart of the Church Aristotle’s three kinds of friendship: the useful, the pleasurable, and “of the good.” Friendship killers—the vices of slander, reproach, betrayal, sloth, and codependence Historical deep dives—how a new technology drove the social platforms of the 17th century, spawned new friendships, and gave us the world’s oldest magazine AI companions—their comfort, their stigma, and what Christians could learn from their example Chris and Adam reflect on whether friendship is a vice or a virtue in their own lives Links Stanley Hauerwas, The Character of Virtue: Letters to a Godson. Buy a copy and read along with us! Mark Vernon micro-podcast lectures “Aristotle’s philosophy of friendship” U.S. Surgeon General advisory on loneliness and social connection (pdf) Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Cicero, On Friendship Aelred of Rievaulx, Spiritual Friendship The story of Joseph Addison and Dick Steele’s The Spectator Talk Back Leave us a 90-second voice message about this episode. We may feature it in a future segment! Follow Device & Virtue on Instagram. Follow Chris on Threads, and Adam on Substack. Support Device & Virtue. Learn how. Image: Detail from François Venant's "The Parting of David and Jonathan"
