Digital Minimalism

Cal Newports book is a decent book that helps give some perspective on how we interact with technology and I thought the book was well written and offered some tips as well as ways to change your outlook on tech without becoming isolated. He also makes sure to address numerous scenarios as he emphasises that no one size fits all.

His dismissal of online friendships is a bit of a low point because like i get he probably means like aunts you never see and only talk to on facebook but people these days form lifelong friendships online all the time and studies show that while theres challenges to such a friendship its emotionally no less meaningful, so i feel he couldve worded some things better here and there.

Also references to the 2016 us presidential election make the book a bit dated. However overall a solid read I'd recommend to anyone trying to curb their digital addictions.

Newport's book is well written, with some genuinely interesting passages, but is probably best suited for people who have never questioned their own digital habits and tendencies, which ironically are also the people least likely to pick up this particular book.

The more in-depth parts of the book work very well, such as the chapters on why likes on Facebook and gambling are the same, why the Amish people are hackers in the truest sense and how the New York Sun newspaper already operated in a way reminiscent of today's attention economy, all the way back in 1830. Newport also makes a very strong case as for ~why~ you should review your digital habits.

The weak sides of the book are clearly HOW this should happen. Most of the tips Cal comes up with are along the lines of; turn off notifications and leave your phone at home. Although it is a relevant method, a lot of preliminary work is required before someone with a stressful digital life chooses to go that way.

The most relevant questions in this context, when you zoom out, is not limited to either new technology nor social media - but is a question that has eluded us for centuries: how can we see through our own egocentric concepts/constructions and face reality - as it actually is - here and now?

Cal Newport's book explains the philosophy of Digital Minimalism; showcasing how technology can negatively harm our social interactions. Personally I listened to this book from the local library in an audiobook format and felt the chapters were way to long. Some chapters were up to 70 minutes in length. I personally prefer shorter chapters as it allows someone to dip their toe into a book for 20 - 30 minutes. I often put the book to rest and picked it up the next day trying to pickup where I left of.

The book cites examples of how peoples experiences with technology before his 30 day programme. It talks about how parents may miss out on quality time with their friends and family and what can be done. Cal offers advice throughout the book though some of them are more basic. The range of advice allows the reader to pick and choose some tips and try and implement them. Advice ranges from spending time alone to gain solitude, deleting social media of our phones and walking outside.

As mentioned earlier I borrowed this book from the library as an audiobook which gave me more confidence to pick it up and follow along. Unfortunately, I returned the book before finishing it, which I rarely do, skipping a whole hour long chapter. I felt that the tips were too basic of which some felt 'common knowledge'. I also felt that my life didn't meet up with the examples cited in the book. While age plays a part I have never been inundated with notifications but I have stripped my phone apps to the basics. Cal talks about social interaction being better than digital which can be argued either way. While face to face interactions might be beneficial for some, others may find it harder. Personally I prefer avoiding large social interactions as it can be awkward and hard to gage where conversations are leading. Likewise text based communication does not have white noise from other people talking around you which I find very distracting. Finally the majority of my friends, all be it limited are online and very few are in person where I know their phone number.

TLDR:

To summarise this book explores how social media can be harmful, looking at studies showing both sides. Cal's advice is basic but allows the individual to pick and choose what works for them. Though a large proportion of the advice given could be found out through online queries. I enjoyed listening to how one person spends time drawing a picture for his children's lunch box everyday, and thinking that is a nice touch. But it is far fetched from financial independence which is also discussed in another case study. I wished the chapters were shorter as I often zoned out of the book when listening or got bored and paused it for the day mid chapter.

Like a lot of these sort of books, Newport uses a lot of interesting anecdotes and historical stories to pad out his overall message which is that while the internet can be useful, you can have too much of a good thing and it can't replace human contact and social media can't replace voice conversations. I feel this is true. Some of his advice like planning your leisure time (actually writing out a plan) sounds too much like work to me. Maybe that would help some people. His main idea though, is to go on a sort of "digital detox" for a month and then reintroduce social media and other "internet entertainment" in a more conscious way, so you're not picking up your phone whenever you feel bored. I have found this has helped me a lot.

I listened to this as an audiobook while I was driving around delivering UberEats, so I missed bits where my iPhone was barking directions out at me. I want to read the actual book in the future.

Cal Newport wrote Digital Minimalism after he received many comments from readers of his previous book, Deep Work, sharing that they struggled with the role of new technologies in their lives. Newport’s goals for Digital Minimalism are to provide a case for minimising tech’s role in our daily lives, and to teach how to adopt his philosophy of digital minimalism.

The book is divided in two parts (twos feature predominantly throughout the book): part one focuses on how technology captures our attention, introduces digital minimalism, and proposes a 30-day “digital declutter,” a detox-but-not-quite-a-detox program. The intent of the 30-day digital declutter is to effect a rapid transformation in digital technological consumption. I’m not convinced that this is any more effective than a 30-day crash diet.

The second part of the book ostensibly demonstrates four themes of practices to help grow a digitally minimal lifestyle: spending time alone, engaging with people, focusing on “high-quality” leisure, and joining an “attention resistance.” The ideas in each section are good for living a rich and meaningful life. However, Newport’s desire to convince you that digital tools can be harmful seeps into these chapters, leaving the book disorganized. Newport may have been more effective laying out his argument for digital minimalism, then discussing practices for a healthy inner life, followed by ideas to develop healthier digital habits.

I felt that Newport hurt his own argument a few times. For instance, he mentions that folks start using a service in its infancy, but new features are often added to keep people’s attention within the service. But he never deals with that challenge later in the book. Another example, Newport mentions Arnold Bennett’s How to Live on 24 Hours a Day as inspiration for active leisure while pointing out that Bennett ignored that leisure time may be affected by domestic chores, and therefore writing a primer for men. However, Newport himself doesn’t account for or confront this possibility either, offering many suggestions that, frankly, are focused primarily on things folks could exchange for monetary value. Newport essentially denies that domestic chores have value.

Finally, I feel that Newport’s computer science background place him at a disadvantage for meeting these goals, and may prevent him from providing proven and helpful advice for changing personal habits. I think that Newport would have done better to write with a co-writer to help cover the psychological aspect and ensure that advice for changing habits is sound.

I don’t recommend this book for moving to a digital minimalistic lifestyle. I feel that the tactics may not be lasting or could be harmful. I feel that several of Newport’s ideas presented as ways to grow a digitally minimal lifestyle are good, in the sense that they’re ideas we should be striving for, but also focus on non-domestic or hyper-productive means of leisure. In a way it’s exchanging hyper-focus from electronics to particular types of leisure that I’m not convinced is healthful.

Like many popular non-fiction books, this is an essay padded out to a book. The author isn't wrong about how phones hijack our attention, but it's really written from the perspective of a well-off and able-bodied man. As someone whose abilities and energy vary a great deal from day to day, I need my phone - and relationship to it - to change day to day without falling into the addictive traps it lays for me. This book wasn't very useful on that front.

The lack of a gender or class lens was eyerolling to painful in some places. For example, his solution for a lot of social media is to confine it to your actual computer - when half of people ONLY have internet access on their phones. In the US, more than 40 million people only have a smartphone to access the internet and they're almost all poor.

I was also annoyed because he, like many authors in this space, really devalues text as a communication medium. Many of my closest relationships are text based or have a textual communication foundation. (Dearest Ida, penpal of 25 years and going strong!) And many famous relationships in history have large textual components - swoon so many great epistolary romances and friendships.

But yeah, be intentional about how you use your phone and the internet and think about what matters to you and schedule time to do it.