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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
inspiring
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
Absolutely fundamental concept that we as a society need to implement! Technology can be leveraged in a positive way, and I love how this book aligns with my ideals of loneliness, validation, and the need for connection. However, it was difficult to understand the reason behind specific ideas to implement when the habit changes were a little unclear and evidence for them was not concrete, as other suggested habits sometimes can be.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
i’ve had this one on my list for over three years and within my current audiobook addiction, it was time to tear through it. i agree pretty wholly with the overarching thesis of the book: we, humans, have become overly dependent on our phones for everything. this has particularly strained our socialization and leisure times. that doesn’t mean internet connectivity needs to be diminished to becoming non-existent, but scaled back and given consideration about when and why we are using it. cal newport remarks several times that the message of the book is not anti-technology, but rather pro conversation, which i think a lot of people can support at face value.
we all know how ubiquitous technology has become in our lives, and though it offers a great many advantages, we just aren’t wired to limit our use of it with ease. social media keeps us connected but becomes a problem when it’s our default for connection. examples abound of setting up a dinner or hangout with friends, and some attendees revert to being on their phones despite the human presence present. it can be difficult to distinguish between the importance of the people with us versus people on our phones, so we don’t always give in-person interaction our full attention.
one message i resonated with was the idea that people need more solitude. we have become so averse to spending time alone with our thoughts, so when we actually have to, it can make people anxious wondering what to do and fully bored out of their minds. nobody necessarily seeks to be bored, but pursuing solitude is good for learning more about ourselves and questioning who we are at our cores. newport mentions long walks or journaling as great solitary actions; we don’t need to fully remove ourselves from humanity to engage in solitude.
when detailing how we can go about reducing our tech time to release ourselves from the “faceless attention economy conglomerates” who contrive their apps to addict us, newport asks for a radical change to cultivate radical change. i immediately felt reluctant because i don’t feel like i have a pronounced dependence on my phone where i struggle with boundaries or engaging in activities without technology since it’s pretty difficult to get a text back from me within 24 hours most days. but then i was like “wait, isn’t that kind of what he’s getting at?” we don’t realize just how bad we have it without making drastic change.
however, some of his “practices” felt over aggressive—like cutting off some social ties simply because they aren’t super strong. he repeatedly remarks that many social media conglomerates conceived of keeping people in touch with one another, but capitalism got the best of them and thus they evolved and don’t view that as their primary objective; now second to increasing our time on their site and, in turn, their profit.
despite this, i don’t think that just because i don’t talk to someone every month or two doesn’t mean i shouldn’t keep in touch with them. we meet so many cool people throughout our lives, and being able to see what they’re up to is a joy and pleasure. even if i know i won’t ever see someone again, there are still people who i love cheering on from the sidelines because they’re good people who deserve good things!
as for consumers, we have evolved to use social media not just to keep in touch with people we used to be close to, but for doom-scrolling through content created by people who’s literal jobs are “content creators”. we seem to have lost the path along the way, which i think is a tragedy. but calling digital communication not meaningful and arguing that the weak ties we hold should be cut so we can strengthen our strong ties felt a bit reactionary and excessive to me.
i ask: porque no los dos? there’s definitely room for a compromise. i know we can keep up with individuals from our past without spending three hours a day on social media. finding a balance is critical and i felt newport lost me a bit at that point, particularly moving on to say that if you have to use social media, one should abstain from liking or commenting on anything their friends post because it is mere connection instead of conversation, which at almost all times the former should be sacrificed for the latter. again, that just feels drastic to me. yes doom-scrolling is a huge problem, but showing some virtual love to the people we care about doesn’t need to be stigmatized. newport does make some mention of the anxiety about like counts and all that comes from performative posts on social media, which i do agree with, but idk man, it’s tough. there’s a line that’s too fine for me to find i suppose.
he moves on next to discussions of leisure, which he details is something that has shifted pretty significantly in the era of the technology boom. instead of reading books, being active, learning crafts, or cultivating skills, a huge portion of our leisure time has changed to scrolling or bingeing shows. he advocates for us to go back to times where we pursue more hobbies and life outside our phones, which i think is just generally great for enjoyment of life. there can be room for bingeing a show or something primarily digital based (think video games), but should be employed with intention and operational guidelines.
i liked his argument of if you pursue good leisure, you’ll find yourself not wanting to be on your phone because you’re just plain enjoying the good life “analog” style. however, he diverted a bit saying that we should set aside time to “leisure plan” so we make sure we do the fun things we might not otherwise do, but i feel like that would sap some fun from my leisure time since i’m scheduling when i do fun stuff. i understand the hypothetical if i have something planned, i won’t be on my phone, but regimenting to the extremes he propositioned felt extreme. i can enjoy leisure without planning every second of it three months in advance, personally. instead, i liked the idea of leisure habits, like reading for x amount of time each night or going to the gym x days in a week. that feels more reasonable than knowing the exact time you’ll be available to reach out to a friend. there’s benefits to that thinking, but i believe it starts to lean too far into a hyper-productive lifestyle that i reserve only for when i play the sims.
my biggest criticism of the book was that early on newport calls for a digital fast when first transitioning to a digitally minimal life, but doesn’t echo that approach when setting aside time for leisure because it will be “untenable”. this seems to be at odds with the overall thesis of the book, though i am in more support with the idea of whittling down usage over the cold-turkey. it just was a bit jarring to hear this from him when the first 70% had been about the digital fast and that we need to step away from all non-essential technology for one month in order for the digital minimal life to really make sense upon reintegration.
in the end, i do feel like there is a lot to be gleaned from the information shared here. i don’t think that an absolute, rigid adherence to the practices laid out here is what i personally need, but that could just be my brain-rotted mind’s bias. using my phone as just that, a phone, more often than an internet fueled connection machine will help keep me present more often and off of apps that i use to literally just pass time. knowing some ez-er strategies for reducing my time with technology is all i really wanted from the book, and i felt like i got that.
informative
informative
fast-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced