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tptimmons 's review for:
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
by Cal Newport
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.