Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
Format/source: Hardcover/Library
Published: Feb. 2019
Publisher: Portfolio
Length: 304 pages
Genre: Non-fiction/self-help
Target Age: Adult (suitable for 13+, no sensitive content)
#OwnVoices: N/A
Content Warnings: N/A
The Creep of Technology
Newport begins his book by addressing the vast amount of technological change that has essentially snuck up on us over the past 10 years. This introduction alone felt like a wake up call for me. No wonder we can struggle with balance when it comes to technology use. It’s so new and endless and overwhelming and there’s no definitive road map for integrating it with our lives. I used to wonder how my life might be different without a tablet (acquired in 2013) or smart phone (acquired in 2015). It’s hard to fathom as I’ve gone through significant lifestyle changes in the years since. I don’t know what my life would look like without those technologies.
These changes crept up on us and happened fast, before we had a chance to step back and ask what we really wanted out of the rapid advances of the past decade. We added new technologies to the periphery of our experience for minor reasons, then woke one morning to discover that they had colonized the core of our daily life.
Newport, Digital Minimalism, pg. 6
What is Digital Minimalism?
As a strategy to manage technology use, Newport proposes digital minimalism: “a philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else” (pg. 28). He outlines three principles that support this philosophy:
- Clutter is costly
- Optimization is important
- Intentionality is satisfying
Regarding the first principle, Newport describes how having “too many devices, apps, and services creates an overall negative cost that can swamp the small benefits that each individual item provides in isolation” (pg. 34). Optimization helps avoid that clutter by asking us to think carefully about how we’ll use our carefully selected technology. The third principle emphasizes how whittling away time on technology does not really provide any satisfaction. Intentional use to fulfill a specific purpose, on the other hand, can.
The Amish prioritize benefits generated by acting intentionally about technology over the benefits lost from the technologies they decide not to use. Their gamble is that intention trumps convenience – and this is a bet that seems to be paying off.
Newport, Digital Minimalism, pg. 53
The bulk of the book describes practical strategies you can use to employ the philosophy of digital minimalism and embody these principles.
Social Thinking
One part of the book I found intriguing is the discussion on social thinking and cognitive downtime. This was all new to me, though I imagine if you’re at all familiar with this field, you’ll know the research Newport cites. He describes Lieberman’s research on the topic as a way to help explain why we might keep trying to ‘connect’ online. Newport summarizes Lieberman: “Our brains adapted to automatically practice social thinking during any moments of cognitive downtime” (pg. 133). Newport also argues that “the more time you spend ‘connecting’ on [social media], the more isolated you’re likely to become” (pg. 139). This I don’t agree with. That broad statement doesn’t consider enough factors. Which leads me to my final comments about Digital Minimalism…
Not the Whole Picture
Newport doesn’t address the role mental health, unexpected stressors, or life changes play in affecting technology use. I alluded to this above when I noted my disagreement with one of his arguments. I think there can be value in connecting online when you have few connections ‘in real life’. If you are already isolated lonely, connecting online might make you feel less so (in some cases – I don’t mean to make a sweeping statement opposite of Newport’s). Nor does he discuss the role of tech companies who create these digital products that claw for our attention. More than once he spends too much page space citing dead white guys and wandering off into distantly relevant tangents. For example, I imagine the discussion about financial independence (starting on pg. 169) would not be relevant or helpful to most readers.
The Bottom Line
While Digital Minimalism doesn’t provide a comprehensive look at how technology design and use today, I found the book helpful enough to recommend. If the title or subtitle pique your interest, you will also probably something of value within its pages. ★★★½
When the void is filled, you no longer need distractions to help you avoid it.
Newport, Digital Minimalism, pg. 169
How do you feel about your use of digital technology and social media? Do you have any tips for managing it all?
This is a fascinating topic!!! I am in agreement with you about his sweeping statement about isolation. I don’t believe it is as black and white as that. I know that my current online presence (goodreads, blog primarily) is very rewarding to me as someone who is frequently housebound due to illness and in fact is the very opposite of isolating. But conversely I found that Facebook was an isolating place and made me feel less than worthy at times. This is because it can be such a false place with people sharing only things that cast their lives in good light.
Certainly sounds like an interesting and thought provoking read
Yes, those are great points!! For me, Goodreads and blogging lets me feel connected because I can engage with people who have the same interests as me. I don’t know anyone else ‘IRL’ that has the same interest in middle grade fantasy, for example. 😛 Even though we disagree with Newport’s comments about being less connected, I think his philosophy is still helpful because it provides guidance in recognizing and prioritizing the technology use that we do value most – i.e. choosing to cut back on Facebook while allowing more time for Goodreads.
Yes I would agree. The essence of his philosophy is certainly one that has much meaning and relevance because as with anything in life a balance is required.
I haven’t read this book yet though I generally agree that digital minimalism can be a good thing if you have too much social media in your life. I love your point though about cases where social media could be a good thing. I guess the book was more focused on driving a single point home and the research or ideas discussed pretty much support it.
Thanks for this comment! Newport’s philosophy leaves lots of room for adaptability – if certain social media interactions are more valuable to you, you can prioritize those. But yeah, if Newport put nuance in his comments on connectivity it might have distracted from the main purpose of the book (describing how you can apply digital minimalism in your own life).
Sounds like a very interesting book. I think I’ve started to minimize some of my social media use. No time and wanting to prioritize my reading/blogging over Facebook etc. I also haven’t been as involved in Goodreads groups as I once was. Partially because some of the people who shared similar book interests as me left and I just didn’t make any new connections. Now, I primarily connect via the blogs I follow and Twitter. I’m a lot like you with not knowing anyone IRL who enjoys middle-grade fantasy as much as I do. For me, social media doesn’t make me feel less connected, it gives me the chance to find like minded people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Yes! Like minded people I wouldn’t have met otherwise…that pretty much sums up the appeal of social media for me. I also primarily connect via blogs and Twitter, but lately I’ve actually trying to make more of an effort with reading challenges, Goodreads groups, etc. to make better connections (I wonder what Newport would think of that…)
Your comments about isolation make a lot of sense. Even now, living away from my family, I have to use apps and email to say in touch since I don’t share a house with them.
I do often miss the old days where the only access to the internet we had was a family-shared desktop, and I’d maybe log in to my email once a week. I can’t imagine doing that now, there’s just too much that’s coordinated through email now.
Ahh yes I remember those days! I think about them sometimes as well, maybe through a rosy lense… I still like the idea of tech/connectivity being confined to one room, but since I live by myself that doesn’t really matter. (One day though I want to have a den where my computer lives and it’s not always within my sight :P)
This sounds interesting! I like the idea of cutting down on devices. Does someone really need a laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc.? Maybe but maybe not! I also think the “Internet of Things” and all the smart home devices are going to play a bigger role, especially if they’re all connected to your phone. Now instead of just email and Facebook notifications, people are going to be pinged all the time that someone rang their doorbell, they left the refrigerator on, and their dishwasher has finished running and they can unload it now. (Information that seems fundamentally useless BOTH if you are at home–you can look yourself–and if you’re not–what are you going to do about the refrigerator if you’re at work?)
Yes! I think those devices are a great example of “Look what we can do with technology!” trumping “Is this something we should be doing with technology?”…
This sounds really interesting! His core ideas for managing your online time usage sound like a helpful paradigm to me. However, I share your disagreement with his statement about being online more leading to actually being lonelier. To me, that seems like a misconception coming from someone in an older generation. Personally, I use the internet to keep in touch with people I met offline, to find people I then meet offline, and to make connections that make me feel like part of a community (yay for book blogging!). And it’s all much easier than meeting new people offline 🙂
Exactly! I think that it can be isolating, in some cases, but there are so many ways to use the internet nowadays. I think the research is a bit behind on what it can say about being connected or not…