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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I took forever to get through this book because it was so packed with good ideas that I had to take it slowly.
In the past several months, I've been worried that screens have been taking over my life. I didn't like that I was spending so much time online, and I didn't feel that I had enough to show for my time online in relation to the amount of time I'd been spending. One day, something in me snapped and I quit Facebook for a month. It was just after that month that I picked up this book, which ironically suggests right off the bat that you take a month off from social media. So you might say that this book crossed my path at just the right time in life.
There was something magical about taking a month off from Facebook. I'd done weeklong detoxes before, but the length of the month (and the fact that I actually suspended my account instead of just relying on willpower) really made the difference for me.
The rest of the book gives myriad suggestions for becoming a digital minimalist beyond just quitting social media for a month, and goes into each of these ideas deeply and thoroughly, using writings and personal experiences to drive the points home.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who would like to make lasting choices leading to less screen use and a better life. Thanks to Goodreads First Reads and the publisher for a review copy.
In the past several months, I've been worried that screens have been taking over my life. I didn't like that I was spending so much time online, and I didn't feel that I had enough to show for my time online in relation to the amount of time I'd been spending. One day, something in me snapped and I quit Facebook for a month. It was just after that month that I picked up this book, which ironically suggests right off the bat that you take a month off from social media. So you might say that this book crossed my path at just the right time in life.
There was something magical about taking a month off from Facebook. I'd done weeklong detoxes before, but the length of the month (and the fact that I actually suspended my account instead of just relying on willpower) really made the difference for me.
The rest of the book gives myriad suggestions for becoming a digital minimalist beyond just quitting social media for a month, and goes into each of these ideas deeply and thoroughly, using writings and personal experiences to drive the points home.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who would like to make lasting choices leading to less screen use and a better life. Thanks to Goodreads First Reads and the publisher for a review copy.
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
A fairly straightforward guide to putting down your tech and connecting with people and the world around you. Useful information, but not noteworthy.
I liked this book a lot and am interested in trying a digital detox because of it. However, with such a focus on how you spend your time, I've realized mine might have been better off reading a 10 minute blog with the same ideas
I have mixed feelings about this work. First, I should say that, in terms of argument, I align with almost everything Newport writes in his books. I have changed many habits and patterns in my life because of his writing (e.g. Deep Work had the biggest impact on me).
Although I've reflected a lot on my relationship to technology and my smart devices, I still took much away from this book, especially its case for "solitude" (i.e. time in which your mind is "alone" with no other inputs streaming beyond the world around you and whatever thoughts you need to turn your mind toward), as well as his section no what other like Hubert Dreyfus calls "focal practices" (i.e. craft learned within a community of other devotees).
My main criticism is that this book is social class-deaf. His implicit audience is middle class to upper middle class people--like myself!--who have the luxury to stress out about our technology use, as well as having "leisure time." Immediately, I start thinking of friends and acquaintances who are single parents, living below or close to the poverty line. The book really needed a section to address these realities. Moreover, although Newport discussed some of the economic (CAPITALISM!!) incentives driving digital tech app development, etc., I would have loved to see him really dive into this, because for skeptics of Newport's argument, framing our tech use as empty consumerism could be a powerfully persuasive wedge.
Although I've reflected a lot on my relationship to technology and my smart devices, I still took much away from this book, especially its case for "solitude" (i.e. time in which your mind is "alone" with no other inputs streaming beyond the world around you and whatever thoughts you need to turn your mind toward), as well as his section no what other like Hubert Dreyfus calls "focal practices" (i.e. craft learned within a community of other devotees).
My main criticism is that this book is social class-deaf. His implicit audience is middle class to upper middle class people--like myself!--who have the luxury to stress out about our technology use, as well as having "leisure time." Immediately, I start thinking of friends and acquaintances who are single parents, living below or close to the poverty line. The book really needed a section to address these realities. Moreover, although Newport discussed some of the economic (CAPITALISM!!) incentives driving digital tech app development, etc., I would have loved to see him really dive into this, because for skeptics of Newport's argument, framing our tech use as empty consumerism could be a powerfully persuasive wedge.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I added this to my to-read list after seeing it recommended by a few people I follow on social media (the irony of that is not lost on me). I also realized that as we've come up on a year since the pandemic shut-down, since March of 2020 my phone use skyrocketed. Lately I've been getting bored/annoyed with/sick of my phone, and decided to give this a listen.
Unfortunately, I found this to be extremely dry. It reads like a master's thesis paper. In the opening there's a lot of, "In chapter two I will discuss...." or "By the end of this book you will...." Additionally, the majority of it felt like Newport was preaching to the choir. I feel like anyone who picks up a book like this already recognizes they need to make a change and is looking for ways/tips/tricks to help them do that. A lot of this book explained why you should want to be on your devices less, and gave examples of others who have changed their ways but didn't really give much practical advice for how to start making those changes.
I'm a much bigger fan of Catherine Price's How To Break Up with Your Phone, a pocket-sized, entertaining and therefore more effective guide for taking small steps to recognize and manage the addiction to your phone. It's one of those books you'll go back to again and again as it's hard to one-and-done this phone addiction thing.
Another great resource for why you feel addicted to your devices is the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. Again, it's an entertaining, easy-to-consume documentary explaining how the apps you're on were designed to keep you there, to hold your focus and make you want more.
Some of the advice Newport gives makes sense but is a little extreme. For example, he suggests a 30 day technology fast, which in theory makes a lot of sense, but if this book is geared toward people who feel addicted to their devices, some of whom rely on their devices for work purposes, this doesn't work. In Price's book, she outlines weekly practices which build up to a weekend fast - and then challenges you to do it more frequently until it becomes part of your routine. That, to me, seems like a much more successful way of breaking your addiction to anything, especially technology.
The other thing that bugged me is that frequently Newport will mention that he's never had any type of social media. He even mentions that people have questioned his ability to write on the subject having never experienced it himself. On the one hand, I see it as a valuable third-party perspective - kind of like the therapist in a marriage counseling session - giving a completely unbiased opinion. However, I also find it to be kind of unrealistic, like when for an entire chapter he explains why, if you insist on having social media, you should *never* like or comment on anyone's posts as it perpetuates a false sense of interaction. If someone whose never had children wrote a parenting book, I think a lot of people would question their advice and credibility.
In short: I wanted this to be better than it was. If you're curious about this topic or ways to improve your own productivity and happiness by getting away from technology/social media, try Price's book first.
Unfortunately, I found this to be extremely dry. It reads like a master's thesis paper. In the opening there's a lot of, "In chapter two I will discuss...." or "By the end of this book you will...." Additionally, the majority of it felt like Newport was preaching to the choir. I feel like anyone who picks up a book like this already recognizes they need to make a change and is looking for ways/tips/tricks to help them do that. A lot of this book explained why you should want to be on your devices less, and gave examples of others who have changed their ways but didn't really give much practical advice for how to start making those changes.
I'm a much bigger fan of Catherine Price's How To Break Up with Your Phone, a pocket-sized, entertaining and therefore more effective guide for taking small steps to recognize and manage the addiction to your phone. It's one of those books you'll go back to again and again as it's hard to one-and-done this phone addiction thing.
Another great resource for why you feel addicted to your devices is the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. Again, it's an entertaining, easy-to-consume documentary explaining how the apps you're on were designed to keep you there, to hold your focus and make you want more.
Some of the advice Newport gives makes sense but is a little extreme. For example, he suggests a 30 day technology fast, which in theory makes a lot of sense, but if this book is geared toward people who feel addicted to their devices, some of whom rely on their devices for work purposes, this doesn't work. In Price's book, she outlines weekly practices which build up to a weekend fast - and then challenges you to do it more frequently until it becomes part of your routine. That, to me, seems like a much more successful way of breaking your addiction to anything, especially technology.
The other thing that bugged me is that frequently Newport will mention that he's never had any type of social media. He even mentions that people have questioned his ability to write on the subject having never experienced it himself. On the one hand, I see it as a valuable third-party perspective - kind of like the therapist in a marriage counseling session - giving a completely unbiased opinion. However, I also find it to be kind of unrealistic, like when for an entire chapter he explains why, if you insist on having social media, you should *never* like or comment on anyone's posts as it perpetuates a false sense of interaction. If someone whose never had children wrote a parenting book, I think a lot of people would question their advice and credibility.
In short: I wanted this to be better than it was. If you're curious about this topic or ways to improve your own productivity and happiness by getting away from technology/social media, try Price's book first.
informative
medium-paced
Overall inspiring, but I had a hard time relating to the tips as a introverted stay at home mom. What free time??