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Cal Newport: Digital Minimalism (2019, Penguin Books, Limited) 4 stars

Most of us know that addiction to digital tools is costing us both productivity and …

Review of 'Digital Minimalism' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

In his new book Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport talks-in such a powerful way-about how costly it is for us to spend a big part of our lives in digital platforms, social media and all kind of media use.

There are certainly benefits in using social media, but Cal Newport guards us against the pitfalls of letting these technologies get the best of us. If you value your life, you need to try to make every minute meaningful. A life well lived requires activities that serve no other purpose than the satisfaction that the activity itself generates, said Aristotle. Becoming a slave to the attention economy of conglomerates is not a meaningful way to spend your life. If your personal brand requires engagement with services like social media, it’s important to approach these activities with a sense of zero-sum antagonism, Cal Newport suggests. Look carefully at these technologies and decide, consciously, how you are going to use them in order to avoid exploitation.

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