Screen Addiction: Why You Can’t Put That Phone Down

by Sister Marysia Weber, RSM

Have you ever had an irresistible urge to check your texts, social media posts or email updates when your cell phone rings, beeps or buzzes? Is the amount of time spent on your cell phone increasing? Do you text, access social media or open your email account while driving? Do you find yourself mindlessly checking your cell phone many times a day even when you know there is likely nothing new or important to see?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this book is for you! This study by Sister Marysia Weber, R.S.M., sheds necessary light on the reasons for our behavior in a screen-addicted world and provides methods for rehabilitating ourselves toward a more proper use of our technologies.

Paperback: $14.95 | Kindle: $9.99 (ISBN-13: 978-1-950108-08-4)

TESTIMONIALS

“Some of us used to be day-dreamers, which was quite harmless unless we lost contact with reality. Nowadays most of us have become day-YouTubers – also quite harmless until you lose contact with people around you. It can become a serious addiction, a screen-addiction. That’s what Sister Marysia Weber writes about in this terrific book. Being a certified psychiatrist, she knows what she is talking about. Not only is the book extremely informative, but also very practical by giving us powerful tools to help ourselves, our kids, our teenagers, and our young adults. It’s a goldmine.” – Dr. Gerard M. Verschuuren, Human Geneticist
“Sister Marysia Weber, R.S.M., has produced in her book Screen Addiction: Why You Can’t Put That Phone Down a useful explanation for why we’re increasingly engaging our social media devices and practical solutions for how to end our addictive behavior for our personal health and social well-being.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, founder of the Catholic Distance Learning Network

Council of Major Superior of Women Religious presents…

The New Media and Religious Life: How an Awareness of the Benefits and Risks of Electronic Media Assists and Hinders the Consecrated Religious in Communicating the Love of Jesus Christ

featuring
Sister Marysia Weber, RSM, D.O., and Sister Mary Prudence Allen, RSM, Ph.D.

WCAT TV Presents . . . Introduction to The New Media and Religious Life
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session I, Part A
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session I, Part B
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session II, Part A
WCAT TV presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session II, Part B
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session III, Part A
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session III, Part B
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session IV, Part A
WCAT TV presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session IV, Part B
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Introduction to the Second Half
WCAT TV presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session V, Part A
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session V, Part B
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session VI, Part A
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session VI, Part B
WCAT TV presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session VII, Part A
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session VII, Part B
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session VIII, Part A
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Session VIII, Part B
WCAT TV Presents . . . The New Media and Religious Life, Conclusion

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sister Marysia Weber is a Religious Sister of Mercy of Alma, MI.  She is a physician, certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.  She completed her residency and fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  She received the Howard P. Rome, MD Writing and Clinical Research Award- Mayo Clinic, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology. She holds a master’s degree in theology from Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana.  She practiced psychiatry at her religious institute’s multidisciplinary medical clinic, Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center in Alma, MI from 1988-2014. She has served as a psychological expert consultant for the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, USCCB and the Ad Hoc Sexual Abuse Committee.  She became the Director of the Office of Consecrated Life for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in 2014. She served as facilitator for Rachel’s Vineyard, and as an executive board member of the Saint Louis Guild Catholic Medical Association. She served on the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, Review Board and Safe Environment Board. She also served as Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri. She continues her work as chair of the board of directors of MyCatholicDoctor and with the Seminary Formation Council forming seminary formators and pastoral mentors in the Art of Accompaniment. She was recently missioned to Tulsa, OK and serves as vice president of mission and ministry and co-chair of the ethics committee for San Francis Health System.

Dr. Weber offers workshops on a variety of topics including human attachment, boundaries and character development, depression and anxiety, dialogue and conflict resolution, as well as on social media and its effects on the brain for clergy, seminarians, women’s and men’s religious communities, parents, teachers and students. She presents on Internet pornography addiction—a Catholic approach to treatment to bishops, clergy, seminarians, religious communities, and laity throughout the United States and Europe. She presented to the U.S. Bishops in Dallas TX in 1992 on “Pedophilia and Other Addictions”.  She was a member of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse in 1994-1995.  Dr. Weber has presented to the Curia, Vatican City State on “Sexual Abuse of Minors by Clergy in North America” in 2002.  

Dr. Weber’s publications include: The Art of Accompaniment: Practical Steps for the Pastoral Mentor offering formators a comprehensive framework for accompanying transitional deacons in their final preparation for priesthood (https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/practicalsteps/).  She published a second edition of her book: The Art of Accompaniment: Practical Steps for the Seminary Formator which incorporates aspects of the transformational focus of the Program for Priestly Formation, 6th edition (https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/artofaccompaniment/). 

Her book Screen Addiction: Why You Can’t Put that Phone Down, now also available in Spanish  (https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/screenaddiction/) describes how excess screen time alters the brain and offers many practicals to address these effects.  She also has two chapters in Spiritual Husband-Spiritual Fathers: Priestly Formation for the 21st Century including: “Guideposts for the Seminary Formator in Understanding and Assessing Levels of Preoccupation with Use of Internet Pornography and a Formative Process for Moving from Vice to Virtue” https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/spiritualhusbands/).

Her other publications include “Medical Aspects of Addiction”; “The Roman Catholic Church and the Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests and Religious in the United States and Canada: What Have We Learned? Where Are We Going?”; “Pornography, Electronic Media and Priestly Formation” in Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Her publications in Seminary Journal include: “Significant Markers of Human Maturation Applied to the Selection and Formation of Seminarians”; “The Discernment of a Priestly Vocation and the Expertise of Psychiatry and Psychology”; and “Internet Pornography and Priestly Formation: Medium and Content Collide with the Human Brain”. 

OTHER PRACTICAL THEOLOGY BOOKS

Awaken My Love: Vol. 1, Inner Healing by Zach Engelbert

Awaken My Love: Vol. 1, Inner Healing by Zach Engelbert

Awaken My Love: Vol. 1, Inner Healing by Zach Engelbert This book presents a structured Catholic approach to spiritual restoration, integrating scriptural reflection, personal inventories, and guided prayers. The author outlines a stepwise process addressing trauma,...

read more
Restoring the Temple of Your Body by Laura Ercolino

Restoring the Temple of Your Body by Laura Ercolino

Restoring the Temple of Your Body: Christian Expressive Arts to Facilitate Healing of Body Image & Relationship with Food by Laura Ercolino Restoring the Temple of Your Body is a prayerful, therapeutic workbook that integrates Christian expressive arts with...

read more
New Insight into Seeing the Holy Spirit at Work in Your Life: God’s Invisible Realities Seen in Your Spiritual Mirror—How to Have Better Discernment; Better Recognize the Holy Spirit; Better Understand the Will of God by Annette Hills

New Insight into Seeing the Holy Spirit at Work in Your Life: God’s Invisible Realities Seen in Your Spiritual Mirror—How to Have Better Discernment; Better Recognize the Holy Spirit; Better Understand the Will of God by Annette Hills

New Insight into Seeing the Holy Spirit at Work in Your Life: God's Invisible Realities Seen in Your Spiritual Mirror—How to Have Better Discernment; Better Recognize the Holy Spirit; Better Understand the Will of God by Annette Hills Have you ever questioned what God...

read more
The Gift of Motherhood

The Gift of Motherhood

The Gift of Motherhood by A. Young Mother The Gift of Motherhood is a compassionate, accessible guide affirming the dignity of every human life from conception. Blending clear explanations of fetal development with gentle support for women facing unplanned pregnancies...

read more
En Défense de la Dignité Humaine par Marie Brousseau

En Défense de la Dignité Humaine par Marie Brousseau

En Défense de la Dignité Humaine: Une Perspective Catholique sur l'Identité du Genre, l'Avortement et le Relativisme par Marie Brousseau Dans ces essais, Marie Brousseau, enseignante et essayiste catholique canadienne, aborde les controverses morales les plus...

read more
Companion to Becoming Magdalene by Jennifer Ristine

Companion to Becoming Magdalene by Jennifer Ristine

Jennifer Ristine interviewed Liz Tabish, the actress who plays Mary Magdalene on The Chosen. Click play on the video below.Companion to Becoming Magdalene: Journaling and Shared Group Discussion, a spiritual exercises guidebook by Jennifer Ristine Companion to...

read more
To a Younger Brother by Fr. Eric Gilhooly, LC

To a Younger Brother by Fr. Eric Gilhooly, LC

To a Younger Brother by Fr. Eric Gilhooly, LC Father Eric Gilhooly, LC has written To a Younger Brother as a very practical and encouraging book for seminarians. The book uses contemporary book, movie, and song examples to offer insightful and realistic advice for...

read more
Journeying towards Self-Mastery by Fr. Benjamin Bala

Journeying towards Self-Mastery by Fr. Benjamin Bala

Journeying towards Self-Mastery by Fr. Benjamin Bala In this inspiring and deeply personal guide, Catholic priest Benjamin Bala explores the transformative journey of self-mastery. Rooted in Scripture, Church teaching, and practical wisdom, Bala challenges readers to...

read more
Currents of Water: A Widow’s Walk with Jesus and Mary

Currents of Water: A Widow’s Walk with Jesus and Mary

Wendy Forest presenting Currents of Water at the Mackinaw Valley Vineyard, July 20, 2025Currents of Water: A Widow's Walk with Jesus and Mary by Wendy Forest Currents of Water is a deeply personal and spiritual reflection on grief, faith, and healing. Following her...

read more
Going Solo? Encouraging Single Catholics by Anne Stokes

Going Solo? Encouraging Single Catholics by Anne Stokes

Going Solo: Encouraging Single Catholics by Anne Stokes In a world that often equates fulfillment with marriage and family, Going Solo: Encouraging Single Catholics offers a refreshing and faith-centered perspective on the joys, challenges, and spiritual purpose of...

read more
The Three Ways: Catholic Spiritual Journey

The Three Ways: Catholic Spiritual Journey

The Three Ways: Catholic Spiritual Journey by Julie McPhillips, OCDS Today, you are invited exactly where you are to consider that your life is on a spiritual journey Home to God. Each is God’s planned creation, and Jesus is “The Way” to our final destination—Eternal...

read more
Transgenderism: A Question of Identity by Francis Etheredge

Transgenderism: A Question of Identity by Francis Etheredge

Transgenderism: A Question of Identity by Francis Etheredge We live in difficult times as there are enormous advantages to the internet and, at the same time, profound problems with its use. Is it a distorting mirror or is a true reflection of who we are? On the one...

read more
Handbook for Catholic Religious by Fr. Bevil Bramwell, OMI

Handbook for Catholic Religious by Fr. Bevil Bramwell, OMI

Handbook for Catholic Religious by Fr. Bevil Bramwell, OMI Reflecting on the theology of the presence of Christ in the world, particularly from the point of view of the aesthetics of religious life as understood from the writings of Hans Urs von Balthasar, John Paul...

read more
Human Sexuality

Human Sexuality

Human Sexuality: Precious Gift and Perilous Challenge with Particular Reference to the Sexual Abuse Scandal in the Church by Fr. Dominic Anaeto We live in an age when our sexuality speaks loudly and clamors for attention, so it is good that celibate men and women, and...

read more