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Tyler Morgan

A Very Important Book on the Most Important Topic of Our Time

Recenserad i USA 🇺🇸 den 12 februari 2019

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As is always the case, I really enjoyed Cal Newport's writing in his new work. I'm a bit biased in that I read his original yellow book (How to Win at College) almost ten years ago upon beginning college, and I know it played a big part in my success in college and in my professional life. I've kept up with Cal's writing via his blog ever since, but I hadn't pulled the trigger on any of his other books until now. I pre-ordered this book because I couldn't wait to read Cal's book-length treatise on the matter.

Cal's philosophy on technology use has always been spot on, which is all the more surprising given his background as an MIT-educated computer science professor. Digital Minimalism was everything I expected it to be, and I can't recommend it enough. It is a book that everyone should read, as it really helps to put our current excessive technology use into perspective. Sadly, most of those reading Digital Minimalism are likely the choir; those who most need to hear Cal's advice will be so caught up in their digital distraction that they will never encounter the book.

My favorite thing about the book is that Cal's advice is immensely practical. He is no Luddite, and he does not expect you to eliminate technology from your life. In fact, he urges you to embrace technology when it strongly supports the things you value most in life. He does not argue for or against any specific technology, but instead urges us to closely scrutinize any new technology before allowing it to enter our life. We should stop viewing new technology through the prism of what we are missing out on, and instead evaluate new technology based on how it supports our core goals and, specifically, whether the new technology is the BEST way to support our goals. If a new technology is deemed to be the best way to support our goals, Cal then recommends that we carefully tailor our use of the technology to get the most benefit while minimizing the concomitant distractions. This is where Cal's practical advice shines. For instance, instead of instituting a blanket ban on social media (like his detractors might expect him to do), Cal suggests that those who use social media limit their use to their computer or tablet (i.e., no iPhone social media unless absolutely necessary!) in order to eliminate boredom browsing, and also to tailor their settings for the social media application to ensure that the app is serving the user and not the other way around. Although I share Cal's disdain for social media and abstain from it entirely, I definitely understand that total abstinence may not be feasible for some people, and I feel that his advice is the most common sense approach that I have come across.

I found myself agreeing with almost everything Cal says in the book, but I do have two minor critiques. First, toward the end of the book, Cal discusses the emergence of app-blocking software and "Dumb Phones", and seemingly recommends that we adopt these paternalistic mechanisms to prevent us from being trapped by the allure of new technology. Cal's praise for these things weakens the strength of his arguments for the Digital Minimalism philosophy, as it suggests that we are doomed to be sucked into the new technology vortex and that the only way to avoid this outcome is to take drastic measures that will literally not allow us the freedom to make our own choices about technology. I believe Cal's cheerleading of these app-blockers and "Dumb Phones" is short-sighted, as the practices outlined in Digital Minimalism should allow us the strong will to avoid these technological temptations. Also, it needs to be said that introducing these things into your technological mix could actually cause additional distraction; think of how much time you might waste trying to program your browser blocker to prevent yourself from visiting a certain mix of ever-changing sites at various points in the day and week. How much time will we waste researching the best "Dumb Phone" and constantly switching back and forth between it and our regular iPhone? Is it worth all the trouble? Tellingly, at the end of the section Cal seemingly admits that he just sticks with an iPhone, as it is not enough of a distraction for him to have to add the extra hassle of a "Dumb Phone." I think this should be the advice for all of us, as unless we put ourselves in some sort of bubble, there will always be unavoidable digital temptations out there that will require a strong backbone (and Digital Minimalist mindset) to resist.

My second criticism is that Cal's advice on how to spend your free time is a bit muddled. On one hand, he strongly stresses the importance of ample amounts of solitude, which he describes as "a subjective state in which your mind is free from input from other minds." Yet he also stresses the importance of prioritizing demanding activities that often require strained mental effort. He references Arnold Bennett, who recommended reading difficult literature and poetry for leisure. To be fair, Cal does caution against taking Bennett's list of prescribed activities too literally, but he seems to endorse Bennett's philosophy of engaging in mentally demanding leisure pursuits that don't fit his definition of solitude. There seems to be a bit of conflict between the recommendation of Thoreau-esque solitude, whereby one might spend his/her time building a cabin or doing simple manual labor, and the recommendation of mentally demanding leisure activities such as reading dense writing. I think that it is likely that both of these types of activities are important, but Cal never really distinguishes between the two nor provides a discussion of how much of each we might need.

These two critiques are minor, and really should be viewed more as topics that I hope Cal will address in his future writings as opposed to outright criticisms. I'm a huge fan of Cal and his writing, and I look forward to continuing to learn from him in the future. In conclusion, I strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of Digital Minimalism, and perhaps pick up an extra copy to gift to that person in your life who never looks up from their phone. Digital Minimalism is an important, timely work that we can all benefit from.

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Adam Johnson

A book you will return to again and again

Recenserad i Australien 🇦🇺 den 9 april 2019

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The basic premise of this book, as might be expected, builds on notions of minimalist living. It builds on Newport’s excellent previous book “Deep Work”, and poses the questions “How much digital do you really need?” and “How might you live more intentionally with a more deliberate digital presence?”

This is not something that’s just “nice to have”, or that we might want to think of reintroducing some balance to our lives. It’s acknowledging that the digital world has been deliberately designed to enrapture our attention, to hijack our brain in an unhealthy way. He describes it as a “lopsided arms race”, where the digital platforms have access to so much more money and resources than their users, and deploy these resources to slip behind our guard. We need to respond deliberately and carefully.

The example of the Amish approach to technology is telling. Contrary to popular belief, the Amish people do not reject technology out of hand. Instead, they take a deeply suspicious view of new technology and carefully assess the impact of that technology on their community and its values. This is what most of us never did with social media and all the “convenience” that our digital life brings. The anxiety that shadows our digital life is the consequence, and we need to become aware and respond. Newport proposes a number of approaches that might be taken, a number of ways to think about technology.

It’s not Luddite, nor does it come down on simple solutions. Newport acknowledges the role of our digital lives, and that everybody has a different threshold for what is “needed”. The closest he comes to a prescription is his process for determining what is needed - the one month digital detox. He advocates taking a month off any optional technologies, and then gradually reintroducing what is actually missed, what is necessary.

Newport proposes three principles for digital minimalism:
1. Clutter is costly. Just going after every new shiny technology in case you might miss some vague benefit has costs. And they are both largely invisible and significant.
2. Optimisation is important. In letting a new technology into your life, it’s important to think about how that technology will be used
3. Intentionality is satisfying. The broad benefit of being intentional in life in general is deeply meaningful. It’s about individual agency.

Having established the benefits of digital minimalism, and the principles upon which it is built, Newport then describes a number of practices that help heal the human brain. These are subtle and wonderful. They are worth spelling out here.

1. Spend time alone. The importance of solitude cannot be understated. Solitude is where the brain heals. The always on, always connected society we live in creates a deficit of solitude, and we are unwell as a result. The remedies are simple and old-fashioned. Leave your phone at home. Go for long walks. Write letters to yourself.

2. Don’t click “like”. Social media drives dissatisfaction. The unpredictability of whether a social media post will attract attention is random and driven by an algorithm as much as it is by the content. We are wired for connection, but likes are shallow. Conversation is not. So rather than pursue “connection”, pursue “conversation”. High bandwidth, deep conversation is much, much different to the tiny dopamine hits of likes, comments and so on. And one of the more interesting remedies is to let people know of “conversation office hours” - times when you are always accessible for a phone call. Because the work in setting up a call is so difficult that it makes the call unlikely. Just set a time, every day, when you’re available to talk, and that problem disappears.

3. Reclaim leisure. And by leisure, Newport means active, demanding activity rather than the passive consumption encouraged by digital forces. Pursuing a craft. Learning a physical skill. Spending time face to face with people. Create seasonal leisure plans. The latter is reflected in the Hedonic Calendaring that is important for initiating Flow - it matters to schedule in leisure because otherwise our attention gets drawn into the vortex of nothingness that translates into endless scrolling of newsfeeds or Youtube or Instagram or whatever fits your need. Schedule in leisure and you will actually take it.

4. Join the attention resistance. Understand what you want from the various platforms you use, and be surgical in this use. Suggestions include removing social media from your phone (something I’ve done, and find a wonderful liberation). Embracing “slow media”, such as newspapers and magazines and a handful of high quality websites or authors (I’d add books to this list). Dumb down your smartphone with less and less apps.

In short, this is a wonderfully practical book that you’ll probably return to again and again once you realise just how much control you have ceded over your own life. It doesn’t have to be that way. The anxiety from wondering where all the likes are. The persistent itch to update your feed. Your brain being dumbed down by all of these compulsions. It doesn’t have to be that way.

It remains possible to reap the benefits of the internet, even of social media, without stripping out our humanity for the surveillance capitalists. Be intentional. Decide, based on your values, what you want to participate in and how. Resist the draw of the digital current, because it will sweep you away if you’re not careful.

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Eric Mabbott

Very helpful book that will benefit your life

Recenserad i USA 🇺🇸 den 28 mars 2019

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In 2016 Cal Newport, a computer scientist at Georgetown University, published a book about cultivating habits of undistracted work. The premise was that while everyone else was getting distracted it provided an opportunity for those with disciplined focus. Cal got the praise and push-back he expected. What he didn’t expect was how many people wrote to him asking for a book applying the same principles to their time outside the office. That is just what Cal did. He wrote a book with a simple premise: You need to be intentional about your use of technology.

This is for several reasons. First, technology is not neutral. It is a product made by people who want to both enhance your life and make money. In the current technology market money is to be made by keeping your eyeballs locked on the screen in your hand. Our phones and their apps are designed to bring us in and keep us there as long as possible. While this isn’t some nefarious conspiracy, there is an illusion we have embraced. We know there is no such thing as a free lunch, but there is a free app. Facebook and Twitter are free. And so many games are free with the ability to purchase if you want to. While the apps may be free one sense, they are very costly in another. But only if you value your time.

Part 1 of the book deals with foundational arguments about the nature of technology and the need to get intentional about your tech use. Cal starts with the same recommendation for each of us:

Take a technology break

Not a detox. Not a week-long fast. You need to take a break for thirty days. You read that correctly. A full month with technology use reduced down to only essential functions. No mindless scrolling through feeds, endless video playlists on YouTube or binge watching Netflix. Are you breathing into a paper bag yet? You need to recover things like boredom and silence. The idea is to do a digital reset. After thirty says you begin reintroducing the technology (apps, podcasts, social media) one at a time. As you do it is imperative to decide what you will use it for and how you will use it.

Get intentional about your habits

Part 2 gets into four practices for healthy life like embracing silence and time alone, refusing to like or comment on social media, reclaiming your leisure time. The book is so clear I am not going to list the chapters. Here is the summary of the book:

We need to rethink how we are using technology.
We need to do a digital reset.
We need to intentionally fill our lives with the habits that will bring meaning and help us accomplish what we want.

Reflections

I have shared before about my struggle with my smartphone. Tony Reinke’s book moved me to take my phone habits seriously. I deactivated my Facebook account. I made some adjustments. But they weren’t enough. In January I began a week-long break from social media, podcasts, etc. During that week I came across Cal’s book and immediately decided to extend it out for the full thirty days. What could happen?

It made a huge difference. Once you break away from social media, it bores you to read it. Instead, I read/listened to something like eight books. I invested more time in exercise. I prayed more. I was more present with others. My Screen Time app reported I had reduced my screen time by 30% three weeks in a row. At that point I made a decision: I’m getting rid of my smartphone. And I did. I now have this bad boy. That’s right. It has a keypad. It has been a few weeks without my smartphone and everything is going well. No, I don’t think everyone should get rid of their smartphones. I just realized I didn’t actually need mine and it was actively making my life worse.

I still use Twitter, but barely. My blog and sermons publish to my account so I have a specific use for it. One mistake I made was with YouTube. I didn’t define how I would use it so it quickly became a distraction. I have since ceased from using it completely until I define how/when I am using it and what I am using it for.

Bottom Line

I don’t want to be the obnoxious guy telling everyone how they are doing it wrong. I’m not anti-technology. I’m trying to figure out how to use technology in a way that supports my life rather than takes it over. I want to be a faithful husband, father, and pastor. There are many obstacles along the way. Some have been put there by others. Many of them I put there by accident. I can work on those. Cal Newport’s book was really helpful for me. It pushed me over the edge to take action. I think it will help you too (even if you keep your smartphone!). It is a fast read and I highly recommend it.

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Fred

Author has some extreme suggestions but I take his point.

Recenserad i USA 🇺🇸 den 27 januari 2023

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This is a book worth checking out. The author provides a lot of evidence showing social media and tv service's bread and butter is your attention. Keeping you on social media/netflix/disney etc for as long as possible is the goal and big money.

I found some of his suggestions extreme though; leaving your phone at phone, never clicking like or commenting on social media, use your phone on Do Not Distrub, buy a dumb phone.

It's clear he doesn't use social media at all or carry a phone with him. He's a professor, he doesn't need to use social media. That makes sense.

He does offer some aggresive, yet doable suggestions. Leaving your phone in the car (instead of at home)... okay, I can do that. Un-installing social media apps on your phone and only checking them on a PC, I can do that. Can you check it only once a week? Sure, done.

Replacing these activies with 'high quality leisure' (like walking, reading, calling friends instead of liking/commenting, working on a habit/skill etc). All really good stuff and I'm using it in my life. I'm happier, less stressed, and more free.

I enjoyed the chapters on attention and why boredom is useful. Social media robs us of these things. He makes the strongest case in these chapters.

At the end of the day he's about us using social media and digital tools to our advantage, not being captured by corporations. It's a good book.

So it's worth checking out, he gives his extreme suggestion then goes down the line.

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rahulraj

Excellent book

Recenserad i Indien 🇮🇳 den 22 mars 2023

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This is the third book of Cal Newport i am reading and i must say he will blow your mind.This book digital minimalism is so - so relevant for the present time when we are loosing ourselves in our smartphones and getting away from actual life and our loved ones. Highly recommended.

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Kate Hopkins

An Invaluable Book For Our Times

Recenserad i Storbritannien den 20 april 2021

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In early 2018, I began to struggle with anxiety and to have periodic trouble concentrating. I knew the trouble was psychological, not the result of physical illness, but couldn't work out quite what it was until I went on furlough during the March 2020 lockdown and quite quickly began to feel a lot better. I realized that I'd been struggling with digital overload for months. My then job had seemed to require one to deal with more and more software (content management systems, project management systems etc etc, digital asset management systems etc etc). At the same time, although I've never had a Twitter account, I'd got hooked on reading Twitter posts by politicians, journalists and novelists, and also on reading the comments sections following newspaper articles, and on 'binging' on Guardian articles. It all felt too much. And then, on furlough, I came across a talk by Cal Newport about the bad effect of social media on concentration which led me to this book.

It's a very, very useful read, and enjoyable, too. Newport is not a traditional Luddite - he's a computer science academic - but he is very well aware of the dangers that smartphones, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pose to our concentration at work, our quality leisure time and even our relationships. In seven chapters, he suggests ways of dealing with this and streamlining digital usage. His suggestions include trying a 'digital detox' for 30 days (to prove that social media and smartphone usage is not essential), taking regular exercise (particularly long walks), contacting friends and family personally rather than simply 'liking' their posts on social media, making time for quality leisure activities - reading, arts and crafts, music, DIY and others - and learning to spend time alone without being 'plugged in' to technology and to spending periods without a smartphone (or perhaps, replacing the smartphone with an old-fashioned mobile). At the same time, Newport sensibly doesn't damn technology altogether, and is well aware that certain aspects of social media are necessary in certain jobs (for example, journalists in certain fields might need to look at Twitter). His view is balanced, and sensible, and having tried out some of his suggestions I can confidently say that they work.

The book's a delight in terms of style as well - the prose is beautifully lucid and elegant, there are lots of fascinating references to other writers (I now want to read Henry David Thoreau, Soren Kierkegaard and Anthony Storr), and Newport includes some valuable reminders of what really matters in life: quality time with family and close friends, music-making, practical tasks, walks in attractive surroundings, reading with real focus.

My only quibble is that Newport perhaps skates over some of the personal nastiness on social media, particularly Twitter, which appears to bring out the worst in people, and can be quite psychologically traumatic (I find I either end up feeling extremely inadequate reading about people's amazing achievements, or horrified at the amount of spite and aggression I come across). But behavioural patterns on social media wasn't really the book's remit, and anyone who wants to read about that can turn to Jaron Lanier's superb 'Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now' - or some of Newport's own talks on YouTube.

This book is essential reading for our crowded and generally rather unhappy times - and very enjoyable as well. Thank you Cal Newport - you've increased my focus and productivity considerably through your writing!

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Els Beyens

Good book, with one major critique

Recenserad i Kanada 🇨🇦 den 17 juli 2022

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I'll preface this review with the fact that I enjoyed this book, it raises some good points and ideas and overall I'm glad I purchased it.

However, Newport's philosophy misses the mark in the sense that he treats the internet and social media as a kind of alien technology that was foisted on society, and not something that was developed to fulfill a genuine need of the modern world. That need being the fact that many people today live far from their family and friends, and can end up isolated in unfamiliar communities.

Think North American settlers in the 19th century, who emigrated from everything they'd known in Europe. To those people the internet would have been a miracle technology that completely revolutionized their lives for the better.

Yes there are very serious problems with how the internet works today, and there are definitely issues with how social media companies manage their mobile and web apps. However, I don't believe the advice Newport offers in this title reflects the true reality of the internet. In the book he suggests to 'stop liking', 'stop commenting', to completely regard this type of social interaction as valueless. However, for many people today there is no viable alternative. Shutting down your phone and focusing on in-person interaction often means one is alone in a room, with no one to talk to.

And that brings me full circle to my original point, that the internet was developed to fill a real need of the modern world: that people now spend a lot of their time alone.

To summarize, this is a very good book with some solid ideas and perspectives in it, that the reader can definitely integrate into their overall approach to the internet. But in the end I believe the overarching philosophy is flawed, and that Newport doesn't fully appreciate or understand how the internet got to the state it's in today.

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Izzy

Gutes Buch für Anfänger

Recenserad i Tyskland 🇩🇪 den 24 januari 2023

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Gut geschriebenes Buch. Obwohl ich zugeben muss, dass ich am Ende einige Seiten übersprungen habe, da sich teilweise einiges wiederholt. Für jemanden der „neu“ in dem Bereich Digital minimalism ist, kann ich jedem das Buch nur empfehlen. Es ist sehr informativ und die Übungen sind einfach durchzuführen. Für mich, die sowieso kein Social Media hat, kein Netflix benutzt etc. ist es zwar gut und hat einige gute Ansätze. War jedoch am Ende natürlich etwas langweilig, wie gesagt ich bin da tatsächlich schon weiter. Aber für jemanden der dieses Thema angehen will ist dieses Buch super, deshalb auch die 5 Sterne.

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Uday Reddy

A Must for the present Smartphone-addicted GENERATION!

Recenserad i Indien 🇮🇳 den 11 juni 2021

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Why everyone should read this book –
1. It talks about the need to reduce smartphone usage.
2. It talks about how smartphones are turning into an addiction. (Phone addiction is a thing.)
3. It exposes how social media companies are deliberately making their apps more addictive.
4. It stresses the need for purposeful smartphone usage.
5. It offers great strategies to reduce screen time and enjoy your life outside the screen.
6. It may even change the way you use your phone.
The long Version -

There's an old saying, "You must be using the tool, the tool mustn’t be using you". The same thing applies to a smartphone. It must be used just as a tool, but if you find yourself reaching for it every minute, you must realize that that it is using you. We must recognize that this smartphone usage is turning into an addiction and take steps to prevent it from becoming dire. If you spend more than 4 hours a day on your smartphone, you must realize that you're addicted to it and it's bad.

As with every Cal Newport book, he divides the book into parts. In the first part he argues the need for digital minimalism and what makes smartphones so addicting. In the second part he offers various strategies and steps to reduce compulsive smartphone usage and how to use your smartphone in a purposeful way. The book was successful in explaining the ill effects of smartphones. It talks about how an entire generation got ruined because of social media. We must realize that phones are getting addictive year by year with constant new apps buzzing for our attention. The strategies in the book are easy to apply and have the potential to change the way you look at smartphones.

Digital minimalism is a book that should be read by everyone living in this present world. In a world where social media companies are earning billions, and a common person is wasting away his life looking at a screen, we must realize the need for "Digital Minimalism” and strive to adopt it. This book will help you with that.

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Brooke S.

Finally, a sustainable way to take back control of your digital life without becoming a hermit

Recenserad i USA 🇺🇸 den 8 februari 2019

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This book makes me happy. Literally, I find myself smiling as I read this book, so grateful that someone has finally put a name (digital minimalism) to a lifestyle that I can embrace that will improve my wellbeing on every level.

I have long been searching for my own answers and methods to keep technology from overtaking my life, even to the extent of creating my own "Digital Detox" online course for my students. I have studied ways to find balance with technology and employed many boundaries and strategies to keep my life feeling balanced. So is there anything new to Cal Newport's approach?

YES.

First of all, his title is inspired. I love having an actual "philosophy" about digital tools, that goes beyond implementing rules and boundaries. Rules and boundaries only last so long. It's understanding "why" a rule or boundary exists that keeps one committed. The philosophy of Digital Minimalism promotes the idea that we choose which tools best serve our values, and happy let go of the rest. A tool must give more than it takes. This was eloquently taught by Newport in an unexpected reflection on Thoreau's New Economics principle that you must also consider your quality of life when determining what tool is worth your time and energy.

I loved the suggested practices that Newport gives for how to create more solitude in your life and have already started a daily practice of walking outside in nature completely unplugged! He also has valuable strategies on how to use your phone as a tool rather than a device that runs your life. I do know enough to turn off notifications, but Newport's ideas went beyond this. Already I'm seeing such great improvement in my quality of life and the automony that I have found.

I have to admit, I already live a fairly minimalist digital life---I quit social media over a year ago and removed any app from my phone that would ever cause me to go down a rabbit hole. I do a lot more than the average person to live with intention and solitude. That being said, I'm delighted to report that this book was still a break through for me and felt like I suddenly had the philosophy and foundation for all the strategies that I've been trying to implement. I can only imagine how earth shattering this book will be for someone currently caught in the grasp of digital addiction. If followed, this could absolutely dramatically change one's life in the most productive and meaningful ways :)

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